TOOLS 101
YARN
Cotton, of course, comes from the cotton plant. It can be quite versatile and is very good to use for lace knitting. Because it doesn’t have the same amount of stretch as wool has, it is not often used for garments. In fact, it can be a bit coarse to the touch. Ultimately, it’s all about personal preference.
Your first question may be: why is there an entire article about yarn? Well, there is actually quite a bit to know about yarn. Let’s have a look, shall we?
In this article
This is a pretty long article. You can of course read it all in one go, if you want, but if you are looking for specific information, just jump to the section you need. Here are the space portals (also known as 'links') you can use.
Yarn. What is it made of?
Let’s start with that first question and look at what knitting yarn can be made of.
Why is it called yarn and not wool? Well, yarn can be made of wool, but also other materials.
I could write a small book about the different types of yarn, but I won’t. Instead I will focus on some of the best-known varieties.
Wool
Wool comes from sheep, but it’s not entirely that straightforward. Different sheep will provide different wool. For example, Merino wool comes from a sheep breed called, well, Merino. It has a completely different feel to it than more commonly available types of wool.
Wool can be a bit coarse and there are quite a lot of people who find that coarseness irritating. Whereas wool allergy does exist (due to the lanolin in it), it is very rare. However, both the allergy and irritation are things to consider if you ever make something for someone else.
If allergy is a concern, you can’t go wrong with alpaca wool, because it does not contain lanolin. Additionally, alpaca wool is naturally water resistant. It is also warmer than sheep’s wool.
Cashmere wool comes from Cashmere goats. Despite being lightweight it is also warmer than sheep’s wool. The wool comes specifically from the goat’s undercoat, which may explain why it’s expensive.
Acrylic
Apart from the various types of animal wool, there are man-made yarns. Acrylic is probably the best-known type, but there are many others.
Generally speaking (and this is very generic!) actual wool is often more expensive than acrylic.
Cotton
With ‘yarn weight’ I mean the yarn’s thickness. It depends on the thickness of each strand and how many strands there are. These strands are known as ‘ply’.
The most commonly known and used is DK, which stands for double knit. It is a 8 ply yarn. It is actually known as 8 ply in certain parts of the world, so it is handy to know this.
However, there are quite a few different thicknesses of yarn. There is also a difference between what the different weights are called in the UK, the US and Australia. I shall mention all three.
The thinnest/lightest is 1 ply, which is called lace in the US and 2 ply in Australia. It is incredibly thin and requires the thinnest of needles, which can be around 2mm (or less!). It does give fantastic results when lace knitting, though.
Next up is what is known in the UK as 2 ply (3 ply in Australia and ‘fingering’ yarn in the US). This yarn can be knitted on very thin needles, like 1 ply/lace yarn, but it can also handle slightly thicker needles. The size of your needle with give a different result, which can be handy when resizing a pattern. Of course, this will be covered later on in your knitting journey.
Before DK there is one more weight: 4 ply, which in Australia is 5 ply and in the US ‘sport’ yarn.
We are now entering the ‘regular size’ needle range: around 4mm.
DK is next, which, as you already know, is 8 ply (as it’s called in Australia). In the US it is also known as DK.
8 ply may sound like a lot, but if you go to the shop and have a look, you will find that DK can still look quite thin. Once you start knitting, you will see it is quite manageable.
After DK we have Aran (UK) or Worsted (US), which the Australians call 10 ply. The needle size goes up again, to around 6mm. This weight is between DK and chunky and just gives you a little bit more bulk and comfort.
Chunky is absolutely lovely and thick, great for hats and other warm items. In the US they call it bulky and in Australia it’s known as 12 ply.
If you have chunky yarn on its own it may still look fairly thin. The magic happens when you start knitting with it. It is so comfortable and even a bit huggable.
Super chunky is even heavier. In Australia it’s called 14 ply and in the US ‘super bulky’. This is the mother of all yarn weights (unless you’re arm knitting – yes, that’s a thing). You’ll need needles of 9mm or more for this. And of course it knits up incredibly quickly.
There is heavier that super chunky, but I do not intend to use it in my patterns. You are entering the realm of super knitting needles and even 'arm knitting' (yes, that's a thing).
One last thing on this: if you like knitting vintage patterns, the chance is that the yarn type is different from what we use now. There are plenty of very useful conversion charts for this and Facebook has some amazing groups full of experienced vintage knitters who are all willing to help you.
Yarn weight explained
Let me start of with a tip: try not to buy yarn without a label. The label has invaluable information on it, such as washing instructions. Additionally, it will happen that yarn is returned to the shop and it ends up on the shelf without a label. Do you want to run the risk of buying used yarn that may be missing part of the original amount?
An exception can be if you buy very old/vintage yarn. Just make sure you buy from a reputable place and you can trust they will send you the amount you’ve ordered.
Let’s have a look at a label, shall we?
How to read the label
At the top left, marked as ‘1’, you can see the weight of the ball, which in this case is 100g. Sometimes you will find the word ‘skein’, which also refers to a certain amount or length of yarn.
As you can see, this one also provides the actual length of the yarn: ca 298 m. This can be important, because each brand and/or type of yarn may have different lengths, even if the weight (100 g or 50 g) is the same.
Also, some patterns refer to the length of yarn required to knit the piece. In that case knowing your yarn is 100 g per ball or skein will not help you. You’d have to calculate how many metres or yards you’d get out of that.
Marked as ‘2’ (bottom left) is the material this yarn is actually made of. As you can see, this one is 100% acrylic.
Top right, marked as ‘3’, are the washing instructions, both for machine and hand wash in this case. Whatever you do, stick to these instructions.
I have found out the hard way that if you pop knitted items in a normal cycle and spin you’ll end up with a felted item. Ouch. I won’t be doing that again any time soon.
You may not see section ‘4’ on all labels, but it is useful when provided. This is a reference to the swatch or the expected tension. In this case they expect that if you knit 22 stitches for 28 rows, you’ll end up a 10cm square.
Because everyone knits differently (looser/tighter, smaller/larger needles, different yarn), you will find that your 22 stitch by 28 row swatch is a different size. And that is absolutely fine!
The swatch or tension information will help you calculate the size of knitted garments, so you will end up with something that fits. It can be quite technical, but once we get there, I will guide through it.
Section ‘5’ is all about needle sizes. In this case the number 4 at the top is for the UK. It means 4mm. I’ve already mentioned that this is a very commonly used size of needle.
Underneath they provide the size for the US, which, in this case, is 4 to 6.
Last, but not least, section ‘6’ shows what we already know: this is DK yarn.
There you are. The basics of yarn. There is one more thing you need to know about before we really start knitting: further accessories. Think about scissors, needles, stitch markers and much more. On to the next part!
Conclusion
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