How much yarn do I need for my tufting project?

October 03, 2026

Estimating yarn gets easier with experience, but there's no single answer. Below are the factors that affect yarn usage, a reliable benchmark, estimates by project size and tips for ordering the right amount.

What affects how much yarn you'll use

• Project size: Bigger pieces need more yarn.
• Pile height: Higher pile uses a lot more yarn. High-pile tufting (20–60 mm) uses roughly 2–3× more yarn than low-pile tufting (7–18 mm).
• Cut or loop pile: Loop pile uses slightly less yarn than cut pile.
• Number of strands: Tufting with two strands uses twice as much yarn as tufting with one. We recommend two strands at once for a dense, professional pile.
• Tufting density: How close together your tufted lines are, and how tight the tufted strands are.
• Yarn type and thickness: Thinner yarns need more strands to fill the pile. See what kind of yarn you should tuft with.

A useful benchmark

Feeding two strands of Reflect Wool into an AK-I Cut-Pile Machine set to a 12 mm pile (about ½ inch) uses about 8 ounces (half a pound) of yarn per square foot.

Reflect yarn comes in 16 oz (1 lb) cones. With two cones on your yarn feeder, you can tuft about 4 square feet (about 24" × 24" or 60 × 60 cm) before both cones run out.

Estimates by project size (low pile, 2 strands)

• 12" × 12" (30 × 30 cm): about 0.5 lb (225 g)
• 24" × 24" (60 × 60 cm): about 1.5–2 lbs (680–900 g)
• 36" × 36" (90 × 90 cm): about 3–4 lbs (1.4–1.8 kg)
• 48" × 48" (120 × 120 cm): about 5–7 lbs (2.3–3.2 kg)

Which yarns work best

Rug-grade yarns are the safest choice. They're wound tightly enough for the machine scissors to cut cleanly and are tough enough for floor traffic. We carry:

• Reflect Wool: Small-batch dyed New Zealand wool sold by the cone. It's our most popular yarn and works well with all our machines.
• Reflect Eco-Cotton: A sustainable, high-quality option for tufters who prefer natural plant fibers. It's made from available recycled cotton, so some colors get discontinued now and then, and colors may vary slightly between orders.
• Recycled Wool: Use it alone or combined with other yarns. See the cone combinations below.
• Mop yarn: Recycled cotton and synthetic yarns, great for weaving and experimental projects.

Avoid using very fine or very slippery yarns on their own, such as silk or acrylic novelty yarns. They tend to slip out of the cloth. If you love a thinner yarn, combine two or three strands for better grip.

Tufting with multiple strands

Thinner yarns may need three, four or even five strands at once to make a plush pile. You can do this in two ways:

• Build a yarn feeder that holds one cone for every strand you tuft with.
• Rewind several strands together onto a single cone using a yarn winder.

These are the cone combinations we recommend for each yarn type:

• Wool only (cut or loop): 2 cones of Wool
• Eco-cotton only (cut or loop): 2 cones of Eco-cotton
• Recycled Wool only (cut pile): 3 cones of Recycled Wool
• Recycled Wool only (loop pile): 4 cones of Recycled Wool
• Both types of Wool (cut or loop): 1 cone of Wool + 2 cones of Recycled Wool
• Eco-cotton/Recycled Wool combo (cut or loop): 1 cone of Eco-cotton + 2 cones of Recycled Wool

Tips for ordering the right amount

• Order a little extra. It's always better to have too much of a color than to run out mid-project, especially if a dye lot sells out. Extra yarn also helps you fix mistakes. A 10–20% buffer is smart, particularly for large single-color areas.
• Use our free calculator. At priceyourcraft.com, you can enter your rug dimensions or upload your design image to get a yarn estimate per color.
• Get a sample card first. Our Yarn Sample Cards have swatches of every Reflect Wool color, so you can check colors before buying in quantity.
• Wind colors onto separate cones. Our cardboard yarn cones make it easy to switch colors mid-project.

Cone size, weight and labels

Our yarn is wound and sold by weight, not by cone size or volume. Each Reflect Wool cone holds about 600 meters of yarn, which equals 1 lb (16 oz). Our newer winders wind yarn much tighter, so a full 1 lb cone may look smaller than older cones or other colors. It still holds the same amount of yarn.

Color labels are now placed inside the cone instead of around the outside.

If you think a cone is short, weigh it. The empty cone weighs about 1.3 oz, so subtract that from the total. If the yarn weighs less than a pound, email support@tufttheworld.com and we'll make it right.

Bulk yarn discounts

• Order 12 or more cones and enter code Bulkyarn12 at checkout for 20% off.
• Order 20 or more cones and enter code Bulkyarn20 for 25% off.

Any yarn counts, and you can mix colors. These discounts can't be combined with any other offer.

Tip: Our large box holds 24 cones, so ordering in multiples of 24 helps your order ship in fewer boxes.

Still not sure? Ask us!

Our support team is happy to help you estimate yarn for your project. We're available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am–5pm ET. Email support@tufttheworld.com or use the chat on our website.

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