Why Yarn Estimation Matters
Running out of yarn mid-project is every crafter's nightmare. Different dye lots can create visible color shifts in your finished piece, and buying too much wastes money. The good news is that estimating yarn is straightforward once you understand the variables: project size, yarn weight, and stitch pattern.
The three factors that determine yarn usage are surface area (how big is the project), yarn weight (thicker yarn covers more area per yard but also weighs more per yard), and stitch pattern (cables and brioche eat significantly more yarn than stockinette or single crochet).
Yardage by Project Type
Here are general yardage ranges for worsted weight yarn (#4):
Scarves typically need 200–400 yards. A standard 6-inch-wide, 60-inch-long scarf in stockinette takes about 250 yards. Cable or brioche scarves need 300–400.
Hats need 150–250 yards for adults, 80–150 for children. Bulky yarn hats use less yardage but more weight.
Baby blankets (36×52 inches) need 900–1,400 yards. Throw blankets (50×60 inches) need 1,200–2,000 yards. Queen bed blankets can require 3,000–4,500 yards.
Adult sweaters range from 1,000–1,800 yards depending on size and design. Cardigans need 200–400 yards more than pullovers. Socks typically need 350–450 yards per pair.
How Yarn Weight Affects Yardage
Thinner yarn needs more yardage to cover the same area because each stitch is smaller. A throw blanket in fingering weight might need 3,000+ yards, while the same blanket in super bulky needs only 600–800 yards.
However, thinner yarn has more yards per skein (a fingering weight skein might have 400+ yards vs. 100 yards for super bulky), so the number of skeins doesn't always increase proportionally.
The trade-off is time: a fingering weight blanket takes significantly longer to knit or crochet than a super bulky one.
Stitch Pattern Multipliers
Not all stitches use the same amount of yarn. Here's how common patterns compare to basic stockinette/single crochet:
Stockinette and single crochet are the baseline (1x). Garter stitch and half double crochet use about the same. Seed stitch and moss stitch use about 5% more.
Ribbing uses 5–10% more because the fabric compresses horizontally. Cables use 20–30% more because each cable crossing pulls extra yarn to the front. Brioche and fisherman's rib use 40–50% more because you're essentially knitting every row twice. Lace typically uses 10–15% less because of the yarn-over holes.
The Golden Rule: Always Buy Extra
Even with a perfect calculation, buy one extra skein from the same dye lot. Yarn from different dye lots — even the same color number — can have subtle shade differences that become visible in your finished piece.
Most yarn shops will let you return unused skeins within a reasonable timeframe, so there's no downside to buying one extra.
Our Yarn Yardage Calculator handles all of these variables automatically. Enter your project type, dimensions, yarn weight, and stitch pattern, and it calculates exact yardage with a 10% safety buffer built in.