A Simple Way to Estimate Yarn
Requirements
Have you ever found an AMAZING yarn and decided to make a
sweater out of it only to sit and ponder if you’ll have enough yardage then
eventually decide not to get it because you just don’t know? If you have, I can
relate. Today I am going to share with you a few simple ways to estimate the
amount of yarn you’ll need for your next sweater project! Be glad, the days of
the unknown yardage requirements are over!
Realistically speaking I don’t know of any simple ways to
estimate yarn requirements, they all involve a good deal of math. However I do
have some suggestions for methods that I use all the time to figure out how
much yarn I’ll need to make a sweater.
The first resource I want to introduce you to is the yardage
calculator over at Jimmy Bean’s Wool. Just head over to the Jimmy Beans WoolCalculator and choose what kind of project, what size and
the weight of the yarn you’ll be using. Then it does all the math you would
need to do - instantly! Brilliant! This seriously makes things so easy! It is
certainly worth taking a look at, especially if you do a lot of your yarn
shopping online and need a quick place to find your necessary yardage. Another
great way to use this tool is if you tend to use one weight of yarn fairly
often, just take a minute and go calculate the yardage for the types of
projects you like to knit. Take the numbers you come up with, write them down
in your phone or on a piece of paper and put it in your purse or wallet so it
is there when you need it.
Another great estimating tool I like to use is the Yarn
Estimator App (for those of you will smartphones). This app is $.99 but believe
me, it is a dollar well spent. The Yarn Estimator app calculates how much yarn
you’ll need for knitting (and crochet) projects and it also has the ability to
calculate how much yarn actually went into your finished project and how much
is left over. That may seem like a trivial detail but if you know exactly how much
yarn you have left it is easier to use it for small “stash busting” projects.
The last method I use for estimating yardage is finding a
pattern that is similar to the project I plan on making in a yarn like the one
I’m interested in and get a general idea from that pattern for about how much
yardage I’ll need for my size.
If you’d like to learn more about estimating yardage and all
of the other details that go into preparing to knit a sweater, download our
free Sweater Planning Guide. This guide covers everything from choosing a
suitable yarn to getting gauge and accurate body measurements. And did I
mention that it’s free?!
This guest post is part of the 30 Day Sweater Challenge promo
tour. Join us this October as we help 5,000 knitters around the world knit a
sweater they’ll love, in 30 days. To sign up just visit http://30daysweater.com/delusional
and download your free sweater planning guide. It will help you get started on
the right track! See you in October!
