How much yarn for a shawl?
Yarn for a shawl: yards for a shawlette, triangle shawl, large triangle and rectangular wrap in lace, fingering and DK, knitted lace or crochet shells, with skeins.
Make a swatch of at least 6 × 6 in in your stitch, wash and block it, then measure and weigh it.
Pattern yarn — from the materials list.
Your new yarn — from its label.
You need about
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Shawl yarn requirements
Triangle shawls are measured by wingspan (the long top edge) and depth (from the top edge to the point). Their area is half of wingspan × depth, which is why a triangle shawl uses far less yarn than a rectangular wrap of the same width. A shawlette — a small neck shawl — takes one to two skeins of fingering.
Lace and openwork stitches use about 20% less yarn per area than stockinette because of the holes, but blocking opens lace up dramatically: measure your swatch after blocking, or the estimate will come out too high. For a crescent shawl, use the triangle sizes — the area is similar.
Lace weight yarn goes a very long way: 800 yards in 100 g is common. A large triangle in lace weight may need about 1,600 yards but still weigh under 200 g.
Shawl yardage chart
| Size | Lace (0) Lace | Super Fine (1) Fingering | Light (3) DK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawlette (triangle) 50 × 20 in triangle | 590540 m · 2 sk | 480440 m · 2 sk | 360330 m · 2 sk |
| Triangle shawl 64 × 30 in triangle | 1,1301,030 m · 3 sk | 910840 m · 3 sk | 700640 m · 3 sk |
| Large triangle shawl 76 × 36 in triangle | 1,6101,470 m · 4 sk | 1,3001,190 m · 4 sk | 990910 m · 4 sk |
| Rectangular wrap / stole 20 × 70 in | 1,6501,510 m · 4 sk | 1,3301,220 m · 4 sk | 1,020930 m · 5 sk |
Values are yards with 10% extra; small figures are meters and skeins of a typical ball: lace 440 yd / 50 g, super fine 420 yd / 100 g, light 250 yd / 100 g. Use the calculator with your own label for exact skein counts.
| Size | Lace (0) Lace | Super Fine (1) Fingering | Light (3) DK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawlette (triangle) 50 × 20 in triangle | 810740 m · 2 sk | 650600 m · 2 sk | 500460 m · 2 sk |
| Triangle shawl 64 × 30 in triangle | 1,5501,420 m · 4 sk | 1,2601,150 m · 3 sk | 960880 m · 4 sk |
| Large triangle shawl 76 × 36 in triangle | 2,2002,050 m · 6 sk | 1,7901,640 m · 5 sk | 1,3701,250 m · 6 sk |
| Rectangular wrap / stole 20 × 70 in | 2,2502,050 m · 6 sk | 1,8301,680 m · 5 sk | 1,4001,280 m · 6 sk |
Values are yards with 10% extra; small figures are meters and skeins of a typical ball: lace 440 yd / 50 g, super fine 420 yd / 100 g, light 250 yd / 100 g. Use the calculator with your own label for exact skein counts.
About these numbers: estimates assume typical gauge for each yarn weight. Your tension, hook or needle size and stitch pattern can move them by ±15% or more — weigh a swatch in the swatch calculator for a figure based on your own work.
Tips
- Triangle area = wingspan × depth ÷ 2
- Shawlette: 1–2 fingering skeins
- Measure lace swatches after blocking
- Crescent shawls ≈ triangle yardage
How to work out how much yarn you need
- Choose the project. Pick knit or crochet, the project and its size — or a custom width and length.
- Set the yarn. Choose the yarn weight (CYC 0–7) and stitch, then type the length and grams from your skein label.
- Add a safety margin. Keep 10% extra, or more for tight tension, borders and fringe.
- Check with a swatch. For the most accurate number, weigh a blocked swatch in the From a swatch tab and scale it to your project.
FAQ
How much yarn for a shawl?
A typical triangle shawl (64 × 30 in triangle) in super fine weight needs about 910 yards (840 m) including 10% extra, knitted in lace / openwork.
Quick rule of thumb for shawl yarn?
Triangle area = wingspan × depth ÷ 2.
How accurate is a yarn calculator?
Estimates from typical gauge are usually within ±15%, because tension, hook or needle size and stitch pattern vary. The swatch mode — weighing or measuring a real swatch — is accurate to a few percent.
How much extra yarn should I buy?
Add about 10%. Add more (15–20%) for tight tension, textured stitches, borders and fringe, or when you cannot buy more of the same dye lot later.