How Much Yarn Do I Need?

• Hat Pattern
• Afghan Pattern
• Sweater Pattern
• Scarf Pattern
• Mittens Pattern
• Socks Pattern

Hats are some of the more universal kinds of knitting patterns. There isn't that much variation in terms of size, although if you're curious about recommended sizes and cast on numbers, be sure to check out our how to guide for casting on stitches for a hat.

Most hat patterns (including for adults) only require one skein of yarn or possibly two. When you're doing your yarn shopping, here are the yardage estimations to keep in mind based on yarn weight:

When calculating the amount of yarn that you'll need for an afghan, you're going to run into some of the same problems that you would if you're doing the math for a scarf or a shawl. There are many different factors that go into the amount of yarn that you'll ultimately need, and it really comes down to the final size of the project.

Most afghan patterns are going to give you the information about the amount of yarn you will need in the list of notions, but if they don't, the factors you will need to consider are the dimensions of the blanket, the stitch or stitches used, the needle size recommended, and the weight of the yarn that the pattern calls for.

The process of designing and hand knitting a sweater is already an odyssey of mathematics even before you get to the yarn buying process. For the most part, any sweater pattern worth its salt will tell you all of the information you should need -- the type of yarn used, the weight of yarn, the knitting needle size(s), the gauge, and the yardage.

If you're not that lucky, here are some general guidelines for how much yarn you should buy for a sweater. And remember, if you aren't sure of exact yardage, it's always better to round up.

Calculating yardage of yarn for a scarf pattern is particularly tricky because the sizes of scarves aren't as standard as they are with other garment types. Infinity scarves tend to use much less yarn super scarves, for example. And cowls, which could be considered a subcategory of scarves, use even less yarn!

Luckily, most patterns like this will give you a rough estimate of the yardage needed for that pattern. Alternatively, scarf patterns commonly use specific brands and lines of yarn to get an intended look and will, thus, list the yarn and number of skeins required in the pattern itself.

If you're not so lucky to have that listed, here are some rough ranges for how much yarn you'll need for a scarf:

Mittens are a fan favorite knitted garment of AllFreeKnitting readers for a good reason -- they're so much fun to knit, and they're pretty easy, too! If you've never browsed our cowl patterns, we definitely recommend you give one a try. Luckily, they're all mostly the same size, which makes calculating the amount of yarn you'll need pretty straightforward.

There are different sizes of mittens out there, but really the things that will make the biggest difference with this are the stitch used and the weight of yarn that the pattern calls for.

Some knitters are sock knitting fiends. They're portable, easy to work, and they make great gifts, so it's no wonder that sock patterns are so popular with knitters. The thing about calculating yarn lengths for socks, however, is that most heavier weights of yarn don't lend themselves well to such fine garments. These patterns also often call for intricate colorwork designs that can drastically change the amount of yarn required for them.

Want to save these handy charts for the next time you need to calculate yarn? We've compiled them into this handy infographic below. Download and print it to keep it around for your next project!

Download This Chart