knit/crochet people! Help needed with weights/yardages!

[Nomada]

On average how many yards or metres do you reckon you get on a 100g ball of DK wool? I can only afford this cheap yarn at the moment and it doesn't give any yardage info. Internet searches have brought up eveything fro 60-190 yards Is there a way of calculating it from gauge, WPi or anything? Or should I guess and hope my dress I want to crochet reaches a decent length?

[StripyPixieSocks]

It very much depends on what the DK is made of, if it's acrylic it's lighter than say wool perhaps so it's probably nigh on impossible to guess meterage I would think but I'm sure one of the more expert fibre crafters will give you a better answer :)

[becks77]

Lots of advice here www.ravelry.com

[crowsashes]

i have just gone through my stash of yarn and have several balls of dk yarn in it.
my 25g ball of 'dollymix' yarn gets approx 80yard / 73 meters each. a 100g ball of dk 'special by style craft' is approx 295 meters/322yards.

these are only approx.

i tend to see a yarn i like and want to use then ask the shop to put several balls extran back for me in case i need it.

[MuddyWitch]

Yep, mine vary enormously too.

I just buy twice as much as I think I'll need then make summat else with the 'left overs'

MW

[Nomada]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Ravelery was very useful! I ended up buying a cone of wool off ebay for the project I want to start, in just the colour I wanted, should be more than enough on it but being able to estimate is always useful for the future!

[the.fee.fairy]

If yiou've got scales, try taking off say 10m and weighing it, then divide the 100 by whatever the weight was, then multiply that by ten (i think...my degree's in English, not maths...).

If you're not sure if its DK, or Aran, or Whatever, you can look at WPI guages (wraps per inch), or if there's a needle size, that's usually a good guideline.

Edited to add: If its from a cone, it might be a bit oily - they leave more lanolin in it for cone wool that's for knitting machines, it makes it easier for the woll to run through the machine. So be aware that you might get oily fingers from it, and it will need a good wash either before you start knitting, or when the project's finished (before is usually better because you can get a better idea of guage/tension from it then - the oil can make it thinner).

[Nomada]

Thanks for the tips, I'll bear that in mind about the cones, I've somehow ended up with 8! Damn ebay! Got a load of ecru coloured wools that I'll be using later on in the year to experiment with natural dyes, guess I'm best off giving it a bit of a wash before I begin!