You cannot just guess how many yards are there in a skein of yarn. However, there is always a way to calculate and figure it out— much easier and more effective than just simply guessing!
Learn this here, in How Many Yards in a Skein of Yarn that is Unlabelled.
If you are into knitting and have a stash amassed beyond life expectancy, you surely have plenty of stored or leftover skeins with you. You must have not kept all the labels of your yarns and now wonder if they are adequate enough to knit another garment. If so, what kind of garment can they possibly finish?
Of course, you should know how much yarn you will need when you plan to start a new knitting project, and it is likewise important to know what your skeins are capable of accomplishing.
Supposing you are to knit a sweater that requires a worsted weight yarn, the following are the simple tools needed and steps to calculate yardage:
MATERIALS NEEDED TO MEASURE THE YARN
- WPI measurement device or a ruler
- Scale
- Calculator
Here are the quick and easy steps to calculate the number of yards of your yarn:
STEPS TO CALCULATE HOW MANY YARDS ARE THERE IN A SKEIN OF YARN
Using a WPI measurement device, confirm first that what kind of yarn you have.
STEP 1: Find out the gauge.
- Start to wrap the yarn around a measuring device (WPI or ruler) for about 3 inches.
Note: Make sure that your yarn is properly wrapped— should never be too loose nor too tight. There should be no bunching too!
- Count the number of wraps your yarn was able to make.
- Divide the total number of wraps by the number of inches it makes.
- Relying on the table below, check if the result you get corresponds to the “approximate wraps per inch”, to determine if what kind of yarn you have.
Below is a reference table for each yarn style’s approximate measurements:
STEP 2: Check the weight of your yarn skeins.
- After determining how many “grams” your yarn skeins contain, you can then convert it into “pounds” since it is the unit used in the reference table.
- Multiply now the weight of your yarn by the average of the worsted yarn’s estimated yards per pound (column 2).
For example, if you got a worsted yarn by doing STEP 1, then your yards per pound is 1050. We got 1050 by getting the sum of the lowest and the highest range then dividing the sum by two (1200 plus 900, divided by 2).
- Then, go back to the table and see if the result goes around the yards per pound range.
If your yarn turns out to be the same as your STEP 1, then you are ready to knit!
Yes, it is just as simple as that! After determining the type and yardage of your yarn, you can now decide what to knit, whether it be sweaters, blankets, hats, scarves, or whatever you like.
TRY OUT THESE KNIT PATTERNS:
Using these simple steps from How Many Yards in a Skein of Yarn that is Unlabelled, you can always calculate how many yards are there in a skein of unlabeled yarn!