How much yarn do you need to knit a sweater?
The question everyone asks before buying yarn — and the classic mistake: buying “about five skeins” and then hunting for one more in the same dye lot. Below are charts calculated by the builder for a classic sweater, plus adjustments for cables, oversized fits and length.
Calculate yarn for your measurements →
Women’s sweater chart
A classic set-in-sleeve pullover with a crew neck, 10 cm of ease, stockinette. Each cell shows how much to buy (with a margin) and the metres used.
| Size | fingering / sport (≈400 m per 100 g) 26 sts per 10 cm | DK (≈250 m per 100 g) 22 sts per 10 cm | aran / worsted (≈180 m per 100 g) 18 sts per 10 cm | chunky (≈110 m per 100 g) 14 sts per 10 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 400 g 1220–1560 m | 550 g 1030–1320 m | 600 g 830–1060 m | 800 g 660–850 m |
| S | 450 g 1380–1760 m | 600 g 1140–1450 m | 700 g 940–1200 m | 850 g 730–930 m |
| M | 500 g 1540–1970 m | 700 g 1290–1650 m | 750 g 1010–1280 m | 950 g 790–1010 m |
| L | 550 g 1720–2200 m | 750 g 1430–1820 m | 850 g 1150–1470 m | 1100 g 910–1160 m |
| XL | 650 g 1900–2430 m | 850 g 1590–2030 m | 950 g 1280–1640 m | 1200 g 1020–1310 m |
| 2XL | 700 g 2090–2670 m | 900 g 1760–2240 m | 1000 g 1390–1780 m | 1350 g 1130–1440 m |
Grams use a typical yardage for each weight. If your yarn has a different yardage, divide the metres by the metres per skein — that is more accurate.
Worked example: set-in sleeve sweater
This is real output from the builder for size M (bust 92 cm, neck 35.5 cm, upper arm 29 cm, length 60 cm) at a gauge of 22 sts and 30 rows per 10 cm (4 in).
Key numbers
- Body cast-on
- 114
- Sts at bust (per piece)
- 114
- Rows to armhole
- 116
- Total rows
- 180
- Armhole: bind off
- 6 + 2
- Armhole: decreases every 2 / 4 rows
- 5 / 2
- Sts across shoulders
- 84
- Neck sts
- 42
- Shoulder sts
- 21
- Slope: steps
- 6+5+5+5
Finished garment
- Bust circumference
- 103.6 cm
- Ease
- +11.6 cm
- Length
- 60 cm
- Armhole depth
- 19.5 cm
- Shoulder width
- 9.5 cm
- Shoulder slope
- 2 cm
- Neckline
- Crew, 19.1 × 7.3 cm
- Yarn (estimate)
- 1290–1650 m
Kids’ sweater chart
Top-down raglan for children aged 2 to 12, 10 cm of ease.
| Size | fingering / sport (≈400 m per 100 g) 26 sts per 10 cm | DK (≈250 m per 100 g) 22 sts per 10 cm | aran / worsted (≈180 m per 100 g) 18 sts per 10 cm | chunky (≈110 m per 100 g) 14 sts per 10 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 y | 150 g 430–550 m | 200 g 370–470 m | 200 g 280–360 m | 300 g 230–290 m |
| 4 y | 200 g 520–670 m | 250 g 440–570 m | 250 g 350–450 m | 350 g 290–370 m |
| 6 y | 250 g 650–830 m | 300 g 540–690 m | 300 g 420–540 m | 400 g 340–430 m |
| 8 y | 250 g 760–970 m | 350 g 630–810 m | 400 g 520–660 m | 500 g 410–520 m |
| 10 y | 300 g 870–1110 m | 400 g 740–950 m | 450 g 590–750 m | 550 g 460–590 m |
| 12 y | 350 g 990–1270 m | 450 g 830–1060 m | 500 g 650–840 m | 600 g 520–660 m |
Adjust for the design
- Cables and texture: +20–30% — crossings eat yarn and pull the fabric in.
- Colourwork: +15–20% per colour in patterned bands (floats on the wrong side).
- Oversized: 28 cm of ease instead of 10 — about +20% for body and sleeves.
- Longer sweater or tunic: about +8–10% for every extra 10 cm.
- Turtleneck: +50–80 g.
Always buy one extra skein from the same dye lot — an unused skein can usually be returned, the same lot cannot be found later.
More precise — for your size and yarn
The chart is a guide. The builder counts metres from the real stitch and row counts of your pattern: enter your measurements, gauge and yardage and you see how many skeins to buy. The size M example is below.
FAQ
How many 50 g skeins for a women’s medium sweater?
In DK-weight yarn (≈125 m per 50 g, 22 sts per 10 cm), a size M takes about 14 skeins. Heavier yarn needs more grams, finer yarn fewer.
Why does fine yarn need fewer grams but more metres?
Fine yarn weighs less per metre: 100 g is ≈400 m of fingering but only 110–180 m of chunky or aran. You knit more stitches with fine yarn, so it uses more metres yet the sweater is lighter.
How much yarn for a cabled sweater?
Buy 20–30% more than for a plain sweater of the same size, and swatch in the cable pattern — cables have their own gauge.
How much yarn for a kid’s sweater?
Age 6 in DK yarn takes about 300 g. The chart above covers ages 2 to 12.