Knitting & Crochet calculator
Yarn Calculator: How Much Yarn for a Blanket?
How much yarn for a blanket, knit or crochet: skeins by size and yarn weight, with a size chart. Plus swatch math, yarn swaps and yarn chicken.
Your project
BuyExample values
16 skeins
+10% safety, same dye lot
Pattern-based estimate: 14 skeins (2,763 yd)
Throw, 50 × 60 in, middle of the typical range.
- Need, +10% safety
- 3,039 yd
- In meters
- 2,779 m
- Typical range, no safety margin
- 2,313–3,213 yd
- Weight
- 1,520 g
Based on Lion Brand's chart and 15 published blanket patterns. Those patterns listed 22% less to 28% more than our estimate for them: if your pattern gives a yardage, use it.
Buy 16 skeins · estimate 14Shopping list
- Buy #4 Medium yarn, same dye lot: 16 skeins × 200 yd
- Total length you buy: 3,200 yd
- Pattern-based estimate, no safety margin: 14 skeins, 2,763 yd
- Cost: Add a price per skein
- Why 16 skeins: the 10% safety covers a gauge that differs from the pattern's. Buy them all from one dye lot: a skein from another lot in the middle of the piece can show.
How much yarn for a blanket
Yarn to buy: the pattern-based estimate plus a 10% safety margin, from the same math as the calculator. For the estimate without the margin, divide by 1.1. Sizes in inches; yardsmeters, rounded up.
| Size | #3 DK | #4 Worsted | #5 Chunky | #6 Super Bulky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby blanket36 × 36 in | 1,082 yd989 m | 920 yd841 m | 772 yd706 m | 654 yd598 m |
| Crib blanket36 × 45 in | 1,352 yd1,237 m | 1,150 yd1,052 m | 964 yd882 m | 817 yd747 m |
| Throw50 × 60 in | 2,504 yd2,289 m | 2,129 yd1,947 m | 1,786 yd1,633 m | 1,513 yd1,383 m |
| Twin66 × 90 in | 4,957 yd4,533 m | 4,215 yd3,854 m | 3,535 yd3,232 m | 2,995 yd2,739 m |
| Queen90 × 100 in | 7,510 yd6,867 m | 6,386 yd5,839 m | 5,356 yd4,897 m | 4,538 yd4,149 m |
| King108 × 100 in | 9,012 yd8,241 m | 7,663 yd7,007 m | 6,427 yd5,877 m | 5,445 yd4,979 m |
| Size | #3 DK | #4 Worsted | #5 Chunky | #6 Super Bulky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby blanket36 × 36 in | 1,544 yd1,412 m | 1,313 yd1,201 m | 1,101 yd1,007 m | 933 yd853 m |
| Crib blanket36 × 45 in | 1,930 yd1,765 m | 1,641 yd1,501 m | 1,377 yd1,259 m | 1,167 yd1,067 m |
| Throw50 × 60 in | 3,574 yd3,268 m | 3,039 yd2,779 m | 2,549 yd2,331 m | 2,160 yd1,975 m |
| Twin66 × 90 in | 7,077 yd6,471 m | 6,017 yd5,502 m | 5,047 yd4,615 m | 4,276 yd3,910 m |
| Queen90 × 100 in | 10,722 yd9,804 m | 9,117 yd8,337 m | 7,646 yd6,992 m | 6,478 yd5,924 m |
| King108 × 100 in | 12,866 yd11,765 m | 10,940 yd10,004 m | 9,175 yd8,390 m | 7,774 yd7,108 m |
| Weight | Typical yarns | Knit gauge per 4 in | Needles | Crochet gauge per 4 in | Hooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #0 Lace | Fingering, 10-count crochet thread | 33–40 sts | 1.5–2.25 mm | 32–42 double crochets | 1.4–2.25 mm |
| #1 Super Fine | Sock, fingering, baby | 27–32 sts | 2.25–3.25 mm | 21–32 sts | 2.25–3.5 mm |
| #2 Fine | Sport, baby | 23–26 sts | 3.25–3.75 mm | 16–20 sts | 3.5–4.5 mm |
| #3 Light | DK, light worsted | 21–24 sts | 3.75–4.5 mm | 12–17 sts | 4.5–5.5 mm |
| #4 Medium | Worsted, afghan, aran | 16–20 sts | 4.5–5.5 mm | 11–14 sts | 5.5–6.5 mm |
| #5 Bulky | Chunky, craft, rug | 12–15 sts | 5.5–8 mm | 8–11 sts | 6.5–9 mm |
| #6 Super Bulky | Super bulky, roving | 7–11 sts | 8–12.75 mm | 7–9 sts | 9–15 mm |
| #7 Jumbo | Jumbo, roving | 6 sts or fewer | 12.75 mm and up | 6 sts or fewer | 15 mm and up |
Source: Craft Yarn Council's www.YarnStandards.com. Guidelines only; always follow your pattern's gauge.
