A good project is all about planning! Running out of materials halfway through or finding out that a project is going to be a LOT more expensive than you originally budgeted for is no fun. That’s why in this article we’ll be talking about crochet blanket sizes and how much yarn you will need for them.
Crochet Blanket Sizes Guide
| Lovey | 12″x12″ |
| Stroller | 35″x30″ |
| Receiving | 40″x40″ |
| Baby | 52″x42″ |
| Throw | 60″x52″ |
| Twin | 90″x66″ |
| Queen/Full | 90″x90″ |
| King | 108″x108″ |
How Do You Know How Much Yarn You Need?
Estimating the amount of yarn you need for a project is not as easy as just picking out a number of skeins from the craft shop. In order to truly know how many skeins you’ll need for the project you’ll need to do some detective work.
Create A 10″ x10″ Swatch
Creating a sample size of your full project is the best way to know for certain how much yarn you need. Create the swatch using the same yarn and hook size you plan to use for the real project. This will give you an accurate representation of the finished piece to make your calculations.
Using a yarn type and hook size that’s different from the finished project will throw off your numbers. So, make sure you don’t switch anything out to avoid head scratching and frustration later.
Get Out The Food Scale
Using a food scale, measure your swatch to see how much the weight of the yarn is. Write down the weight in grams.
Compare It To The Yarn Label
Pull out the label of the yarn you used and find the weight which should be measured on the packaging.
Calculating Your Yarn Usage
Assuming that our swatch weighs 0.44 ounces, the skein weighs 10.54 ounces, and the length of the skein is 241 yards – we get the below calculations. Please keep in mind that the below table can provide a rough estimate, but you’ll need to use the calculator yourself and create your own swatch for accurate measurements.
As you can see from the above print out from our project, we get total needed yardage and estimated number of skeins for each of the blanket sizes in our chart based on the numbers highlighted above.
Remember, your numbers will be different depending on your personal sample and yarn type. Want to try the calculator for yourself? Find it here at Easy Crochet.
Why Do I Need To Create A Swatch and Weigh It?
The reason you need to weigh the swatch is that there are a LOT of factors which go into how much yarn is needed for a project. Weighing is the best way to make sure your calculations will turn out right. Here are the factors which impact how much yarn you need.
Project Size
This is a well, yeah, DUH! Kind of moment, but project size impacts how many skeins you need. However, you may be surprised at just HOW MUCH yarn it takes to make a large project. Being off on your calculations could put you way over budget or in over your head.
Yarn Weight
Yarn weight is also an important factor. Higher weight yarn requires fewer skeins than lighter weight yarn. That’s why you can’t just switch out yarn types for a project without recalculating how much you need.
Stitch Type
Different stitches will impact the way the blanket is made. A bobble stitch uses a lot more yarn than single crochet, and you should be aware of whether or not your stitches will use more yarn – as it adds up quick.
Crochet Hook Sizes
Different size hooks make different patterns. For example, a large hook will make a blanket with large holes in it and a smaller hook will make a denser blanket, using more yarn to fill those holes.
Tension and Gauge
The tension and gauge for the pattern you are crocheting also matter. This allows for more or less space between your stitches, and that obviously impacts the number of skeins required too.
Barb, our resident quilter and embroidery aficionado, weaves a thread of creativity through our collection. Serving as the curator of machine embroidery content, Barb infuses each design with a touch of her artistic expertise. The free embroidery patterns you discover on our site often bear the mark of Barb’s craftsmanship. Let’s get crafting!
