Yarn Weight Catagories

The question of what weight is this yarn will soon be moot, according to an
article in Knitters magazine. Most of us have already learned that 4 ply
yarn in the US is not 4 ply yarn in other places.
Yarn companies are switching to a universal labeling system to clarify yarn
weight. The new labels/and patterns will have a picture of a tiny ball of
yarn with a number from 1 to
6. 1 being superfine, 6 being superbulky.
DA

--
It ain't the jeans that makes your butt look fat.

"DA" wrote in message
news:q9Hzb.79802$xV6.19176@lakeread04...
The question of what weight is this yarn will soon be moot, according to
an
article in Knitters magazine. Most of us have already learned that 4 ply
yarn in the US is not 4 ply yarn in other places.
Yarn companies are switching to a universal labeling system to clarify
yarn
weight. The new labels/and patterns will have a picture of a tiny ball of
yarn with a number from 1 to
6. 1 being superfine, 6 being superbulky.
DA

Yep, and we'll all be looking for crib sheets to see what those numbers
relate to in the old system (whatever it may be). I've actually started to
convert myself to the number of stitches shown in the gauge swatch and that
brings me close to knowing what "weight" the yarn is.

Shelagh

The system is quite logical. I will upload the info and post a link later
DA

--
It ain't the jeans that makes your butt look fat.

"Shillelagh" wrote in message
...

"DA" wrote in message
news:q9Hzb.79802$xV6.19176@lakeread04...
The question of what weight is this yarn will soon be moot, according to
an
article in Knitters magazine. Most of us have already learned that 4 ply
yarn in the US is not 4 ply yarn in other places.
Yarn companies are switching to a universal labeling system to clarify
yarn
weight. The new labels/and patterns will have a picture of a tiny ball
of
yarn with a number from 1 to
6. 1 being superfine, 6 being superbulky.
DA

Yep, and we'll all be looking for crib sheets to see what those numbers
relate to in the old system (whatever it may be). I've actually started
to
convert myself to the number of stitches shown in the gauge swatch and
that
brings me close to knowing what "weight" the yarn is.

Shelagh

The new system is making life harder, especially for us retailers, not easier.
A medium weight (4) yarn by the new definitions, can be any yarn that knits from
16 to 20 stitches to 4 inches (10 cm). Inexperienced knitters come into our
shops and want a "weight 4" yarn, thinking they will all knit the same. If a
pattern calls for 20 sts to 4 inches, and you knit it with a yarn that knits 16
sts to 4 inches, you either end up with a very large garment, or if you use
smaller needles, you end up with something resembling cardboard.

The idea of the yarn council is good, but the bands are too wide. If they had
defined the weights in narrow bands, for example size "A" 21-22 sts to 4 inches,
Size "B" 23-24 sts to 4 inches, and so on, then there would be a good chance
that any size "A" yarn would work in any pattern that calls for a size "A" yarn.

This is not just our complaint - we have heard it from a number of retailers,
and we really wonder what the yarn council were thinking, and what they really
hoped to achieve. Perhaps if there are any yarn council members out there, they
could respond to this.

Roger.

--
Yarn Forward
Your On Line Yarn Store
http://www.yarnforward.com

DA wrote:
The question of what weight is this yarn will soon be moot, according to an
article in Knitters magazine. Most of us have already learned that 4 ply
yarn in the US is not 4 ply yarn in other places.
Yarn companies are switching to a universal labeling system to clarify yarn
weight. The new labels/and patterns will have a picture of a tiny ball of
yarn with a number from 1 to
6. 1 being superfine, 6 being superbulky.
DA

The new system is making life harder, especially for us retailers, not
easier.
A medium weight (4) yarn by the new definitions, can be any yarn that
knits from
16 to 20 stitches to 4 inches (10 cm). Inexperienced knitters come into
our
shops and want a "weight 4" yarn, thinking they will all knit the same.
If a
pattern calls for 20 sts to 4 inches, and you knit it with a yarn that
knits 16
sts to 4 inches, you either end up with a very large garment, or if you
use
smaller needles, you end up with something resembling cardboard.

This is where the expertise of the shop owner is invaluable. The shop that I
used as a new knitter had a swatch knitted with worsted weight yarn ( 5
stitches to the inch on a US 7 ) beginning with US size 4 needles and
ending with US 9. The use of a tactile/visual example of forcing gauge made
a lasting impression on me.
OTOH, the same shop owner had to lable all patterns calling for 4 ply yarn
as being knitted with "baby" yarn, not afghan weight. IMHO, the new
lableing system will aid in putting an end to such confusion. The addition
of an "average" gauge tension would be a plus and perhaps will be added as
the system is refined.
DA


--
Yarn Forward
Your On Line Yarn Store
http://www.yarnforward.com

DA wrote:
The question of what weight is this yarn will soon be moot, according to
an
article in Knitters magazine. Most of us have already learned that 4 ply
yarn in the US is not 4 ply yarn in other places.
Yarn companies are switching to a universal labeling system to clarify
yarn
weight. The new labels/and patterns will have a picture of a tiny ball
of
yarn with a number from 1 to
6. 1 being superfine, 6 being superbulky.
DA

Shelagh this is something that is surely well overdue - I will be looking
forward to the new labelling God Bless gwen

--

Gwen Kelly


"Shillelagh" wrote in message
...

"DA" wrote in message
news:q9Hzb.79802$xV6.19176@lakeread04...
The question of what weight is this yarn will soon be moot, according to
an
article in Knitters magazine. Most of us have already learned that 4 ply
yarn in the US is not 4 ply yarn in other places.
Yarn companies are switching to a universal labeling system to clarify
yarn
weight. The new labels/and patterns will have a picture of a tiny ball
of
yarn with a number from 1 to
6. 1 being superfine, 6 being superbulky.
DA

Yep, and we'll all be looking for crib sheets to see what those numbers
relate to in the old system (whatever it may be). I've actually started
to
convert myself to the number of stitches shown in the gauge swatch and
that
brings me close to knowing what "weight" the yarn is.

Shelagh