https://homedosh.com/yarn-calculator/
How this is calculated
Blanket or project
We start from Lion Brand's yardage chart. It gives yards for a baby blanket and an afghan in each yarn weight, but no sizes. Lion Brand's own blanket size guide lists a baby blanket as 30 × 36 in, and other charts list 36 × 36 to 40 × 40 in. We use 36 × 36 in and 50 × 65 in (standard blanket sizes) and turn the rows into yards per square inch. That rate times your blanket's area gives a range. Garments use the chart's ranges directly.
The chart doesn't split knitting from crochet. We multiply by a stitch factor from two published swatch tests that used the same yarn and tool size: garter 1.41 (one test; 1.35 to 1.46 depending on the comparison), half double or double crochet 1.28, single crochet 1.48 (1.33 with a looser hook). Across those tests crochet used 1.2 to 1.6 times the yarn of stockinette.
We then scaled blanket estimates to match 15 published patterns with known size, yarn weight and yardage. The chart ran high, so blanket estimates are multiplied by 0.78 for knitting and 0.87 for crochet, the median of those solid-stitch patterns. Granny squares and other open stitches use 0.68, the median of the two granny blankets in the set, calculated separately so they don't pull the solid-crochet median down; with only two patterns, treat that one as a rough guide. The middle of that range, rounded up to whole skeins, is the pattern-based estimate. The number to buy adds your safety margin (10% by default) and the spare skein if you ask for one, then rounds up. We keep the estimate at the pattern median and put the extra into the safety margin on purpose: your own gauge can differ from the pattern's, and a skein from a different dye lot in the middle of a blanket is worse than leftover yarn. The range stays visible because real patterns vary: the 15 patterns listed from 22% less to 28% more than our estimate. Two worsted crochet baby blankets of the same 36 × 36 in size list 927 yd and 1,530 yd. If your pattern gives a yardage, use it.
Some charts give more. Yarn & Row's blanket chart lists about 2,700 yd for a 50 × 60 in knitted worsted throw, 15 skeins of 200 yd with 10% extra. Our estimate for the same throw in stockinette is 1,935 yd, 11 skeins to buy. The difference is the pattern check: for a 36 × 36 in DK baby blanket, Yarn & Row lists 1,350 yd, while the published Classic Baby Blanket of that size and weight calls for 865 yd. Our numbers sit closer to what patterns ask for, and the safety margin covers the rest.
Garments
Hats, scarves, socks, shawls and sweaters use Lion Brand's chart directly, so the result says chart-based estimate. The chart doesn't give a sweater size. We read it as a Medium and scale by the middle of the chest size from the Craft Yarn Council's size chart, so a 2X (chest 48–50 in) gets about a third more than a Medium. Body length and sleeves grow too, so for large sizes your pattern's yardage is the better number.
From my swatch
Swatch-based estimate = swatch yarn × (project area ÷ swatch area). The number to buy adds your safety margin, because tension drifts over a large piece. Weight turns into length with the yards and grams printed on the label.
