This is a question often asked, and for good reason. When you’re working on that exciting project, you don’t want to be left with piles of unused yarn once you’re done. On the other hand, you also don’t want to run out just before you finish your project.
Calculating the amount of yarn you need can be a little confusing at times, and that’s why we’re here to help.
While there are some universal formulas for calculating the amount of wool you’ll need for a project, it’s virtually impossible to give exact measurements. Like all forms of crafts, measurements are going to vary. The way you weave and the natural material vary, so the thickness is never going to be exactly the same.
Therefore, as a general rule of thumb we recommend that it is better to overestimate the amount than to underestimate. While piles of leftover yarn can be reused and turned into other projects, running out of knitting can sometimes be a difficult (and very frustrating) mistake to overcome, and that’s the last thing you want when you’ve just poured all your creativity and effort into a new project!
When working with a specific knitting pattern, the measurements are usually indicated, which takes the guesswork out of it. But what if you use a different fiber, adjust a pattern, or even design your own knitting pattern?
How to calculate the amount of yarn you need
When you set out to design your own knitting project, you may wonder how many yards of yarn you will need for your project. This will depend on many factors, such as warp set (or EPI), loom waste, finished length of the piece, finished width, and any additional warp you need for sampling or fringing. Luckily, for you, we have developed a free and easy calculator to help you. All you have to do is enter the data.
While everyone wants to get to weaving right away, sampling is an important part of the creativity of a new weaving project, and can save you time, money, and aggravation by figuring out what works and what doesn’t work before weaving the whole project. How much warp you designate for sampling is ultimately up to you, but we recommend that you leave at least a few inches.
There are many guidelines and recommendations on how to buy wool (in spanish: comprar lanas), different options on how to calculate and buy enough for your project.
First of all, there are several calculators on the internet that are perfect for calculating the amount of wool you need for your project. Although it is a bit more work, it is a very useful skill when you are advancing in knitting and even when designing your own patterns.
You will need: scales, calculator, a swatch of at least 10×10 cm with the wool you will be using for your project, pen and paper.
Make a small swatch using the exact stitch you want to use for your pattern. Make a swatch at least 10×10, but here goes, the bigger the better. Weigh it and count the stitches and rows you used for the swatch and write it down.
Figure out how many yards you used for your swatch and calculate how many stitches (total amount) your pattern will have.
Correlate your swatch to the pattern and calculate your yardage. Now you will know how many skeins of yarn you will need for your pattern. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
HOWEVER, if you’re just starting out and the calculation seems complicated or a lot of work when shopping at a wool store (tienda de lanas), don’t worry! Below we’ve created a guide with estimates on how much wool is needed for some popular arm knitting projects.
- Wool hat: 0.5 kg
- Large scarf: 1 kg
- Round cushion: 1 kg
- Blanket 60 cm x 120 cm: 2 kg
- Blanket 100 cm x 140 cm: 3 kg
- Blanket 130 cm x 170 cm: 4 kg
These are estimates, so the exact amount of material you’ll need depends on a couple of crucial factors. For example, the looser the weave, the less wool you will need. However, this gives you a rough idea.
We hope this article has taken away some of the confusion about how much wool you need for your project, and that you’re excited to get started on your new knitting project.