July 10

Calculating Scrap Yarn Yardage ~ A Crochet Tutorial

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In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have balls of leftover scrap yarn. But most of us don’t get lucky enough ending a project at the very end of a skein. If you’re like me, you have a mountain of little scrap balls. These scraps normally don’t have enough yardage to make larger projects but have just enough yardage to keep. I’ve tried throwing these away, gotten as close as the edge of my room before I turned back around and put them safely in their containers. Because we all know, we crocheters hold yarn, any amount, near and dear to our hearts!Scrap Yarn

What you need:

  • Yarn Balls
  • Label from yarn (or at least the yarn brand and type)
  • Scale (I use the Weigh ‘n Digital Scale)
  • Computer to look up yarn yds/oz/g/meters (if you don’t have the yarn label)



How to Calculate Scrap Yarn Yardage

It’s all about the math but if you’re not a math person, don’t fear. It’s easy! If I can do it (and I hate math), you can, too! Here’s how: look at the yarn label (or look up brand and type online). Most labels say how many ounces, grams, yards, and meters are within the ball/hank/skein of yarn. For this tutorial, we’ll be using ounces and yards for the calculations but grams and meters can also be used.

Weigh Scrap Yarn

For this example, I will be using Red Heart Creme de la Creme yarn. (Note: this label does not include yardage in skein. I looked it up online to figure out yardage left over.) This Creme de la Creme has 2.5oz, 70.9g, 125 yards

Creme de la Creme Scrap Yarn

First, I’m going to want to figure out how many yards are in an ounce. I’ll want to divide total yards by total ounces (125/2.5 = 50 yards per ounce for RH CDLC). That will tell me how many yards are per 1 ounce. Next, I’m going to weigh my scrap ball of yarn. This ball  weighs .5 oz. Lastly, I’m going to take the weight of my scrap yarn and multiply that by the amount of yards per ounce (.5 x 50). That should give me a good estimate on how many yards are left and reduce any chance of nail biting when getting close to the end of a skein when working on projects. (I should have approximately 25 yards left over from the Creme de la Creme skein.)

 

Yards / ounces  = how many yards per ounce
weight X how many yards per ounce = estimated yardage remaining

 

Now that you can calculate yardage in all those little balls, start looking for all those perfect stash-busting projects! And I’ll let you in on a little secret!  Tomorrow, right here, you’ll find a free pattern that can use up some of those leftovers!

 

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

There are things that may effect yardage of projects. The most common reason would probably be gauge. Gauge is very important, especially when making sure you have enough yarn for the pattern. Follow designers’ gauge guidelines. If a designer doesn’t list gauge, or says it’s not critical, there’s a possibility more or less yarn may be used. Also remember that gauge height is just as important as width.

Types of yarns can also effect yardage used. Different yarns have different elasticity. A project made from Red Heart Creme de la Creme (a cotton yarn with minimal elasticity) and Red Heart Unforgettable (an acrylic yarn with a fair amount of elasticity) will result in completely different yardage used. Make sure to use a similar yarn when substituting.


More About Crystalized Designs

Making one, or many ? I’d certainly love to see! Post any pictures to the Crystalized Designs Facebook Page or join the Crystalized Designs Facebook Group and post on the wall! Posting pictures may win you free patterns. Enjoyed learning how to calculate scrap yarn yardage? Leave a comment below!

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