How to use the grams to yards yarn converter
- Find the length and weight on the ball band, such as 200 yd / 100 g. Pick yards or meters to match the label.
- Type an amount and choose its unit. A pattern yardage tells you the balls to buy, and a weight tells you the length.
- For leftovers, weigh the yarn and enter the grams. Add the yards your next project needs to see if you have enough.
How the conversion works
A yarn label gives one length and one weight for the same ball. Dividing the length by the weight tells you how long one gram of that yarn is. Because the yarn is the same all the way through, every gram is about the same length, so the ratio works for any amount.
The ratio is different for every yarn. Thick yarn has fewer yards in each gram than thin yarn, and fiber matters too: a dense cotton and a lofty wool of similar thickness can give quite different numbers. That's why this converter asks for your label instead of using a fixed figure for each yarn weight.
Meters and yards are tied together by a fixed definition. Since 1959 one yard has been exactly 0.9144 meters, so the converter multiplies yards by 0.9144 to get meters and divides meters by 0.9144 to get yards. A label that only lists meters works just as well as one that lists yards; pick the unit that matches it.
The ball count always rounds up, because you can't buy part of a ball. If the exact figure is close to a whole number, such as 4.05 balls, it is worth buying the extra one. The yardage on a label is a nominal figure.
Formulas
- Yards per gram = label yards ÷ label grams.
- Yards = grams × yards per gram.
- Grams = yards ÷ yards per gram.
- Meters = yards × 0.9144 (and yards = meters ÷ 0.9144).
- Balls = grams ÷ grams per ball, rounded up.
- Yards per 100 g = yards per gram × 100.
Worked examples
A pattern asks for 1,000 yards, and your yarn is 200 yards per 100 grams. That is 200 ÷ 100 = 2 yards per gram, so you need 1,000 ÷ 2 = 500 grams, which is 5 balls of 100 grams. In meters, 1,000 × 0.9144 = 914.4 m.
After the project, 37 grams are left: 37 × 2 = 74 yards, or 67.7 meters. A small project needing 60 yards would fit.
A metric label reads 400 m / 100 g. Then 400 ÷ 0.9144 = 437.4 yards per ball, and 50 grams of it is 218.7 yards or 200 meters.
Yards and meters per 100 grams
Some example label ratios, converted to the same 100 gram base so you can compare yarns.
| Label | Yards per 100 g | Meters per 100 g | Yards per gram |
|---|---|---|---|
| 137 yd / 50 g | 274 | 250.5 | 2.74 |
| 200 yd / 100 g | 200 | 182.9 | 2 |
| 364 yd / 198 g | 183.8 | 168.1 | 1.84 |
| 100 m / 50 g | 218.7 | 200 | 2.19 |
| 400 m / 100 g | 437.4 | 400 | 4.37 |
Typical yards per 100 grams by yarn weight
If you have lost the label and only know the weight class, a typical range is the best you can do. The Wikipedia yarn weight article lists meters per 100 grams for each Craft Yarn Council number. Here they are converted to yards with the same 0.9144 factor the converter uses. The Craft Yarn Council's own chart gives gauge and hook sizes but no yardage.
| Yarn weight | Meters per 100 g | Yards per 100 g | Yards per gram |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 Lace | 600 to 800 | 656 to 875 | 6.6 to 8.7 |
| 1 Super fine | 500 to 600 | 547 to 656 | 5.5 to 6.6 |
| 2 Fine | 350 to 450 | 383 to 492 | 3.8 to 4.9 |
| 3 Light | 250 to 350 | 273 to 383 | 2.7 to 3.8 |
| 4 Medium | 200 to 250 | 219 to 273 | 2.2 to 2.7 |
| 5 Bulky | 120 to 200 | 131 to 219 | 1.3 to 2.2 |
| 6 Super bulky | 100 to 130 | 109 to 142 | 1.1 to 1.4 |
| 7 Jumbo | under 100 | under 109 | under 1.1 |
The ranges are wide. A bulky yarn can hold anywhere from 131 to 219 yards per 100 grams, so the same 300 grams could be about 394 or 656 yards. That gap is a whole skein or more, which is why the converter asks for your label. Use the table only to sanity check a label or to guess at an unlabeled ball.
Estimating a leftover ball
Andrea Rangel gives a worked example: a ball that weighs 27 grams, from a yarn with 400 yards in 113 grams. Divide 400 by 113 for 3.54 yards per gram, then multiply by 27. The converter gives 95.6 yards, and she rounds it to about 95. Put the same numbers in the label and leftover boxes above to check any partial ball.
Some labels list ounces instead of grams. One ounce is about 28.35 grams, so a 7 ounce skein is about 198 grams. Enter that in the grams box.
Tips for weighing yarn
- Keep one label from every yarn you buy, or photograph it. Without it, you can't convert weight to length.
- A scale that reads in steps of 1 gram is fine for a ball. For a small leftover, a jewelry scale that reads 0.1 gram is more accurate.
- Balls from the same yarn can differ a little in weight. When the yardage is tight, buy one extra and keep the receipt.
- To swap one yarn for another, compare yards per 100 grams. Similar numbers usually mean a similar thickness, but always check gauge with a swatch.
