Methodology & Sources

The US ring size scale is linear in inner circumference: US size = (circumference mm − 36.5) ÷ 2.55, each full size being 2.55 mm of circumference (0.8128 mm of diameter). This matches the ISO 8653 reference system, under which the continental/European size is the inner circumference in millimetres (hence US 7 ≈ EU 54). Quarter sizes are computed from the same formula and rounded to the nearest 0.25. UK/Australian letter sizes and Japanese numbered sizes are mapped from the standard published US↔UK↔JP conversion charts used by jewellery suppliers (e.g. Rio Grande’s ring-size chart); because those scales are not perfectly linear against the US one, UK/JP values are matched to the nearest half-size row. Inside diameter converts via C = π × d. Measurements outside US 3–13 are clamped and flagged.

Binding: length = 2 × (width + length) + corner/join allowance (default 10″, the standard quilter’s slack for four mitered corners plus the diagonal join). Strips = binding length ÷ usable strip length (40″ from a 42″ width-of-fabric, allowing for selvage). Fabric = strips × strip width, converted to yards and rounded up to the nearest ⅛ yard — the standard cutting increment.

Yardage: a packing calculation — pieces per row = floor(bolt ÷ piece width), rows = ceil(quantity ÷ pieces per row), length = rows × piece height. Both orientations are tried for non-directional fabric and the shorter kept; directional prints lock the orientation. Shrinkage inflates piece dimensions by (1 + shrink%) before packing.

Half-square triangles: the 2-at-a-time rule is the classic finished + ⅞″ — ¼″ seams on each side plus the bias-diagonal loss. The 8-at-a-time (“magic 8”) method follows the published chart 2 × finished + 1¾″ (two 6¾″ squares yield eight 2½″ HSTs). The 4-at-a-time method follows the geometry of the diagonal cuts: √2 × (finished + 1)″, rounded up to the nearest ⅛″. All methods assume trimming to the exact unfinished size (finished + ½″) with a square ruler.

Working densities (grams per millilitre): soy 0.86, paraffin 0.90, coconut blend 0.92, beeswax 0.96 — standard supplier values; blends vary by a few percent, so weighing a water-filled vessel remains the ground truth. The load convention used throughout the candle industry, and here: fragrance percentage is a percentage of wax weight, not of the finished pour — 10% load in 100 g of wax is 10 g of oil and a 110 g candle. Wick suggestions are qualitative starting ranges by vessel diameter (single wick under ~65 mm, medium 65–80 mm, consider double-wicking above 80 mm); wick choice depends on wax, fragrance and dye and always requires a burn test.

Volumes are textbook geometry: box = L × W × H, cylinder = πr²h, sphere = 4/3·πr³, hemisphere = 2/3·πr³, in centimetres giving cm³ = ml. A default 10% mixing-loss allowance covers cups and sticks (adjustable). Mixed-resin density defaults to 1.15 g/ml, typical for casting epoxies (most sit 1.1–1.2; check your product’s TDS). The A/B split honours whichever convention the resin specifies — by weight or by volume — because the two are not interchangeable when the parts differ in density.

These are empirical estimates, not standards — the honest part of the site. Stockinette yards per square inch by yarn weight: lace 0.50 (open fabric), fingering 0.85, sport 0.75, DK 0.70, worsted/aran 0.65, bulky 0.55, super bulky 0.45 — calibrated against published yardage figures for typical projects of each weight and the physical relationship that yardage per area scales roughly with 1/gauge. Stitch factors: stockinette ×1.0, garter and seed ×1.1, cables ×1.2, lace ×0.85. Crochet consumes about 25% more yarn than knitting at the same gauge, so the crochet table (worsted 0.70 yd/in² etc.) runs higher, with openwork ×0.85 and dense stitches ×1.15. An entered gauge adjusts the estimate by (reference gauge ÷ your gauge). Expect ±15%; weigh a swatch for anything precious.

Saponification values (grams of lye per gram of oil) follow the standard published SAP chart used by Bramble Berry / Soap Queen and reproduced in most soap-making references — e.g. olive 0.134 NaOH / 0.190 KOH, coconut 76° 0.190 / 0.266, palm 0.141 / 0.199, shea 0.128 / 0.179. Lye = Σ(oil × SAP) × (1 − superfat). KOH is adjusted for the typical ~90% purity of flake potash (÷ 0.90); NaOH is treated as pure. SAP values vary slightly with oil provenance — production soapmakers verify with their supplier’s certificate. Water: either a water:lye ratio (default 2:1) or a percentage of oil weight (default 33%).

American Wire Gauge (Brown & Sharpe) is defined exactly: d(mm) = 0.127 × 92^((36 − AWG)/39), with AWG 36 = 0.127 mm and AWG 0000 = 11.684 mm as the defining anchors. The reference table is computed from this formula, so it cannot be wrong by transcription. Typical-use notes for jewellery gauges reflect standard bench practice (20–21g ear wires, 16–18g jump rings, 24–28g weaving wire); standard pierced earring posts run 20–21 gauge.

The Anchor↔DMC conversion chart (608 pairs) is sourced from the published CyberStitchers floss conversion chart (cyberstitchers.com, retrieved 25 July 2026); color names and hex values are DMC’s. Conversion charts are visual matches and compilers disagree on borderline shades — treat pairs as close equivalents. The DMC color chart covers the most-used solid colors with names as printed on the DMC shade card, cross-checked against two further independent published charts; corrections applied from that check include 816 Garnet, 938 Coffee Brown — ultra dark, 3765/3766 Peacock Blue, 3777/3778/3779 Terra Cotta, 3781/3782 Mocha Brown, 327 Violet — dark, 720 Orange Spice — dark, 352 Coral — light, 758 Terra Cotta — very light and 3706 Melon — medium. A phantom entry for code 358 was removed: 358 is not a current DMC color (it appears in no complete chart, including the CyberStitchers conversion data) and the name it carried belongs to 3778. Code 3771 is left as-is because the independent sources disagree on it. Hex values are screen approximations of dyed cotton — independent published charts disagree with each other by a mean RGB distance of ~35, so there is no machine-readable ground truth; use them for palette planning, never for buying decisions.

Anything you buy rounds up: skeins, strips, yards (to the ⅛), squares of fabric. Anything you cut rounds up to the craft’s increment (⅛″ for quilting) so units trim down, never short. Lye rounds down if forced — a slight superfat is safe, excess lye is not. Gauge and measurement results are shown to two decimals and never rounded into the advice.