Knitting Tips - Yarn Weights
Worsted weight wool yarn, regardless of the number of plies it is made of,
is defined as having between 900 and 1200 yards per pound. However, "worsted" is also a term that describes the way the yarn is spun (from combed top,
very smooth, with all the ends spun into the plies of the yarn) regardless of weight.
Here's a way to identify the weight of a yarn, if it's not marked. Take a ruler and wrap
the yarn around it, not too tight, not to loose, lining up each wrap next to the last with
no spaces between them and no overlapping. Do this for exactly 2 inches, then count how
many wraps there are. Divide this number by two to get the "wraps per inch". Once you know
the wraps per inch, you can figure out the weight (and can estimate the yardage) of the yarn
based on the table below.
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All text and images copyright © 2001, 2002 Margaret K.K. Radcliffe
WEIGHT
YARDS/POUND
WRAPS/INCH
Lace
2600+
18+
Fingering
1900-2400
16
Sport
1200-1800
14
Worsted
900-1200
12
Bulky
600-800
10
Very Bulky
400-500
8 or fewer
