Have you ever wondered what the thickness terms about wool yarn mean? If the answer is yes, then you are not alone. To complicate the issue, there is more than one system of measurement. Hopefully this guide will help you choose which yarn is best for you and your projects.
Oftentimes when you see yarn, you see a fraction such as 1/8 or 2/20 or an indicator such as 2nm. To understand what this means, understand that when fiber is spun, it is spun as a weight of wool, usually a kilogram or a pound, depending on the system. Using the metric system of measurement, a 1nm denotation means that a kilogram of wool has been spun into a 1,000 meter strand. A 2nm yarn will have 2,000 meters, and so on.
A wool with a fractional denotation such as 1/8 means that it is a one-ply yarn that has been spun into 8000m per kg. A 2/8 yarn means that it is a 2-ply yarn of wool that was spun to 8,000m and doubled to form the 2-ply, so there will be 4,000 meters in a kilogram cone.
For those of us who live in the US, we are further “helped” in that our measurement system is based on the pound, and not the metric system. So we must do further conversions. There are about 2.2 pounds to a kilogram, and about 1.1 yards to a meter, so this same 2/8 yarn will give us around 2,240 yards per pound.
So what about terms applied to yarn such as worsted weight, or fingering weight? These terms also describe the yarn thickness.Common weights of yarn are as follows, listed from thinnest to thickest.
•Lace Weight Yarn: Lace weight yarn is the thinnest yarn and usually has a lower number of plys, and has more yards per pound than thicker yarn. The very thinnest of lace-weight yarn is called Thread, and then the next is Cobweb lace yarn. This yarn is often is only 1 ply. As you can expect, there are many yards in a pound of this yarn. More commonly found lace yarns are:
2/24 weight yarn which has approximately 5,960 yd/lb.
2/20 weight yarn which has approximately 5,600 yd/lb being slightly
thicker than 2/24.
2/18 weight yarn which is thicker than both 2/24 and 2/20 weight and
has approximately 5,040 yd/lb.
All three of these yarns work beautifully for lace knitting and lace crochet work, weaving on a loom and knitting-machine fabric. Lace weight yarns can also be double stranded, or even triple or more stranded to create custom color work or custom-content and textured yarn for different effects in the finished piece. Oftentimes, larger needles are used with lace-weight yarn to help facilitate creating the delicate and airy openwork patterns, so follow the recommended needle sizes according to the pattern.
•Fingering Weight Yarn: Also called Sock Weight yarn. This yarn is also thin and lightweight.
2/8 weight yarn is a fingering weight yarn and has approximately 2,240 yd/lb.
This yarn is well suited and often used for knitting items such as socks, baby garments, shawls and summer-weight knit items. Most patterns recommend a specific needle/pin size based on their designs requirements, however the Craft Yarn Council of America does have suggested needle and crochet hook sizes for general use. Consulting this list can make modifications easier. You can visit their site here.
Fingering weight yarn gives generally 27-32 stitches per 4 inches in knitting stockinette stitch, or 21-32 stitches per 4 inches in single crochet.
•Needle size: 2.25-3.25mm US 1-3
•Hook size: 2.25-3.25mm US B-1 to E-4 or Steel Hooks 2 to 0
•Sport Weight Yarn: Also called Baby Weight Yarn, is thicker than fingering weight, but is also considered a light-weight yarn excellent for baby items and thin knitwear.
A 3/8 sport-weight yarn is a triple-ply yarn and has approximately 1,490 yd/lb.
Sport weight yarn gives about 7-8 stitches per inch, or 23-26 stitches per 4 inches knitting in stockinette stitch, or 16-20sts per 4 inches in single crochet.
•Needle size: 3.25 – 3.75mm, US 3-5
•Hook size: 3.5-4.5mm, US E-4 to 7
•DK Weight Yarn: Also called Light Worsted Yarn is a wonderful all-purpose yarn. With enough thickness to be warm, but thin enough to have a lovely drape when knit, it is excellent for all sorts of items.
A 4/8 sport weight yarn has 4 ply and has approximately 1,120 yd/lb.
Knitting in stockinette stitch expect 21-24 sitchests per 4 inches, or 12-17 stitches in single crochet.
•Needle size: 3.75 – 4.5mm, US 5-7
•Hook size: 4.5-5.5mm, US I-9 to K-10.5
•Worsted Weight Yarn: Not to be confused with worsted wool, which refers to how the fibers of the wool are carded and combed to all lay in one direction for spinning of the yarn. Worsted weight yarn is one of the most common weights of yarn sold today. Good for warm outerwear garments like hats and mittens, it also makes thick, warm sweaters.
It can come in differing yardage depending on the fiber, though it is generally almost double the weight of fingering weight yarn, and produces about 4-5 stitches per inch in knitting in stockinette stitch,or 16-20 stitches per 4 inches.
In crochet it is 11-14 stitches per 4 inches in single crochet stitch.
•Needle size: 4.5 – 5.5mm, US 7-9
•Hook size: 5.5-6.5mm, US I-9 to K-10.5
•Bulky Yarn: Also called Chunky Yarn. This yarn is very thick, can have many plies, and have as few as 500 yds/lb. It knits up quickly for hand-knit projects knitting 12-15 stitches in stockinette stitch and 9-11 sts in single crochet.
•Needle size: 5.5-8mm, US 9-11
•Hook size: 6.5-9mm, US K-10.5 to M-13
•Super Bulky Yarn: Also called Roving. This yarn is even thicker than Bulky Yarn. This yarn is often very texturally appealing. 6-11 stitches per 4 inches in knitting stockinette stitch or 8-11 stitches per 4 inches in single crochet.
•Needle size: 8mm and up, US 11 and up
•Hook size: 9mm and up, M-13 and
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