Hey there! Remember when I made that TikTok about how much yarn you need for a blanket? Yeah, finding those videos later can be such a pain, right? So, I wrote a blog post about it! This way, if anyone asks again, I can just send them to the post.
First up, let’s chat about how much yarn you need for amigurumi. Ever wondered how to figure that out?
How much yarn do I need for amigurumi?
Read the Pattern First (Yes, Before Buying Yarn!)
This might seem obvious and a little ridiculous, but many, especially crocheters new to amigurumi, don’t know that creators often say how much yarn you need to create and finish your amigurumi. So the first thing that you can do is go to the source, and that is the pattern description on Etsy or on the blog.
Most designers, not all, will tell you the exact type and weight of yarn used, how many grams or meters they used in total, what hook size they used, and whether it’s a one-colour or multi-colour project.
I typically provide rough estimates on the amount of yarn of each colour I used. These amounts are often higher than what I actually needed, as I’ve had issues in the past where people say they didn’t have enough yarn despite following my instructions. This made me realize that, despite using the same yarn and hook, the tension in your work significantly affects yarn usage.
Tighter tension results in less yarn being used, while looser tension leads to more yarn being used.
Check the Yarn Label
If you’re going to use the same weight of yarn as the pattern, you’re good to go. But when you want to use a different weight. For example, if the pattern is made with acrylic yarn and you want to use plush yarn, you’ll have to look at the yarn label to figure out how much yarn you will need to complete the amigurumi.
Let’s say, for example, the yarn used in the pattern is acrylic. The designer said they needed 60g of the acrylic yarn to finish the pattern. To find out how much yarn you need in the plush yarn, you need to look at the meters/yards available on the skein, because yarn can weigh the same, but the amount of meters/yards on the skein will change drastically.
Usually, the designer of the pattern would state in their pattern or description what yarn brand they used to make the amigurumi. If they only said how many grams they used and haven’t included the meters/yards, you can simply just Google the yarn brand and find out how many meters/yards are on one skein.
Let’s say you find the brand and it says 100g with approx. 230m/251y. You can look at your skein of plush yarn, it could be, for example, 100g with 102m/111y. To work out how much yarn you’ll need, you’ll have to do a little math.
The designer said they used 60g. To find out how many meters/yards that is, you’ll have to divide the meters/yards by the weight of the yarn.
230 ÷ 100 = 2.3m (each gram is 2.3m). Now to find out how much is in 60g, you will multiply: 2.3m x 60g = 138m. You can do the same calculation with yards.
Now you know that the designer used 138m of yarn to create the amigurumi.
Going back to your plush yarn, which we said is only 102m per skein, you will need 36m more to complete the amigurumi. So in the end, you’ll have to buy two skeins of the plush yarn to complete the amigurumi.
Amigurumi often uses less yarn than you think
If you have a pattern you want to make and there is no indication of the yarn usage, you’ll have to play the guessing game, but amigurumi often takes less yarn than you think. If you’re going to use a yarn like double knit (light worsted weight yarn) or chunky (worsted weight yarn), you’ll probably end up using less than one skein, depending on the detail and size of the amigurumi.
Most amigurumi patterns, especially those trending today, will use less than 200m/218y of yarn because most patterns are small, simple, and non-sewing. I would say, in my personal opinion, if you’re using yarn that has less than 120m/131y, always buy one extra. The first time you might have some yarn left, but then at least you would know next time how much you’ll need if you want to remake that amigurumi.
How much yarn would you need to make a blanket?
When it comes to blankets, determining the amount of yarn needed is fairly straightforward, especially since we often create a blanket without a pattern. Typically, we grab our hooks and use simple stitches such as the moss stitch, granny square, or corner-to-corner techniques to make one. But how do we know how much yarn we will need to make a specific size blanket?
Make a gauge swatch
A gauge is a piece of fabric that you knit or crochet; it’s a square that is typically 4 inches x 4 inches (10 cm x 10 cm). You use this to measure out how many stitches and rows you will need to get the project to a desired size. You can also use this to find out how much yarn you will need to make your blanket.
Step 1:
Crochet a 10cm x 10cm square using the same hook size and stitch pattern you plan to use for the full blanket. This is important because different stitches use up different amounts of yarn.
Step 2:
Using a kitchen scale, you would want to weigh the swatch you’ve just created. Let’s say it weighs 8g.
Step 3:
Work out how many of those squares will fit into your full blanket
Let’s say you want your blanket to be 200cm x 200cm. That’s 20 rows of 10cm blocks by 20 columns = 400 squares total.
Step 4:
Multiply the weight of one square by the number of 10 cm x 10 cm squares you’ll need to make this blanket.
8g x 400 squares = 3200g
So, you’ll need about 3200g of yarn to complete a 200cm x 200cm blanket using that stitch pattern and tension.
How many skeins will that be? For this answer, you’ll have to look at the yarn label; it will mention how many grams each skein is. If it’s 100g, you will need 32 skeins. If it is 300g, you’ll need 11 skeins, because the divided number is 10.6, and you always round it off to the bigger number.
If you’re going to add a border, you’ll have to crochet the border around the swatch to ensure that you have enough yarn to complete the blanket and the border.
You are ready for your next project!
Figuring out how much yarn you need might seem tricky at first, but trust me, after a couple of tries, it becomes easy. I hope this post helped you, and soon you’ll be calculating yarn for your projects without stress.
Remember to check yarn labels, do a quick swatch if needed, and don’t shy away from a little math. It’ll save you time, money, and a lot of headaches.
Happy Crocheting! Love, Yarn Over with Natasha
