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The Crochet Crowd

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Yarn Substitution Calculator

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Yarn Substitution Calculator
Yarn Substitution Calculator

How Much Yarn Will You Need?

Many crocheters substitute yarns all the time but are unsure how to calculate it.

For this calculator, you need to know the following to enter into the spots:

  • On the pattern How many balls of yarn does it require? Separate by colour if you have multiple colours to get an accurate answer. 
  • The pattern tells you which yarn to use. Tell me how many yards are on that recommended ball. If you don't know that, find the yarn makers website and look up the yarn. Most makers of yarn has that information published.
  • Now look at the ball that you want to change the yarn too. Tell me how many yards is on that ball?

The calculator will calculate the following:

  • It will tell me how many yards the project requires by using the yardage on the suggested yarn and multiplying by the number of balls required.
  • It will then factor in the new yardage on the ball you want to change to. It will cross compare the yardage and give you the ball count you need.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andrea says

    September 14, 2014 at 4:05 pm

    I am wondering how much yarn i will need for a border on an afghan that i made. Do you have a magic tool for that?

    Reply
  2. Nancy Davies says

    July 09, 2014 at 2:24 am

    Reading your articles about yarnaholics and hoarders has got me thinking. I looked around and ... OMG !!! I AM ONE. !!!
    Now. My question is -- is there somewhere I could look to answer the question "what can I make with, say 600 yds of something"? Or what kind of shawl can I make with 600 yds? How about a database where we can plug in how many yds we have and what we can make WITHOUT going out to buy enough to make something? Of course, I could just make a jillion squares and spend the rest of my life connecting them into afghans ... And, oh yes, I do have a pile of squares waiting to be connected. Maybe 400 or so? Help ?!?

    Reply
    • chiggins says

      July 15, 2014 at 9:12 pm

      http://www.ravelry.com has a search feature that allows you to choose from all sorts of criteria for patterns. Some of them are yardage, colorways, hook size, yarn weight, etc. You also have many choices for what type of article you are wanting to make, such as shawl, sweater, various baby items, toys, afghans, etc.

      Reply
  3. Mikey, The Crochet Crowd says

    June 09, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    I had a system failure... The calculator was unavailable for a bit... It's now back up and running.

    Reply
    • Ellen McClary says

      June 13, 2014 at 12:28 am

      Genius!! Thank You!!!

      Reply
    • lishap16 says

      July 21, 2014 at 12:27 am

      I have a question Mikey! I have 2 skeins of Red Heart Pink Camo, and I'd like to calculate how big the blanket should be. I don't want to make it too big and have to search for the same lot # for more yarn. The calculator here is, I guess sort of confusing to me, math was NEVER my favorite or strong course! LOL! Can you help me figure this out? Oh, it's for an 18 month old and I want to use the C2C pattern. Guess that's important info to have, lol! Thank you Mikey, for any help you or ANYONE can offer!

      Reply
      • Belinda Sziber says

        November 10, 2015 at 9:28 pm

        I was just looking for the same exact answer for the same blanket with the same yarn...LOL

      • happyhker says

        August 21, 2016 at 1:07 am

        hi lishap crochet until u use half your wool and then decrease or if u want to edge it go a few rows less and then decrease .yeah I know still diceing with the drama of enough to edge or use a contrasting colour and edge in it

    • Eva Lee Henley says

      February 09, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      I can't pull uP the calculator

      Reply
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