Swap yarns
Total length in the pattern ÷ length per skein of the new yarn, rounded up, is the pattern-based estimate; the number to buy adds your safety margin. Skein counts don't transfer between yarns; length does. If you enter both gauges, we compare them: more than 2 stitches or 10% apart per 4 in gets a warning. Without both gauges we compare Craft Yarn Council weight classes. A thinner or thicker yarn covers a different area per yard, so the result then tells you which way it is likely off.
Yarn chicken
Weigh the ball, work a few rows, weigh again. The difference ÷ rows is the yarn per row. To finish you need (rows left + bind-off allowance) × yarn per row. A standard bind-off is allowed 3 rows' worth, following a knitwear designer's rule of thumb. If your rows grow, weigh the last rows you worked.
All amounts you need are rounded up: whole skeins, whole yards or meters, whole grams, tenths of an ounce. 1 yd = 0.9144 m and 1 oz = 28.35 g.
Questions people ask
How many skeins of yarn do I need for a throw blanket?
For a 50 × 60 in throw in #4 worsted yarn: to knit in stockinette, estimate 1,935 yd (10 skeins), buy 11 skeins (2,129 yd); to crochet in half double or double crochet, estimate 2,763 yd (14 skeins), buy 16 skeins (3,039 yd). Estimates are pattern-based, without extra; the number to buy adds a 10% safety margin. Skeins of 200 yd. Buy the larger number, all from one dye lot. Skeins vary in length, so divide by the yards on your label.
How much yarn for a baby blanket or a queen size blanket?
A 36 × 36 in baby blanket in #3 DK: to knit in stockinette, estimate 984 yd (5 skeins), buy 6 skeins (1,082 yd); to crochet in half double or double crochet, estimate 1,404 yd (8 skeins), buy 8 skeins (1,544 yd). A 90 × 100 in queen blanket in #4 worsted: to knit in stockinette, estimate 5,805 yd (30 skeins), buy 32 skeins (6,386 yd); to crochet in half double or double crochet, estimate 8,288 yd (42 skeins), buy 46 skeins (9,117 yd). Estimates are pattern-based, without extra; the number to buy adds a 10% safety margin. Skeins of 200 yd. Sizes vary by source, so enter your own size above.
How much chunky yarn for a blanket?
Thicker yarn covers more area per yard. For a 50 × 60 in throw in #5 bulky: to knit in stockinette, estimate 1,623 yd, buy 1,786 yd with 10% safety; to crochet in half double or double crochet, estimate 2,317 yd, buy 2,549 yd with 10% safety. In #6 super bulky: to knit in stockinette, estimate 1,375 yd, buy 1,513 yd with 10% safety; to crochet in half double or double crochet, estimate 1,963 yd, buy 2,160 yd with 10% safety. Bulky and super bulky skeins are much shorter than worsted ones and vary a lot, so divide by the yards on your label.
Does crochet use more yarn than knitting?
Yes. In the published swatch tests we use, crochet took 1.2 to 1.6 times the yarn of stockinette. We use 1.28 for half double or double crochet and 1.48 for single crochet.
Can I use a different yarn or hold two strands together?
Swap by total length, not by skeins: pattern skeins × length per skein, divided by the length of your new skeins. If you hold two strands together, each strand runs the full length, so you need twice the total length. A doubled or different-weight yarn changes the gauge, so swatch first and use the From my swatch mode.
Why buy all skeins from the same dye lot?
Skeins dyed in different batches can differ slightly in color, and the difference shows in a large blanket. Buy every skein with the same dye lot number from the label. That is why the number to buy includes a safety margin: a little leftover yarn is better than hunting for a matching lot halfway through. The spare skein option adds one more from the same lot.
How much extra yarn for a border or fringe?
A border adds area. A 2 in border around a 50 × 60 in throw adds 456 square inches, about 15% more yarn, so enter the finished size including the border. Fringe isn't in any chart: make one tassel, weigh it and multiply.
Will my last ball be enough to finish?
Weigh the ball, work a few rows, weigh again. Yarn per row × (rows left + about 3 rows for the bind-off) tells you what you need. If your rows grow, weigh the last rows you worked. The Yarn chicken mode does the math.