How to Figure Out How Much Yarn You Have by Weight

If your yarn basket is full of unlabeled yarn, you need to learn a trick to measuring the yardage.

If you have been knitting or crocheting for any length of time, chances are you've accumulated a "stash" of yarn. Some of it may be in pristine condition, retaining its original tags or labels, while other skeins and balls may be a mystery. If your yarn has lost its band or tag and you don't know how much yarn you have, there is a fairly simple process for weighing and measuring your yarn to figure out how much yarn yardage you have to use in your next project.

Things You'll Need

• Scale, food or postal size
• Small bowl or container
• Yarn
• Yard stick, ruler or measuring tape
• Calculator (optional)

Instructions

1. Place a small bowl or other container on top of your scale and turn it on. Set the scale to measure in grams, as this will be the most accurate option for weighing your yarn.

2. Place the entire ball or skein of yarn inside the container to determine its weight in grams. Record this number or remember it for later.

3. Remove the yarn from the scale and find the tail end of the yarn. Slowly place this tail into the bowl and add more slack from the ball of yarn until you have 10 grams of yarn inside the bowl. Cut this tail or mark it in some way to remember how much yarn you needed to get 10 grams.

4. Remove the tail of yarn from the scale and set the scale aside. Measure the 10-gram length of yarn using a ruler, yard stick or measuring tape. Determine how many yards you have in that 10-gram length of yarn.

5. Multiply the total weight of your yarn ball, in grams, by the number of yards in the 10-gram sample of yarn. Divide this number by 10, and this will tell you how many yards you have total in your ball of yarn.

References

• Firewheel Designs: Knitting with Handspun Yarns