It’s a question every crocheter asks… how much yarn do I need? And what if I change the thickness of yarn?
Today, I’ll show you how to calculate how much yarn your project will need. No more guessing!
Discover your yarn + hook combo
The only way to know for sure is to calculate how much yarn each stitch (using your yarn and hook) takes. Using some yarn and hooks I had on hand, I did few examples:
As you see, the thicker the yarn (and the bigger the hook), the more yarn you’ll need.
Your calculations may be different depending on your exact yarn and gauge… but this should give you an idea! This tutorial will show you how to calculate how much yarn you use for each stitch.
How to calculate the total for the pattern
To find out the total amount of yarn you’ll use for your project, multiply the number of stitches in your pattern by the number of inches each stitch uses.
Let’s take Jay the Bird as an example. The pattern contains the stitch count at the end of each line.
Adding those up gives me a total of 1656 stitches.
How much yarn do I need if I want to crochet him in a fingering weight yarn?
46 yards! That’s less than the 85 called for in the pattern because fingering weight yarn is smaller, and the project needs less!
Calculate away!
Using this method, you can calculate how much yarn a project will require with any weight yarn and hook! No more guessing!
Here are handy links to all the posts about yarn. . .
- How to Join Yarn with No Knot
- 3 Ways to Join Yarn without Tying a Knot
- What to Do If There’s a Knot in Your Yarn
- How to Work with Eyelash Yarn
- How Much Yarn Do I Need?
- How to Calculate Yarn Weight from Length
- How to Make a Magic Ball
- How to Use a Ball Winder
- Using a Nostepinne Replacement to Make a Center-Pull Yarn Ball
- How to Make Yarn from Fabric Strips
- Dye Yarn with Wilton Icing Dye
Return to the main table of contents for Let’s Learn to Crochet Amigurumi.
Move on to the lessons for the basic crochet stitches.
Happy stitching!
What a great strategy! Thank you so much for putting this together, Stacey! I love the colorful visuals.
I crochet very tight. When a pattern calls for a set hook size to make gage I must use a larger hook, even when using the same thread. Help!
Not a problem! You can do the calculation for your hook + yarn combo!
Awesome! Thanks for figuring all that out! 🙂
When I first read the title in my head I was thinking, lots and lots, (inventory) Yikes! I hope there’s someone else that thinks like me. Thanks for the practical information. I struggle with that all the time, especially with small stash buster projects.
Cheers!
Thank you so much for this. I have many times when I use a different yarn than is called for in the pattern. I have always used guesstimates, but this gives me a strategy so I don’t run short or have so much extra all of the time.
This is fantastic, I have to book mark it. I also really love the visual with the colors and clean look of your blog.
SUPER helpful! Thanks so much. 🙂
Thank you for the calculation tutorial. I am very grateful for your efforts and time.
As I live in Australia, this comes in handy as I have a mountain of wool and cottons to use up and until now have been finding it difficult to work out the ply etc to do your patterns. Thank you for this page.
Have to bookmark this one! Your instructions are so gorgeous – so easy to read and understand.
Great idea!
And a perfect reason to dig up (and modify) the program I’ve written to calculate the number of stitches in a pattern.
I love to read your blog. You have lots of wonderful ideas and very helpful. I am very new to crochet. Can you please tell me what it means by “inches per stitch”? What is the stitch? Sorry if I sound ignorant but if I don’t ask I will never know!! Thanks for your help. Connie (Perth Australia)
Hi Connie!
When you crochet, each single crochet (double crochet in British English) uses a certain amount of yarn. The chart is a listing of how much yarn that stitch will use!
Thanks Stacey! 🙂
Is this calculation for sc (British dc) only? Meaning that adjustments need to be made for hdc, dc and tblc?
Actually, this calculation is only for *my crocheting of an sc*. You will need to do your own calculations not only for the other stitches, but for your own gauge! This is just an example 🙂
Does this go for any pattern? I’ve got one that doesn’t tell you stitch number at the end of each row or the number of rows you will end on. Just measurements in inches.
It also isn’t solely sc either.
These measurements are only representing my single crochet stitches… for an accurate measurement, you would want to calculate these measurements for your particular gauge, as everyone crochets differently. You would need to do the same thing for each type of stitch you want to use.
If your pattern doesn’t tell you the number of stitches at the end of each row, then that is something you need to calculate to use this technique.
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Hi! There’s a typo in the post – under the “how to calculate” section you have “multiply the number of stitches in your pattern by the number of stitches each stitch uses.” instead of “the number of inches each stitch uses.”
Thank you for pointing that out! I’ll fix it right away!
