A definitive guide to how much yarn you need for a C2C project and what size your project will be.

How much yarn do you need for your C2C project? How big will your project be in the end? Big questions with easy to find answers.  C2C patterns at Blue Frog Creek include a yarn guide listing the number of blocks for each color which will help you figure out approximately how much, and of what colors, you need.

How much yarn do I need?

First you need to know how much yarn you use in each block. The rest is simple math. I’m going to show you how.

First – Make a C2C swatch

The yarn you use, hook size, stitch and your personal gauge all factor in the amount of yarn you will need. Make your C2C swatch with all of your personal choices for the current project. This is the easiest way to get the information you need.

For example: I made a 5 x 5 block swatch using a 5mm hook, Red Heart yarn and a DC stitch.

Second – Measure your block size.

Your blocks should be square so you should be getting 1 number for the height and width. If your blocks are not square then you will need to adjust something. Blocks that are not square will skew a pattern made from squares. (Yes, of course, you can still do it if you want to. I just wanted to let you know what will happen.)

My blocks are ¾” high by ¾” wide.

Third – Measure your yarn

Frog your swatch. Measure the length of yarn that you used. Divide by the number of blocks that you had.

I used 516” of yarn which, divided by the 25 blocks, is almost 21” of yarn per block.

This is how much yarn you need

With your numbers use this calculation to determine the approximate amount needed for each color used. **Note: This doesn’t include yarn needed for traveling and weaving.

_______________ : _________________x____________________ = _____________ / 36” = ______________ (color): (# of blocks) multiplied by (inches in block) = (total inches) divide by 36″ = Yards Needed

So my project has 500 blocks of pink. I use 21″ per block. Multiply that by the 500 blocks I’m going to make. So I need 10,500 inches of yarn. Divided by 36″ in a yard I need 291.66 yards. Rounded up I need 292 yards of pink for my pattern.

Pink: 500  (# of blocks) x 21”   (inches per block)  = 10,500 (total inches) divided by 36” = 291.66 Total Yards

This is how big your project will be (approximately)

Use your block size to figure out the approximate size of your finished project. If you find that you will want a larger or smaller project you can adjust any of the factors as needed.

________________ x ______________ = ______________ (# of blocks across) multiplied by (your block width) = Total Width

________________ x ______________ = ______________ (# of blocks high) multiplied by (your block height) = Total Height

My blocks are ¾” wide by ¾” high. A project that is 64 blocks wide by 96 blocks high would be about 4′ by 6′.

Blocks wide: 64 x .75 = 48″ Total Width

Blocks high: 96 x .75 = 72″ Total Height

Next up: What exactly is a word chart? Learn about that here: C2C 106: Word Charts