Yarn packs vs single balls: compare the whole order

Start with cost per 100 m

Price per ball misleads when the balls hold different lengths. On 1 October 2026, LoveCrafts sold Stylecraft Special DK at £2.35 for 295 m and Paintbox Simply DK at a sale price of £1.69 for 276 m. Per 100 m that’s 80p against 61p. At its full price of £2.60, Simply DK would be 94p per 100 m.

Cost per 100 m is only a first check. Both are acrylic DK with the same suggested hook, but they aren’t identical, so make sure the cheaper yarn suits your pattern before comparing further.

Then cost the whole order

For 1,200 m of one colour you need 1,200 ÷ 295 = 4.07, so 5 balls of Special DK, or 1,200 ÷ 276 = 4.35, so 5 balls of Simply DK. That’s £11.75 or £8.45. Under £40, LoveCrafts charged £3.50 for standard UK delivery, so the totals are £15.25 and £11.95.

Packs round twice

If a listing sells three balls of one shade together, round to whole balls first and then to whole packs. 900 m at 200 m a ball is 5 balls, which means two packs and 6 balls. The sixth ball is bought surplus, not an extra allowance, so count it before adding another.

Two colours can’t share a single-colour pack. Each needs its own. For mixed-colour packs, check how many balls of each shade you get. Wool Warehouse and LoveCrafts only take colour packs back whole and unused.

Volume discounts can make the 10th ball free

LoveCrafts offered 10% off 10 or more balls of the same colour on both yarns. Special DK went to 15% off at 20 and 20% off at 30, and Simply DK, which was on sale, to 12.5% at 20 and 15% at 30. At £2.35 a ball, 9 balls of Special DK cost £21.15. Ten balls cost £23.50 less 10%, which is also £21.15. If your pattern needs nine of one colour, the tenth is your spare at no extra cost.

The discount only counts balls of the same colour, so a multicolour order rarely reaches it.

Delivery thresholds change the answer

LoveCrafts delivered free over £40. Seventeen balls of Special DK in mixed colours, with none reaching 10 of one colour, cost £39.95, plus £3.50 delivery, which is £43.45. Eighteen cost £42.30 with free delivery. So the 18th ball saves you £1.15, as long as it doesn’t take one colour to 10 balls: the 10% discount would then bring the order back under £40.

When you’re close to a threshold, compare the order with and without a spare ball. Thresholds differ by shop; our UK yarn order checklist lists them.

Enter prices the way the tool expects

Put in the price of one complete pack and the number of balls in it. For a three-ball pack at £5.40, enter £5.40 and 3, not £1.80 and 3. Use 1 for single balls. Enter the delivery charge shown in your basket: 0 means you checked it’s free, and a blank means you don’t know yet.

Example packs to compare

Enter the pack size and pack price into the comparison tool. Check that every ball in a pack is the shade and dye lot you need before counting it in your plan.

Common questions

Sources and scope

• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/products/stylecraft-special-dk
• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/products/paintbox-yarns-simply-dk
• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/policies/shipping-policy
• www.lovecrafts.com/en-gb/policies/refund-policy
• www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/returns-policy
• www.stylecraft-yarns.co.uk/yarns/special-dk

Sources checked 1 October 2026. Label facts come from the linked references; worked purchase examples and arithmetic are our own illustrations. Original pattern and product names retain their source spelling.