YARN THICKNESS / YARN COUNTS

Following are the thickness sizes of yarns, along with further explanation of
the sizes and how yarns are typed so you can better match your patterns and
make interchanging yarns much easier.
YARN THICKNESS/LENGTH STANDARDS AND
COUNTS
 Yorkshire Wool 256 yds/lb.
 Linen 300 yds. lb.
 Worsted 560 yds/lb.
 Cotton 840 yds/lb.
 Spun Silk 840 yds/lb.

 One spinning of one pound of raw fiber produces 'x' yards/pound

of that raw fiber.
 One spinning of one pound of raw worsted wool or acrylic
produces 560 yards.
 One spinning of one pound of cotton or silk produces 840 yards.
All calculations go from there.

The primary standard to determine yarn thickness for wool and acrylic is
worsted-weight at 560 yards/pound.

 Yarn thickness is determined by the number of times the standard

length of yarn is spun.
 The thickness number is calculated using the thickness of a
single strand (ply) of spun yarn.
 The number of spinnings and the number of plies (strands)
produce the yarn 'count'.
 The thinner the yarn, the higher the number and the more yards to
the pound.

Example: 3/9 yarn count for wool or acrylic yarn

The first number of the fraction (3) is the number of plies. A ply is a single
strand, so this is 3-ply yarn.

The second number of the fraction (9) is the yarn thickness. This yarn
thickness means the yarn has been spun 9 times the standard length of 560. 9
x 560 = 5,040.
So, for this 3-ply yarn, the thickness number (5,040) is divided by the number
of strands (3) = 1,680 yds/lb.

Good for standard and mid-gauge machines or doubled for the bulky at 840
yds/lb.

Example: 2/30 yarn count for wool or acrylic yarn

2-ply yarn and (30 x 560) = 16,800 ÷ 2 = 8,400 yds/lb. Good for standard double-
bed jacquard work.

Example: 4/18 count yarn

4-ply yarn and (18 x 560) = 10,080 ÷ 4 = 2,520 yds/lb. Good for standard single
bed work or doubled for mid-gauge and bulky.

Situation
Let's say you take a trip to England this summer and see some British hand-
knitting yarn in 100-gram skeins that says 302 meters each and you want to
buy it, but there's no one around who can convert this to yards or pounds so
you can know how much to buy. There are two ways to handle this, really
three.
(1) First, you can just know how to convert from meters to yarns and pounds
because you're smarter than most of us.

(2) You can simply calculate it for yourself.

(3) Or, you can always be a good Girl or Boy Scout and carry the following
handy little chart with you. You can use this same chart if you know the yarn
count or an approximation of meters per 100 grams.
 Meters per Approximate Approximate
Average Machine
100 Grams 1 Count Yardage/Pound
1692 20/2 Cotton 8,400
1600 2/32 8,000
1510 2/30 7,500
DOUBLE BED
1410 2/28 7,000
1310 2/26 6,500 Jacquard for

1208 2/24 6,000 Passap

1108 2/22 5,500 and
1007 2/20, 3/30 5,000
Japanese Machines
846 10/2 Cotton 4,200
806 2/16, 3/24 4,000 - or -

755 2/15 3,750 As Strander/Filler

705 2/14 3,500 with
677 8/2 Cotton 3,360
Heavier Yarn
655 3/20 3,333
604 2/12, 3/18 3,000
554 2/11 2,750
507 6/2 Cotton 2,520
504 2/10, 3/15 2,500 SINGLE BED

453 3/14 2,333 Single Strand for

423 5/2 Cotton 2,100 Standard Gauge and/or
Mid-gauge
402 2/8, 3/12 2,000
- or -
338 4/2 Cotton 1,680
302 3/9 1,500 Doubled for
252 3/8 1,333 Bulky Gauge
254 3/2 Cotton 1,260
202 2/4, 4/8 1,000 BULKY-GAUGE
101 2/2, 404 500 MACHINES
If you're more comfortable working with the yardage of a 50-gram ball, simply divide the first column
by two.
If you're more comfortable working with a bag of (10) 50-gram balls, you can multiply the first column
by five.
 But as with all yarns, there can be overlap between machines. You can use bulky
yarns on both standard and mid-gauge machines, as you can use fingering yarns on
mid-gauge and bulky machines. It all depends on how they are being used.

CONVERTING NUMBERS ON LABELS

302 Meters/100 Grams to Yards/Pound:
 Multiply the meters (302) by the number of grams per pound (454) to
the hundredth:
302 x 4.54 = 1,371 meters per pound
 Then, multiply the 1,371 meters per pound by the conversion factor
from meters to yards (1.094) -or- divide the 1,371 meters per pound by
the conversion factor from meters to yards (0.9144)
1,371 meters x 1.094 = 1,500 yards per pound and 1,371 meters ÷
0.9144 = 1,500 yards/pound

1,500 Yards/Pound to Meters:

 Multiply the total yards/pound (1,500) by the conversion factor from
yards to meters (0.9144)
1,500 yards x .9144 = 1,371 meter.
 Then to find out how much yarn there is per 100 grams, divide the total
meters (1,371) by 4.54
1,371 meters to a pound ÷ 4.54 = 302 meters per 100 grams

CONVENIENT CONVERSIONS
1 oz. = 28 (28.349) grams

1 pound = 454 (453.584) grams

500 grams = about 17.6 oz.

450 grams = about 1 lb. (15.9 oz.)

