Crochet Yarn Calculator

Crochet vs knitting yarn usage

Crochet typically uses 25–30% more yarn than knitting for the same finished dimensions. This is because crochet stitches are taller and use more yarn per stitch than comparable knitting stitches. This is an important consideration when substituting yarn between knitting and crochet patterns.

Yarn weight categories

Yarn weight determines how thick the yarn is and directly affects how much length is on each skein (thicker yarn = fewer meters per 100g):

• Lace / Fingering (weight 0–1): Very thin. 350–500+ m per 100g.
• Sport / DK (weight 2–3): Light. 200–350 m per 100g.
• Worsted / Aran (weight 4): Medium, most common. 150–200 m per 100g.
• Bulky (weight 5–6): Thick. 80–150 m per 100g.
• Super Bulky (weight 7): Very thick. Under 80 m per 100g.

Project yarn requirements (approximate)

These estimates are for average gauge and standard project sizes. Always buy 10–15% extra as a safety buffer — dye lots vary between skeins, and running out mid-project means you may not find an exact colour match.

• Baby blanket (90 × 90 cm): 800–1,200 m worsted; 400–600 m bulky
• Throw blanket (120 × 150 cm): 1,500–2,500 m worsted; 800–1,200 m bulky
• Scarf (180 cm long): 200–350 m worsted
• Beanie hat (adult): 100–150 m worsted; 60–80 m bulky
• Sweater (adult M): 900–1,400 m worsted
• Amigurumi (medium, 15 cm): 60–100 m worsted

Metres change, weight barely does

Here is the thing that surprises people the first time they substitute yarn. Switch a baby blanket from worsted to super bulky and the length collapses from about 1,000 metres to 350, but the weight stays around 540 grams either way. That is not a coincidence: the blanket is the same size and made of the same fibre, so it contains the same amount of wool. All you changed was how that wool is distributed along its length.

Which means the useful number when you are standing in the shop is grams, not metres. Metres tell you almost nothing across different yarn weights. Grams tell you how many balls to put in the basket, and the calculator gives you both plus the ball count itself.

Buy the whole lot at once

Yarn is sold in 50 g and 100 g balls, and the dye lot number is printed on the band. Two balls of the same shade from different lots can be visibly different, and it shows most on exactly the large flat expanses where you would use several balls. Buy all of them together, check the lot numbers match, and keep one band so you can search for the lot if you do run short.

Swatch before you start

Crochet a 10 × 10 cm swatch with your chosen yarn and hook before committing. If your stitch count comes out 10% off the pattern’s gauge, your yarn requirement is off by roughly the same amount, and on a blanket that is a whole ball.