How much yarn is needed to make a blanket

How to estimate the yarn quantity needed?

Tips for buying yarn online without mistakes

One of the biggest questions when starting a handmade project is: “How much yarn do I need to make a blanket?”

There are some key factors to consider to avoid running out of yarn halfway through your project and ending up with mismatched dye lots or even different types of yarn! Surely, you’ve experienced the frustration of not being able to finish a project because you were just a bit short on yarn. But you don’t always have to buy a lot of extra yarn because THERE ARE METHODS TO AVOID RUNNING OUT MIDWAY!

How to avoid unfinished blankets

Today, online shopping is becoming more and more common, primarily because well-stocked yarn shops are disappearing, and those that remain are mostly in big cities, making it harder for those in smaller towns to find a good selection. Moreover, even shop owners have a limited stock of products, and unless they set aside a specific quantity (which would be commercially unwise), it will be impossible to find the same dye lot if you place another order weeks or even months later. But there’s a solution!

A well-organized website like Tessiland provides, for each skein, the exact quantity available for that specific dye lot. This makes it easy to decide whether to buy a few extra skeins if stock is low or purchase only what you need, knowing that there is plenty available:

Here’s an example of where to find the dye lot (blue circle) and stock availability (red circle).

By clicking on the product, you’ll access the detailed description.

In this case, we can see that the 3,408 skeins available on the site right now belong to dye lot 5573. With such a large stock, you can confidently buy only the necessary amount, start your project, and, if needed, order more later—thanks to free shipping on orders over €19, making it easy to top up your supply.

Try clicking on some of the most popular yarns and colors:

Pure Merino Wool Wool Blend Acrylic Cotton

How to calculate how much yarn I need?

The very first thing an expert would say is: YOU NEED TO MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH! Of course, we all know this, but we don’t always have the yarn we want to use on hand, making this the first obstacle.

However, we can still estimate based on experience, but where do we start?

First, it’s important to determine the type of blanket you want to make: a double bedspread, a single bed cover, a baby blanket, a stroller blanket, or a sofa throw...

Each of these projects requires different types of yarn, stitch patterns, and, of course, sizes! (See the size chart below).

Next, we choose the yarn: a double bed blanket, for example, can be made using a high-quality acrylic, while a baby blanket is best made with cotton for summer or pure shrink-resistant merino wool for winter.

Yarn required based on size

Let’s look at some practical calculations to make this article more functional.

Suppose we want to make a stroller blanket measuring 70x90 cm. We must also consider the stitch pattern (some structured stitches require more yarn than basic ones) and make some estimates.

If we choose a cotton yarn with these specifications: 50 g - 125 m - Recommended Needles 3-3.5 Crochet Hook 2.5-3

For this type of yarn (which has a similar consumption rate to pure merino wool 50 g - 145 m), we can estimate a consumption of about 250 g, increasing by 100 to 150 g if using a more yarn-consuming stitch.

This is just a guideline, but it’s a helpful reference for estimating your needs. What about other sizes?