Yarn skein calculator by colour

How to use this calculator

1. Enter the required yarn length for each colour, including any reserve you chose beforehand.
2. Subtract only stash you can actually use for that colour and project.
3. Enter the label length per skein in the same unit. Leave unused colour requirements and stash at zero, but keep skein lengths positive.

How many skeins should I buy after using my stash?

For each colour, subtract usable stash from the required length and round any remaining deficit up to whole skeins. If stash already covers that colour, buy zero. A spare length in one colour cannot cover a shortage in another.

Do not know the required length yet? Estimate it from a representative weighed swatch first. Swatch yarn estimator →

The calculation

For each colour: deficit = max(0, required − stash). Skeins = ceiling(deficit ÷ length per skein). Total shopping count is the sum of the independently rounded colours.

A worked example

Colour 1 needs 425 m, with 50 m in stash and 200 m per skein: ceil(375/200) = 2 skeins. Colour 2 needs 100 m with no stash: another 1 skein, not part of colour 1’s leftovers.

Before you cast on

Enter your conservative yarn estimate, including any reserve you want. Stash should be usable yarn of a suitable dye lot. This is quantity arithmetic, not a guarantee of matching fibre, gauge, colour or stock availability.

Measure a representative, washed and dried swatch without stretching it. See method sources and measurement guidance.

Display values round to 2 decimals; calculations keep full precision. Counts are whole numbers. No calculator can promise fabric behaviour.