Yarn Yardage Estimator for Knitting Projects

Knitting patterns always list a yarn amount in yards or meters, but those numbers apply to a specific yarn weight and needle size.
If you are substituting a different weight, or scaling a pattern to a different size, you need to recalculate.

This calculator estimates how many yards you need for common project types.
The baseline figures come from averaging hundreds of finished-object posts and published pattern requirements, then adjusting by yarn weight and size.
They are solid starting points, not guarantees. Your personal tension and the pattern structure both affect how much yarn each stitch consumes.

Base yardage assumes worsted weight (roughly 200 yards per 100g skein).
Finer yarn — DK, sport, fingering — has more yards packed into each gram, but each stitch also covers less area, so you end up needing more total yards for the same project.
Bulky and super bulky yarn is the opposite: each stitch covers fabric quickly, and you need far fewer yards.

A quick mental rule: going down one weight class (say, worsted to DK) multiplies yardage by about 1.3.
Going up one class (worsted to bulky) multiplies by about 0.65.

For wearable projects like sweaters, always add 15-20% to the estimate.
Dye lots matter. If you run short and the store is out of your lot, the next skein will be slightly different — visible after blocking.
Buying an extra skein and returning it costs nothing. Ripping out a finished sleeve does.

For colorwork or cables, add another 10-20% on top of whatever this calculator gives you.
Cables pull in the fabric horizontally; carrying floats in colorwork adds bulk.
Both eat yarn faster than plain stockinette, and patterns notoriously underestimate the extra amount.

For hats, socks, and mittens, the estimate is fairly reliable since those items are standardized.
For sweaters and blankets, treat the number as a floor, not a ceiling.