How do you figure the yardage used in a finished crocheted or knit project, you ask? Well I think I’ve finally figured out how to figure this out. If you have the label of the yarn that was used, you can find the weight of the skein and how many yards are on the skein.
This yarn label, for instance, shows that the yarn weighs 3.5 ounces (100 grams) and there is 104 yards.
If you don’t have the label or know what kind of yarn you have, there is a way to calculate the yardage, read Determining Yarn Yardage from an Unlabeled Skein. A digital postal scale works well for weighing the yarn.
Yards divided by Ounces = Yards Per Ounce
Using the formula above and the information from our label, I calculated 104 divided by 3.5 = 29.71.
How much yarn did I use?
I used the number from the above calculation, multiplied by the weight of my finished project, and got the answer! The Basic Chunky Cowl weighs 4.6 ounces (see pattern here). The yarn used has 29.71 yards per ounce, so I can multiply 4.6 times 29.71 to come up with 136.67 yards to crochet this cowl.
This Ear Warmer Headband weighs 1.2 ounces. This multiplied by 29.71 = 35.65 yards.
I have this much yarn left. This little ball weighs 1.1 ounce, multiplied by 29.71 = 32.68 yards. Now I know that I don’t have quite enough yarn to make another headband, unless I made it a little narrower. Or I could make a flower for the headband, or a small heart, or put it in my bag of yarn ends until I figure out how I might use it! Hope this helps!
