Planning Yardage for a Year of Celtic Knots

December 09, 2022

One of the things that people seem to really love about my “Year of…” series is the monthly surprise of seeing the new design!

One of the problems with a monthly surprise is that it is hard to plan your yarn usage.

For 2023’s year of Celtic knots, I’m going to tell you the yardage amounts ahead of time (as in, right now). I won’t spoil the design surprise (although I have sent a few people a slightly blurry image of all 12 months – they didn’t want a surprise).

If you’re new around here and are looking for more information on this year’s monthly series of squares please head to the landing page:

The landing page does go over a few details like: monthly release, interlocking crochet option and center-out overlay mosaic crochet option, oversized afghan squares, etc. And it has a pre-sale link and a few teaser photos.

So, you already know there will be a new square every month in 2023. They are all the same size on the chart but depending on which technique you are using you might want to know a bit more about the yardage before we get started.

If you choose the interlocking crochet technique then you will have an easier time with the math. All 12 squares, regardless of the design shown, have the same yardage because two layers of mesh is two layers of mesh.

If you choose the center-out overlay mosaic crochet option then the yardage gets more difficult. Due to the nature of a sc and a dc using different amount of yarn you will have small differences in how much of each yarn is used.

I always round up from my actual usage because it’s better to have a little bit more yarn than you need instead of running out. You should do a gauge swatch if you want it to be completely accurate to how your tension affects your yarn usage.

Interlocking Crochet

Updated yardage for interlocking squares as of Dec 27, 2022.

All 12 squares are on a chart size of 81 x 81. They begin with 40 windows in the foundation row. Using a worsted weight yarn, and matching my gauge of 16 (dc, ch) stitches x 8 rows in one color = 4″, your finished squares will be about 20″ / 51cm.

You will need about 250 yards of the Main Color and 240 yards of the Accent Color. An additional 75 yards is optional per square if you’re planning to add the simple border. Yardage needed to join the squares together has not been included in that number.

The Main Color (MC) is the one used first and also becomes the knot. The Accent Color (AC) can also be thought of as the background color.

If you want all 12 squares to be the same colors, and you plan on adding the simple border, you’ll need about 3900 yards of the MC and 2880 yards of the AC. I’d expect to use another 300 yards of the MC to join using a flat braid join. See my joining tutorial: https://youtu.be/UXoh8ungXRs

Overlay Mosaic Crochet

Yardage for each of the squares changes slightly when you use the mosaic technique because some squares have a larger area of background than others. A design that uses less double crochets will also use less yarn.

The mosaic version of each square is on a chart size of 77 x 77, and if you meet gauge using worsted weight yarn they will be 19″ / 48cm. I count single crochets for the mosaic gauge and get 16 stitches x 16 rows = 4″

Like the interlocking technique, the Main Color (MC) refers to the knots and the Contrasting Color (CC) can also be thought of as the background color. The mosaic squares are done from the center-out and every square starts with the CC and ends with a final round of the MC.

No border is needed with this technique.

I estimate you’ll need another 300 yards of the MC to join the squares together using a flat braid join. See my joining tutorial: https://youtu.be/UXoh8ungXRs

January Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 250 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 330 yards

February Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 250 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 330 yards

March Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 260 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 340 yards

April Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 250 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 350 yards

May Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 280 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 320 yards

June Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 235 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 325 yards

July Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 260 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 325 yards

August Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 250 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 330 yards

September Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 260 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 340 yards

October Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 240 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 330 yards

November Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 230 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 340 yards

December Knot

  • Main color (knot) – 250 yards

  • Contrasting color (background) – 330 yards

If you plan on using the same MC throughout the series and to join your squares you’ll need a total of about 3315 yards. If you’ll be using the same color for all the backgrounds you’ll need 3990 yards of your CC.

I hope this helps you plan your shopping or your stash diving! I am so excited for this series!