YARN CALCULATOR

Instructions! Read First!

Unsure of how much yarn you have or need? Use the calculators below to convert between weight and yardage. Patterns should always inform you of the length of yarn needed for the pattern, either in yards or meters. However, you will notice that it is rather hard to measure the length of yarn you have left in a skein, or that you have already crocheted into an item, but never fear! You can easily weigh your yarn or crocheted item, and convert the weight to a length, using a few simple steps! If you’re unsure of how to use the calculators or you want to understand them better, read through the instructions further down the page.

Step 1 Instructions: Length per Weight

First things first, each yarn, even yarns of the same “weight” (worsted, DK, sock, etc.), will have a slightly different weight per yard due to the thickness of the yarn and the yarn material. The label on the yarn will almost always give you the two pieces of information needed for your calculations. The first is the total length (in yards or meters). This is the length of yarn that is expected to be in the skein when it was manufactured. The second is the total weight (in grams (g) or ounces (oz)). This is the expected weight of the length of yarn in the skein when it was manufactured. What we need to do, is calculate the length per weight of the yarn using the length and weight from the label. To find the length per weight, we divide the total length in yards by the total weight in grams (use the first calculator). A worsted weight yarn should be 1.7-2.3 yards per gram. If you don’t have a label or if the label does not provide this information, cut a 1 yard piece of yarn and weigh it on a scale that can measure with a precision of tenths of a gram (0.1 gram). Now your total length is 1 yard and your total weight is measured on the scale in grams. As above, divide the length by the weight to determine the length per weight of the yarn (use the first calculator). You only need to do this step once for a given yarn as it will not change over time. Once you have the length per weight of a yarn, record it for use whenever you use this yarn.

(Note: The calculators use length in yards, but if you’re used to using meters, I have separate calculators below to convert meters to yards and yards to meters.)

(Note: The calculators use weight in grams, but if you’re used to using ounces, I have separate calculators below to convert ounces to grams and grams to ounces.)

Step 2 Instructions: Yarn Length

Now that you know the length per weight of your yarn, you can use it in the second calculator to convert the weight of your yarn to a length in yards. Weigh your yarn or crocheted item using a small scale that can measure in tenths of a gram and enter the resulting weight in grams into the second calculator. Then enter the length per weight from the first calculator into the Yarn Length per Gram field below and click Calculate. This can be done with skeins of yarn or crocheted pieces and it will still work!

Note: If you added stuffing, eyes, wire, etc to your crocheted piece, the weight of those items would need to be subtracted from the piece weight before entering the yarn weight in the calculator in order to get an accurate yarn length measurement.

Note: If you are crocheting onto another piece, you can weigh your skein before you start crocheting the piece and weigh the skein again at the end. The difference in weight from start to end is the weight of yarn that went into the crocheted piece. You could also weigh the piece that you are going to crochet onto before and after; again, the difference in weight from start to end is the weight of yarn that went into the crocheted piece.

Unit Conversions

Use the calculators below to convert units such as yards and meters or grams and ounces.