Have you ever finished a crochet project and wondered how much yarn have you used? Did you wish there’s was an easy way to calculate how much yardage a finished object has?
Well, there is, and you are going to find out today.
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The information below are going to be very useful if you are an active pattern tester, an aspiring designer, or you just want to know exactly how much of your stash yarn you have used.
There are actually a couple of ways to calculate how much yardage you have used in a project. The second one needs a little foresight on your behalf, while the first can be done when you just have finished your project.
The second method is a little more nerdy and it’s better used from designers that want to get the most accurate yardage they can. Still, not difficult at all, it just requires a few extra steps.
Gather all essentials
For both methods you are going to need a calculator, a scale, and something to keep notes. Your kitchen scale and favorite notebook (or your phone) will do.
It requires just a little bit of math but don’t let this scare you. It’s very basic stuff and I am going to walk you through.
I will be referring in meters and grams because that’s what I am using but you can use whatever metric system makes sense to you.
How to calculate yardage of a finished project: Method 1, the easy and no fuss way
Take out your scale and weigh your final project. If it’s quite big, like a baby blanket, find a big bowl to squeeze your project inside. Don’t let half of your project flop out of the scale. Your measurements won’t be accurate.
If you use a bowl remember to place the scale back in zero before you put your project in, or note the weight of the bowl and subtract it later.
Your project’s final weight is going to be (A). Make sure that your projects doesn’t have any add-ons, like buttons or zippers before you put in your scale.
Now, hopefully you have kept the yarn label. If not, you probably can find these information online.
Take note of the meterage (B) and the grams of each skein ( C ).
Multiply the final project’s weight (A) by the yardage of the skein (B), and then divide by the grams of the skein (C).
Let’s see an example with numbers:
If you made a crochet hat that weight 57 grams (A) and your yarn label states that it has 96 meters (B) per 100 grams ( C ), then 57×96= 5.472. Divide this number by the grams of the skein and you will have you final number. So, 5.472/100= 54.72, which means you have used approximately 55 meters of yarn to make your hat.
Wasn’t that easy? You can actually do it in no time!
Calculating how much yarn you used: step by step instructions
- Weigh your project.
- Write down the meterage and grams or ounces from the yarn label.
- Multiply the weight of your project by the meterage of the skein and then divide by the grams or ounces.
- The final number is how much yarn you have used in your project.
Remember to use only the imperial or the metric system in your calculations. Don’t ever mix those two, your results will be incorrect.
How to calculate yardage: Method 2 if you are a designer
Before, and I state this again, before you start your project, gather all the yarn you believe/the pattern states you are going to use.
Remove the yarn labels. Weight the yarn (A) and write it down in your favorite notebook, your phone, anywhere that’s going to be safe and you will able to access it later on. Keep those labels safe, too.
Then, proceed with making the project. Once you have finished and preferably before you weave in and cut your ends (for more nerdy accuracy), weight your project (B) and write it down. If your project requires buttons, zippers or anything other than yarn, weigh your project before you add those.
Then the yarn labels come in handy. Note the meterage (C) and grams (D) of each skein.
Multiply the original weight (A) by the meterage of each skein ( C ) , and then divide by the grams of each skein (D). This will give the accurate meterage you are starting with (E).
To find out how much yarn you have used multiply the final project weight (B) by the actual meterage you had (E), and then divide by the total grams you had in the first place (A).
Let’s see an example with numbers:
You have to make a baby blanket and you will use 6 skeins of super bulky yarn. You already know that each skein is 100 grams, but still you remove the labels and weigh them for accuracy. Let’s say that all 6 skeins are 607 grams.
You already know that 100 grams is 96 meters from what the manufacturer states in the label. But sometimes there is just a little more/little less in each skein of yarn.
So since you know that all skeins is 607 grams, and if 100 grams is 96 meters then 607 grams is 582.72. The way to calculate this number is by multiplying the final skein grams (607) with the meterage of each skein (96), and then divide by the grams of each skein (100). You round that number to the closest whole number which is 583.
If you just went with the yarn label you would know that you had 576 meters, because 6×96= 576. But you actually have 583 meters to begin with. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but it depends on how big or small your project is and how accurate you want to be with your yardage used.
Go ahead and make the blanket. You weigh the final result and the blanket is 564 grams.
So, multiply the final project weight (564) by the actual meterage you had in the beginning (583) and then divide by the yarn weight (607). This gives you the final meterage of 541,70, or around 542 meters of yarn used in your project.
How cool is that? Yes, it takes a few extra steps. Yes, it might be a small difference from if you just followed method 1, but to some of us it will be so worthy if you have to publish a new pattern to the world.
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Which method are you going to use to calculate the yardage of your finished project? Method 1 or method 2?