Diving Into Your Yarn Stash: Part 1

Identifying Yarn Weight, Hook Size, and Gauge

Have you ever looked at your yarn and wondered what weight it is, what type of yarn you have, or even how much is there and what you could do with it?  Do you have yarn with no label? Settle in with all your yarn and prepare to solve these mysteries!

Design Crochet wants you to crochet more, have more fun, and be happy with what you make. We will help you identify the key characteristics of your yarn and get it all labelled and organized so you can. Next time you want to start a project, you will know right away if you have the yarn you need in your stash.

What Weight Is This Yarn?

There are several ways to answer this question.  We will cover them all in this post.

First Step: Check The Label

If you have a label you can look for the following clues to the weight/size of the yarn:

• A number (0-7) 
• A word-based description (Lace - Jumbo) 
• A recommended hook size
• A gauge chart which shows the number of stitches in a 4 inch/ 10 cm row

Next Step: DIY A New Label

If the label is missing or incomplete,  you can create a new label easily.  Use a sturdy piece of paper to create a label.  Fill in the information as you go, then simply attach the label by wrapping it or by threading the yarn through a small hole and tying it in place. Next time you need the information it will be there ready for you.

What Goes On The Label?

Yarn Weight = Size of Your Yarn

To figure out the weight/size of the yarn you can determine the Wraps Per Inch or WPI. To use this method you will need:

• An object with a consistent circumference like a pencil, a dowel, a ruler, or even a special WPI tool that allows you to wrap and measure together.
• A measuring tool like a ruler or tape measure if you are not already using the ruler or WPI tool.
• A WPI chart like the one below to compare your findings.

To begin, slowly wrap your yarn around your tool, keeping the wraps next to but not overlapping each other. You can wrap more than 1” for better accuracy, but only count the stitches that wrap around the tool in a 1” span. Different weights wrap more or fewer times. Check your findings against the chart.

Wraps Per Inch (WPI)

• 0–Lace—Thread weight: < 35 WPI
• 1–Super Fine—Fingering/Sock weight: 19-22 WPI
• 2–Fine—Sport/Baby weight: 15-18 WPI
• 3–Light—DK/Light Worsted weight:  12-14 WPI
• 4–Medium—Worsted weight: 9-11 WPI
• 5–Bulky/Chunky—Rug Yarn/Craft weight:  7-8 WPI
• 6–Super Bulky—Roving weight: <6 WPI
• 7–Jumbo—Extra Bulky Roving/Ultra weight: 1-4 WPI

Fill in the information on your label, both the number and the word-based description so you won’t have to look that up again.

What Hook Size Works Best?

To determine the hook size that is recommended for each yarn you label, refer to this chart. Fill in that information on your label as well. 

These numbers are the recommended size for each yarn weight. You may decide to experiment with other sizes, you may even need to move up or down a size to make the gauge work for your project, but this will give you somewhere to start.

Metric Hook Sizes By Yarn Weight

• 0–Lace—Thread weight: 2.25 mm
• 1–Super Fine—Fingering/Sock weight: 2.25–3.25 mm
• 2–Fine—Sport/Baby weight: 3.5–4.5 mm
• 3–Light—DK/Light Worsted weight: 4.5–5.5 mm
• 4–Medium— Worsted weight: 5.5–6.5 mm
• 5–Bulky/Chunky—Rug Yarn/Craft weight: 6.5–9 mm 
• 6–Super Bulky—Roving weight: 9–15 mm
• 7–-Jumbo—Extra Bulky Roving/Ultra weight: 15+ mm

What Is The Gauge of Your Yarn?

Another way to decipher the weight/size of your yarn is to actually crochet a swatch and check the gauge.  Now that you have the WPI and Hook Sizes you can deduce the yarn weight fairly easily with a little experimental stitching.

Try making a 4” X 4” swatch to test the yarn. Use these steps:

• Check the WPI of the yarn you want to test to determine the yarn weight.
• Use the appropriate hook for that yarn weight.
• Create a 4” X 4” swatch of Single Crochet stitches and compare the results to the following chart.
• If you need help learning the Single Crochet stitch, refer to the Stitch Dictionary for full instructions.

Gauge Of A 4” X 4”/ 10cm X 10 cm Square

• 0–Lace—Thread weight: 32–42 stitches
• 1–Super Fine—Fingering/Sock weight: 21–32 stitches
• 2–Fine—Sport/Baby weight: 16–20 stitches
• 3–Light—DK/Light Worsted weight: 12–17 stitches
• 4–Medium— Worsted weight: 11–14 stitches
• 5–Bulky/Chunky—Rug Yarn/Craft weight: 8–11 stitches
• 6–Super Bulky—Roving weight: 7–9 stitches
• 7–-Jumbo—Extra Bulky Roving/Ultra weight: 6 or less stitches

Complete The Yarn Weight Information On Your Label

Now that you have run some tests, you should have all the information you need to label your yarn’s Weight correctly.  Fill in this information on your new label and feel assured you have taken the first step to making your yarn stash more usable for future projects.

Coming Soon:  Part 2

We will explore Yarn Content, doing the following:

• Some simple tests that will help you identify what that yarn is and how it can be used.  
• Weighing the yarn so that we can make some fairly simple estimates of the yardage you have in each separate hank or ball. If you don’t have access to a scale, all you really need is your WPI chart (above) and a calculator.  
• Providing another chart of approximate yardage for you to compare to your yarn stash.