For beginners in crocheting and knitting, knowing the different sizes of yarn weights is the first step to grasping the fundamentals of crafting. When your pattern needs to come to an exact size, you must be able to distinguish between the different yarn weights. In today's blog, I’m going to help you make informed choices about yarn weights by diving deep into the details.
What is yarn weight?
Yarn weight refers to the thickness of the strand. Yarn weight comes in a wide range of weights such as 0: Lace, 1: Super Fine, 2: Fine, 3: Light Worsted, 4: Worsted, 5: Bulky, 6: Super Bulky, and 7: Jumbo.
Understanding Yarn Weights:
When it comes to stitch size, fabric drape, and the overall appearance of the finished project, yarn weight is one of the most important factors to consider.
- Lace Weight 1: Lace-weight yarn is the lightest and is generally used for light shawls, doilies, and delicate projects.
- Super Fine Weight 2: This yarn is slightly heavier than lace-weight yarn and is suitable for detailed stitch work because of its fine texture. Super Fine yarn is great for lacy shawls, baby clothes, scarves, and socks.
- Fine Weight 3: Because this yarn is slightly thicker than super fine-weight yarn, this yarn is great for winter clothing such as sweaters, shawls, socks, and gloves.
- Light Worsted Weight 4: This yarn is thicker than the other yarns, making it perfect for scarves, shawls, sweaters, and baby clothes.
- Worsted Weight 5 / Medium Weight 5: The most commonly used weight since it is versatile and can be used for various projects including sweaters, hats, and yarn blanket.
- Bulky Weight 6: Also known as chunky-weight yarns, this yarn weight is great for creating quick cozy blankets, sweaters, and scarves.
- Super Bulk Weight 7: This yarn is used for quick-knit projects, rugs, and thick blankets. This yarn is easy to knit due to it’s easy to see the individual stitches.
- Jumbo Weight 8: Jumbo yarn is the heaviest weight of yarn and is best suited for creating very thick home decor blankets and arm knitting.
How is Yarn Weight measured?
- The most common way to calculate the yarn’s weight is by measuring the strand’s thickness with a method called WPI. This can be measured by taking a strand of yarn and wrapping it around a ruler until it covers the one-inch mark. In essence, the WPI is the amount of times the yarn can wrap around in one inch.
- A ply is the number of strands of yarn used to make a strand. Two-ply yarn, for instance, consists of two strands of yarn twisted together. In the yarn world, you’ll typically hear terms such as 4-ply yarn, 8-ply yarn, or 10-ply yarn.
- In most cases, the thicker the yarn the higher the ply. However, it’s best to double-check because in some cases very chunky yarn is only 2-ply, and a very thin yarn could be 8-ply.
Conclusion:
It’s very important to master the different types of yarn weights. In this blog, you learned how to choose the best yarn for your project and how to distinguish which yarn will give the best results. If you’re ready to take your soft yarn crafts to the next level, explore our wide range of yarns at our yarn store at BambooMN.com.
