Convert the pattern yarn to total length, divide by the new yarn's published length per skein, then round up. Five 220-yard skeins equal 1,100 yards. If the target contains 210 yards per skein, 1,100 ÷ 210 = 5.24, so the length-based purchase count is six skeins.

Pattern amount Source length Required total Target length Raw result Whole skeins
5 Cascade 220 hanks 220 yd each 1,100 yd Malabrigo Rios, 210 yd each 5.24 6

That calculation answers the quantity question. Gauge, fiber, fabric, and fit still need their own check. You can run the same arithmetic with your selections in the Skeinote calculator.

Start with the exact yarn in the pattern

Write down the maker, complete line name, required skein count, and the length printed for one skein of that line. The line name matters because related yarns can use different package sizes and lengths.

Cascade currently publishes Cascade 220 as approximately 220 yards (200 m) per 100 g hank. For a five-hank pattern:

required length = source skeins × source length per skein
required length = 5 × 220 yd = 1,100 yd

If the pattern already gives a total in yards or metres, start from that total. Do not multiply it by the skein count again. If it gives grams, use the source yarn's package mass and length together, as explained in how to read a yarn label for substitution.

Divide by the new yarn's skein length

Find the maker page for the exact target line and use its published package length:

target skeins = required length ÷ target length per skein

Malabrigo publishes Rios at 210 yards (192 m) per 100 g skein. Applied to the 1,100-yard requirement:

1,100 yd ÷ 210 yd = 5.24 skeins

Yarn is sold in whole packages, so round only the final quotient upward. Six Rios skeins provide 1,260 published yards. Five provide 1,050 yards, which is below the 1,100-yard pattern total.

Do not round either maker's published length before doing the division. Keep the raw quotient in your notes because it shows how close the result sits to the next whole package.

The same calculation in metres

Use one unit from start to finish whenever both makers publish it. Cascade prints 200 m for Cascade 220 and Malabrigo prints 192 m for Rios:

5 × 200 m = 1,000 m required
1,000 m ÷ 192 m = 5.21 skeins
round upward = 6 skeins

The yard and metre routes reach the same whole-skein result here. The raw quotients differ slightly because the makers publish rounded values in both units. Skeinote keeps the printed figures visible and shows the unit conversion as its own line when a calculation has to cross units.

Three mistakes that change the count

Swapping skein for skein. Five skeins of one line can contain far more or less yarn than five skeins of another. Convert the source count to total length first.

Using a family name instead of the exact line. A solid, print, Sport, Chunky, or Wave version may have its own package figure. Read why related yarn names need separate records before copying a nearby figure.

Rounding too early. Keep the source total and division result unrounded. Round upward once, after dividing by the target package length.

What the count still cannot decide

Cascade describes Cascade 220 as a worsted-weight hank and publishes a knitting gauge of 18 to 20 stitches over 4 inches. Malabrigo calls Rios Worsted and publishes 18 to 22 stitches over 4 inches. Those ranges overlap, but the makers also publish different fiber and care details. Six skeins is therefore a transparent length result, not proof that the finished fabric will match.

Skeinote withholds a count when either selected record lacks published length or when both makers publish clearly different categories. When the count appears, follow it with the checks in same yarn weight: will the fabric match? and make a swatch in the intended stitch pattern before a large purchase.

Keep the source line, target line, both printed lengths, the required total, raw quotient, rounded count, and swatch result together. If a maker later changes a package figure, you will be able to see exactly which number drove the purchase plan.