How much yarn for a crochet cardigan or jumper? Size-by-size data

The quick answer, by size

Find your bust measurement, then read across. The bust ranges are the Craft Yarn Council’s women’s size chart. We matched each pattern to it by size letter only, so Drops’ S to XXXL line up with S to 3XL here. The designers don’t say which bust their size M is meant for.

The ball counts are the median pattern rounded up to whole 100g balls. The figures in brackets run from the most economical pattern to the hungriest one at that size. If your pattern gives its own quantity, buy that instead.

Where the numbers come from

We opened 19 crochet garment patterns that list a quantity for every size. Fourteen are free Drops Design patterns. The other five come from Blue Star Crochet, Dora Does, Yarn Craftee and Yay For Yarn. Drops gives grams, so we converted them with Drops’ own length for each yarn, such as 110m per 50g for Daisy. Where a designer gives metres for every size, we used those. Other ball counts were multiplied by the length the designer quotes, and yards by 0.9144.

One aran-column pattern, Yay For Yarn’s Textured Pullover, uses a US worsted, which Drops groups with aran. Drops often publishes a cardigan and a jumper from one design. Where both list the same quantities, we counted the design once.

We left out patterns in mohair blends, two strands held together and very light ‘air’ yarns, because their metres don’t compare with an ordinary DK or aran. We also skipped patterns in many colours, where every colour is rounded up to a 50g ball, and short-sleeved vests, which can’t be compared with long-sleeved garments.

We haven’t made these garments. The quantities are the designers’ own, checked on 1 October 2026, and every pattern is linked at the bottom of this page.

Cardigan or jumper: usually the same yarn

We checked 12 crochet designs where Drops publishes both a cardigan and a jumper. In 11 of them, the two versions list exactly the same grams in every size. That includes Caramel Apple, Grey Owl, Shell Seeker and Teal Crossover.

The exception is Jewels Tide. The jumper asks for 100g more Muskat in every size. Its diagram shows why: the jumper is 54–64cm long and the cropped cardigan 44–54cm. So the extra yarn went into length, not into the front opening.

Drops quantities go up in 50g steps, so a difference smaller than that wouldn’t show up. If your cardigan has deep bands or a big collar that the pattern quantity doesn’t cover, add it on top.

DK or aran: similar metres, more balls

In this sample, the aran garments used slightly less length than the DK ones. At every size the aran median was about 4–10% below the DK median. Aran simply holds fewer metres per ball.

So the ball count jumps. At size M, 1,275m of Special Aran at 196m a ball is 6.5 balls, which means 7. The DK median of 1,420m in Special DK at 295m is 4.81 balls, which means 5. The aran version weighs more too: about 650g of Special Aran against 480g of Special DK.

Why patterns at the same size disagree

At size M the DK patterns run from 1,155m for Drops Just Me to 1,995m for Drops Teal Crossover. The hungriest needs about 1.7 times the yarn of the leanest.

Fit. At size M, the finished chest on the Drops diagrams ranges from 92cm on Grey Owl, which is shaped at the waist, to 120cm on Shell Seeker. Compare finished measurements, not size letters.

Stitch and length. Teal Crossover is worked with cables and relief stitches, which pack yarn into every centimetre. Stitch pattern alone doesn’t predict it, though: in this sample the leanest aran design, Rain Dance, uses puff stitches, while two lace designs sit above the aran median. The Jewels Tide pair shows what length costs: 10cm more body took 100g of Muskat, which is 200m.

Yarn structure. Drops Air is aran thickness but holds 150m per 50g, twice the 75m of Drops Nepal in the same yarn group. Grams tell you little when you change yarn. Convert to metres, then swatch.

Worked example: size M in Special DK or Simply DK

Take the DK median for size M, 1,420m. Stylecraft Special DK has 295m per 100g, so that’s 4.81 balls, rounded up to 5. Paintbox Simply DK has 276m, so it’s 5.14 balls, rounded up to 6. Nineteen metres less per ball costs you a whole extra ball.

On 1 October 2026 LoveCrafts listed Special DK at £2.35 a ball and Simply DK at £1.69, reduced from £2.60. Five balls of Special DK come to £11.75. Six of Simply DK come to £10.14 at the sale price, or £15.60 at full price. The cheaper ball only wins while the offer lasts, and delivery comes on top of both.

Five balls of Special DK leave 55m spare at the median, which isn’t much. If your pattern sits above the median, or you crochet loosely, price a sixth ball as well.

Before you order

Use your pattern’s own figure for your size wherever it gives one. If you’re changing yarn, turn the pattern quantity into metres first, then into balls of the yarn you’re buying.

Buy the main colour in one order so the dye lot matches. Then check multi-buy prices. LoveCrafts takes 10% off Special DK when you buy 10 balls, which comes to £21.15. That’s the same as nine single balls at £2.35, so if you need nine, you may as well take ten. The budget calculator does the rounding and totals for each colour.

Common questions

Sources and scope

• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• www.garnstudio.com/yarn.php
• bluestarcrochet.com/working-girl-cardigan/
• bluestarcrochet.com/crochet-jumper-pattern/
• doradoes.co.uk/portfolio/any-time-cardigan-free-crochet-pattern/
• www.yarncraftee.com/free-crochet-pattern-cosy-crochet-cardigan-with-aran-yarn/
• yayforyarn.com/textured-pullover-crochet-pattern/
• www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/woman-size
• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/products/stylecraft-special-dk
• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/products/paintbox-yarns-simply-dk
• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/products/stylecraft-special-aran

Sources checked 1 October 2026. Label facts come from the linked references; worked purchase examples and arithmetic are our own illustrations.