How to Estimate Yardage in an Odd Ball of Yarn

If you have a bit of yarn left over from a past project or any ball of yarn that has lost its ball band, it’s natural to wonder exactly how much yarn you have there.

It’s never a good idea to start a knitting project not knowing if you have enough yarn to finish it, but the good news is there are a couple of ways to estimate how much yarn you have.

The more time-consuming way to do it is to measure out a certain quantity of the yarn, say 10 or 25 yards, weigh that and determine your yards per ounce. Then weigh the whole skein and you can get a pretty good guess at the yardage.

If your yarn is in a hank, you can stretch it out, measure the length of the hank itself, count the number of strands and multiply by the length of one strand to determine yardage.

Or you can make a less scientific but still relatively accurate guess based on the average weight of yarn in the yarn weight category you’re dealing with, as outlined in this post from Interweave. If you know that you have light weight yarn (verified with a wraps per inch tool or by wrapping the yarn around a ruler), using the chart on that post you can see that you typically get 1,200 to 1,800 yards a pound in that weight of yarn.

Weigh your skeins and you can figure out a somewhat close range for how much yardage you have. Err on the side of assuming you have less to avoid tragedy.

Have you ever used one of these methods to determine yardage on unknown balls or hanks of yarn? Or do you have another method? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo: Interweave.]

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Craft retailer Michaels has acquired the intellectual property and private label brands of now-defunct retailer Joann, according to a media release, and the Joann website now forwards to Michaels.

The releases states that Michaels will be developing the “beloved Big Twist® brands as part of the Michaels portfolio.” It also notes plans to expand its offerings in the fabric, sewing and yarn categories, with more than 600 new products being added.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to welcome JOANN customers into our creative community and are committed to delivering the selection, value, and inspiration they are looking for at Michaels,” David Boone, CEO of Michaels, said in the release.

Specific to yarn, the company notes it has plans to expand its yarn selection by 25 percent this year, including releasing more than 60 new private-label Loops & Threads products beginning this month, expanding offerings of Lion Brand and the Yarnspirations family of brands, and welcoming Big Twist yarns.

The release specifically mentions Big Twist Value Plus, Big Twist Twinkle, Big Twist Posh and Big Twist Baby Bear, and notes that the offerings are “now being developed as part of Michaels portfolio of brands and will be available in-stores and online later this year.”

No word on what this means for Herrschners, which previously announced it would carry Big Twist. Its page announcing the news still says “at this time we are not able to release details on specific Big Twist varieties or colors, or the exact date the yarn will be available to order” and encourages signing up for email updates.

This news comes just days after the final closing of the last Joann locations and the appearance of a message on their website talking about “stitching up something new.” The Joann website now forwards to a landing page for craft retailer Michaels.

“Welcome Joann customers,” it says at the top. “We’ve got your go-to essentials and so much more.” The page also notes “everyone is welcome at our craft table” and says the website is a source for “fabrics, yarn, notions & more.”

Further down the page it says “With JOANN stores closing, Michaels is excited to welcome new makers, crafters, and sewing enthusiasts into our community” and has a string of links to product categories these shoppers might be looking for. It says Michaels carries “many of the favorites that Joann customers love” including patterned fabric, yarn, ribbons and notions.

The release calls this a “dedicated landing page” with a “curated assortment of products” they think are relevant to the Joann shopper.

If you go directly to Micheaels.com, you see their regular website but there is a link at the top of the page for Joann customers that leads to the same page linked above.

The release doesn’t mention opening any new stores in towns left without a craft store thanks to the Joann closure. It does note they have 1,300 stores in 49 states and in Canada, and they have both US and Canada-facing websites.

What do you think of this news? It’s not the exciting future I’d hoped for with Joanns cryptic announcement, but I know legions of knitters and crocheters will be happy to know Big Twist will live on, and other crafters will probably be happy about expanded selection at Michaels.

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