Im trying to figure out how much crochet thread I will need for a filet crochet project. The only instructions on the graph is 85 X 61. This is blocks. I am using size 10 crochet thread. Do you know approximately how much thread I will need? Thank you for your help
You’ll have to crochet a swatch and count the number of stitches!
Does this calculation also work for knitters?
Only if you’re using the same stitch throughout your project – since it depends on first measuring the amount of yarn used in one stitch.
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HELP! I’m using Bernat blanket yarn. Doing a single crochet stitch. A 200 gram ball is approximately 220 yards. I’m using a US M13/9.00mm Susan Bates hook. I’m trying to figure out how much yarn I’d need for a family sized blanket that is around six feet wide and nine feet long. How do I figure this out? Because my stitches look small!
Any chance we could have this in cm please. Ta
I’m just learning to crochet. I find this very simple and helpful, especially the pictures. But I don’t understand your comment “the thicker the yarn (and the bigger the hook), the more yarn you’ll need.”
It seems like that doesn’t really account for the fact that one stitch in the 2.75″ example is many times bigger than one stitch using 1″ per stitch. So if using large hook and yarn, you use more yarn for each stitch, but a lot fewer stitches for the same area. You might need 10 small stitches to make the same area as one huge stitch. Right?
Sorry I’m new and a little nerdy… I’m thinking in terms of equations ;-0
Total yarn = (yarn per stitch) x (# stitches per square inch) x (total dimension in square inches)
Does that work out right or am I missing something? Or is it best to use a pattern where you can figure the number of stitches that way instead of by making a small swatch? I’m not using patterns, just playing around with stitches I like so far.
I’m also wondering in general does chunky yarn use more or less than thin yarn for the same size project (say, a 60″ square blanket)?
Thanks!
If you’re making a blanket, then yes, you would use fewer stitches for the same area. But if you’re making a stuffed animal (which is mostly what we do here at Shiny Happy World) you use the same number of stitches and get a larger animal. So you can adjust the size of the finished softie by following the pattern just the same, but using thicker or thinner yarn.
Is there a version for knitting
Not that I know of – but you could use the same method to calculate it for a specific knitting project.
Great tip. This is something that I always struggle with. So, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge 🙏
Shall try for my next project.
Hi,
In every pattern I found for a long knitted tunic there wasn’t number of sts on the end. So… As I’m not a quitter 🙂 I try by half of yours and half of mine way 🙂
I measured myself and decided that sleaves will be 60x50cm (x2) and body of project front part will be 2x(30x100cm) and back part will be 60x100cm. As gauge of my chosen yarn is 16sts per 10cm(4″), I put a drawings on a paper and calculated how many 10×10 squares have my project. And… drum roll 🙂 … My calculation is that for my project I need 1.316,736 meter of chosen yarn and in skein that will be 11,5 skein, rounded to 12.
Am I calculated ok or?
p.s. english is not my born language, I’m from Croatia, so sorry for language mistakes 🙂
how many chain stitches do I need to make a queen size blanket
and and a twin blanket.
It depends on the size of your yarn and your hook and the stitch you’re using. Your pattern should tell you how many chains you need to start with.
I think you can chain 210 for a queen size and A twin size I messaged across my lap
you are such a clever lady Stacey!
Thank you so much for helping me work out how much yarn I will need. I am new to knitting and bought a pattern but it wasn’t terribly informative. Now I can buy my wool and get start it
Could you help me calculate how many yards I will likely need?? I will be using red heart #4 weight, an H size hook, and the moss stitch. Making a standard king size blanket, but dont know if she wants overhang or not. The king is 76″x80″, and with overhang I would add 8″ to the width and 4″ to the length, so 80″x88″. Thank you!
Question: wouldn’t your amount of yarn needed change depending on hook size? For example, using dk weight with a 1.75 hook instead of 3.5 hook as stated in your article? Thanks.
Definitely! That’s why the hook AND yarn size is included in the chart. But the chart is just an approximation based on one person’s crochet technique. The exact yarn, hook and tension YOU use when you stitch is also important. That’s why we include the link to this post (https://www.shinyhappyworld.com/2014/04/how-to-measure-yarn.html) showing how to measure how much yarn YOU use in each stitch.
Very helpful before starting a big blanket, thank you!
Hi, this is so helpful! Thank you! Does this count for Tunisian crochet too? Or is that a while other ball game? Lol
Sorry – I don’t do Tunisian crochet or know much about it so I’m not sure.
Sorry I think I’m being really thick! To work out how much yarn per stitch, I make a stitch, then undo it and measure how much yarn I have used? I think I have got confused with the pictures of a round and originally thought I was measuring across the width of the round.