400 grams = about 14.1 ounces

350 grams = about 12.5 ounces

250 grams = about 8.8 ounces

100 grams = about 3.5 ounces

50 grams = about 1.75 ounces

25 grams = about 7/8 ounce

 AVERAGE YARN AMOUNTS NEEDED
The following approximation lists should be helpful to you for 'guestimating' how
much yarn to buy for a particular garment. However, please be aware you may use a
bit more yarn when machine knitting than when hand-knitting, primarily because of
the need to make and treat swatches before knitting. The same yarn called for in a
pattern in a different color from the pattern color on two different, but identical,
machines on a dry day versus a humid day will produce two different final gauges for
stitches and rows. My Brother 270/ Knitking CompuKnit Bulky and yours may give
different gauges for the same yarn under these conditions. Being off only c inch
when multiplied by 20 inches gives or takes away 5 inches! Whatever it was going to
be, it surely won't be, at least not the way you thought it would be! And we don't like
to keep knitting and pulling out and knitting again because the yarn will lose its
elasticity. Besides that, hand knitters can simply change needles and/or knit tighter
or looser. Machine knitters must select three or four different variations of the same
stitch size (or have three or four different needle choices), depending upon which
machines are being used. Remember, however, that doing the same pattern in
fairisle, jacquard or tuck will always vary the amount of yarn needed, with a tuck
pattern usually requiring as much as 20% to 25% MORE yarn!
 Man's or Lady's Sweater (Small, Medium, Large) 1½ lbs to 2½ lbs.
 Lady's Suit 2½ lbs to 4 lbs.
 Lady's Straight Skirt Less than 1 lb.
 Lady's Skirt (Fuller than Straight and Pleated) 1 lb to 2 lbs.
 Slacks 1½ to 2 lbs.
 Baby Items Less than 1 lb.
 Child's Sweater Less than 1 lb.
 Scarf, Mittens and Cap Sets 2+ lbs.


COTTON AND COTTON BLEND YARNS

Cotton is a completely different animal from wools and acrylics. It generally doesn't
stretch. Instead it fuzzes. Therefore, for a newer knitter, it may be much more difficult
to use. However, for summer, wearing wool and acrylic, which is not a woolray, isn't
always the most comfortable thing we can do, so knowing a little about cotton yarns
may be helpful.

When gauging cotton, simply reverse the numbers from those shown for wool and
acrylic, as most cotton is 2-ply (or a multiple of 2) and the 2 is usually the
denominator of the fraction rather than being the numerator of the fraction.

Example: 3/2 Cotton then becomes 2/3 for purposes of gauging the size
needed!

Use the Cotton Standard of 840 yards/pound, not the Wool Standard of 560
yards/pound when calculating.
 COTTON WEIGHTS

YARN COUNT YARDS/POUND STRANDS/MACHINE

Single: Standard or Mid-Gauge

3/2 Cotton 3 x 840 ÷ 2 = 1,260 yards/pound
Single or Doubled for Bulky

Single: Standard or Mid-Gauge

4/2 Cotton 4 x 840 ÷ 2 = 1,680 yards/pound
Single or Doubled for Bulky

Single: Standard
5/2 Cotton 5 x 840 ÷ 2 = 2,100 yards/pound Single/Double on Mid-Gauge
Doubled on Bulky

Single: Standard
6/2 Cotton 6 x 840 ÷ 2 = 2,520 yards/pound Doubled on Mid-Gauge
Doubled on Bulky

Single: Standard (Jacquard)

8/2 Cotton 8 x 840 ÷ 2 = 3,360 yards/pound Doubled on Mid-Gauge
Doubled or Tripled on Bulky

Single: Standard (Jacquard)

10/2 Cotton 10 x 840 ÷ 2 = 4,200 yards/pound Doubled or Tripled on Mid-
Gauge

20/2 Cotton 20 x 840 ÷ 2 = 8,400 yards/pound Single: Standard (Jacquard)

TYPES OF COTTON
RAW COTTON
Cotton growing in a field and unusable for knitting. If you've seen cotton balls, you've seen
pretty much what raw cotton on the plant resembles.

CARDED or COMBED COTTON

Cotton that has been 'combed', the first stage of processing, to remove plant residue before
spinning to a specific thickness. Usually quite soft, not at all recommended for fitted skirts
due to 'seating' out problems, with a tendency to separate into plies, can break easily, will lose
color easily from washing, and will pill often.

MERCERIZED COTTON
Carded cotton that has been spun to a specific thickness and then treated in an acid-solution
bath to both set the yarn fibers and the colors. This yarn is usually quite strong, holds its color
quite well and is much less likely to pill. Can sometimes be plied, twisted or basket-woven.

GASSED COTTON
Mercerized cotton that has had all or most of the excess lint and/or fuzz burned off to bring
the color to the surface. Gassed cotton often gives the illusion of iridescence.

The price of cotton increases with the added treatment to it. Therefore, mercerized cotton will
cost more than carded cotton, and mercerized, gassed cotton will cost more than just plain
mercerized cotton. Then add in the country-of-origin of the cotton and the manufacturer=s
name, and the price varies again. American cotton is the least expensive, while Egyptian and
Pima cotton are the most expensive, and there is no cotton that holds its shape and its color
better or pills less than Mako Egyptian mercerized and gassed cotton.

All cottons can be hand- or machine-washed and tumble dried. However, the use of bleach
and heavy detergents in the water will eventually cause the colors to fade and wash out. So,
the use of soaps rather than detergents, hand-washing rather than machine-washing, and flat
drying rather than machine tumble drying will extend the life of your cottons and allow them
to keep their color and shape much longer and can be used many, many seasons.