Buying too little yarn means a stalled project and a second order just to finish one colour. Buying too much means half-used cones sitting on a shelf. This guide gives you a straightforward way to work it out before you start tufting.
The quick answer
For cut pile at a typical 14mm pile height, budget around 2 to 2.2 kg of yarn per square metre of tufted area. For loop pile, budget around 30% less, since no material is trimmed away during shaving.
Round up to the nearest cone (500g), and add a small buffer if your design has more than two or three colours.
Yarn needed by project size
These figures are based on cut pile at 14mm, tufted with two strands, working alone on your own design.
| Piece size | Tufted area | Yarn needed (cut pile) | Yarn needed (loop pile) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30x30cm | 0.09 m² | ~200g (0.4 cone) | ~140g (0.3 cone) |
| 40x40cm | 0.16 m² | ~350g (0.7 cone) | ~245g (0.5 cone) |
| 45x45cm | 0.20 m² | ~450g (0.9 cone) | ~315g (0.6 cone) |
| 50x50cm | 0.25 m² | ~550g (1.1 cones) | ~385g (0.8 cone) |
| 60x60cm | 0.36 m² | ~800g (1.6 cones) | ~560g (1.1 cones) |
| 100x100cm | 1 m² | ~2.2kg (4.4 cones) | ~1.5kg (3.1 cones) |
For a size that isn’t listed: multiply your tufted area in square metres by 2.2kg (cut pile) or 1.5kg (loop pile), then divide by 500g to get the number of cones.
Working out your own project
- Measure the tufted area, not the finished rug size. Backing and border are not tufted.
- Multiply the area (m²) by the rate for your pile type.
- Round the result up to the nearest full cone. A part-cone is still a part-cone: you can’t buy 0.4 of one.
- If your design uses more than two or three colours, add roughly 10-15% to your total. Splitting yarn across several colours always uses slightly more than a single-colour piece of the same size, since each colour change leaves a small unused length on the cone.
A note on colour
Background and outline colours are used in far greater quantity than accent colours in most designs. If your piece is mostly one or two dominant colours with small colour details, buy most of your yarn in those dominant colours and only a partial cone’s worth of each accent, rather than splitting your budget evenly across every colour in the design.
Cut pile or loop pile: why it matters for yarn use
Cut pile is shaved after tufting, which trims away material as part of the finish. Loop pile keeps the full loop, so less yarn is needed for the same visual density. If you’re deciding between the two and yarn budget matters, loop pile stretches your yarn further.
Buying yarn for your project
Yarn is sold in 500g cones. If your calculation lands you at 5 or more cones, check current bulk pricing before ordering; buying the full amount in one order is usually more efficient than topping up later, both for cost and for colour-matching (dye lots can vary slightly between batches).