Yarn Estimates

An anonymous commenter asked,

About how much yarn is needed to knit a 2-year old child`s sweater with average yarn(4-ply, worsted weight...not special, kind of usual thick)????? How many ounces about? And about how many yards?

There are a number of references that can help answer the question.

1) The Knitter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements by Ann Budd is a laminated pamphlet with yardage estimates for sweaters, vests, mittens, gloves, socks, scarves, tams, and hats for sizes from baby to large adult.

2) Search for patterns that are similar to what you're interested in making and see how many yards are required.

3) Online estimators--here's a sampling of search results.

• With Yarn in Front Yarn Yardage Estimator
  
• Elizabeth's Fiber & Yarn Store Yarn Estimates
  
• Alpaca Direct Yarn Estimator
  
• knittingfool.com Yarn Yardage Estimator
  

Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements shows that a sweater for a 2 year old, 26" finished chest circumference with a gauge of 5 st/inch, would require approximately 582 yards or 532 meters.

A typical worsted weight yarn like Cascade 220 or Patons Classic Wool Merino has about 220 yds per 100 gms / 3.53 ounces. 582 yds would be about 9.4 ounces or 3 skeins of yarn.

You may need more depending on the stitch pattern, but this should give you an idea of how big the ballpark is.