In this section we will talk about how to classify yarns according to thickness, which is one of the most frequent questions I receive from my students who take my workshops and from clients who buy a pattern. It is complex information, it is not so readily available, so it is important that you know how to classify the yarn so that you can choose it when knitting a project.
As an introduction, there is a standardization of the thicknesses of the yarns, and they are classified with numbers from 0 to 7 (Check the Table No. 1 ). Based on this standardization, each number is associated with a category or name, which is how we commonly find them on yarn labels.
In Spanish this category goes with names like; LIGHT, MEDIUM, FINE, BULKY, SUPER BULKY, etc.
As an example; Suppose that on the label of the skein of yarn that we bought, there appears a symbol of a skein with the number 3 inside. If we review our table, we will see that our yarn corresponds to a LIGHT category.
This would be our first way of classifying a yarn.
In addition, another nomenclature is used, which is the type of thread within this category, and is known by the names DK, WORSTED, FINGERING, etc.
In my opinion, this nomenclature is more precise when proposing a yarn in a pattern.
In order to classify the yarns in this way, we use a ruler that already comes with the measurement of one inch marked, or simply a normal ruler that includes this unit of measurement. The one you see in the photos can be found @lastitch.scl.
In this way, we wind the yarn to be classified along the inch and depending on the number of turns that fit, we classify our yarn according to its thickness.
The number of turns is called WPI : Wraps per inch.
Depending on the number of turns, you can check the last column of the Table No. 2 , to determine the thickness of your yarn.
Unfortunately, very few labels contain the thickness mentioned, only the number of meters per grams, or the number mentioned above inside the skein symbol, on the yarn label.
So what do we do with that information? We can classify it according to the number of turns per inch, or be guided by the number of meters per 100 grams. For this option you can use the same Table No. 2 and review the first column.
In this way we have learned to classify our yarn according to the number of turns per inch and according to the number of meters that come in each 100 grams.
I hope this information has been useful to you to better understand how to classify our yarn.
See you !
