StitchCalcsYarn substitution calculator
Using a different yarn from the pattern? Find out how many skeins of your yarn you need to match the total length, in yards or meters.
How it works
What a project really needs is a total length of yarn, not a number of skeins. So the calculator works out the pattern's total yardage and divides it by the length of one skein of your yarn, rounding up:
total = pattern skeins × length per skein
your skeins = total ÷ your length per skein, rounded up
Example: 5 × 220 yd = 1100 yd ÷ 200 yd = 5.5 → 6 skeins
Always compare by length, not by weight. Two 100 g skeins can hold very different lengths: a chunky wool might have 110 yd and a fingering yarn 400 yd.
Before you swap yarns
- Match the yarn weight. Look for the same category (for example DK or worsted) and a similar recommended gauge on the label.
- Swatch with the new yarn. Different fibres behave differently even at the same weight: cotton has little stretch, and alpaca drapes and grows.
- Check your gauge. If you get more stitches per inch than the pattern, you'll use more yarn than it says.
- Buy one dye lot. Skeins from different dye lots can differ slightly in colour.