threads per inch

[Mixpixlix]

Anyone know of a stitch sizing chart? And/or a list of how to determine the thickness of yarn. I "buy" most of my yarn at yard sales/thrift stores. Often it's an unmarked bundle or left over skein with the label missing.

Yesterday, I worked and reworked fairly thin wool yarn 5 times until I could get the gauge needed.

Does anyone else find that the width of the foundation chain bears little relationship to the width of the finished piece?

[Barbara G.]

Hello,

Someone else in the group was talking about having the same challenge when finding yarn at yard sales. We discussed that experience plays a part in determining the yarn weight. I suggested making a sample card with different weights of yarn (snipets) added to it as a reference.

Sample crochet stitches will vary by how loosely, or tightly, one crochets. Usually, the gauge should be fairly close to the average, but can differ.

[Mixpixlix]

The problem is I don't know what I'm dealing with so how can I make a chart. I read about 2 ply, 3 ply, 8 ply and am clueless. Good old Red Heart 4 ply is pretty easy to spot. But blends and wools are challenging. I don't think Hobby Lobby would appreciate me standing in their aisle comparing my yard sale finds to their retail products (lol)!!!!

[crochetgal]

Here's basic chart that lists the American standard yarn weights, gauges and approximate number of stitches per inch.

Standard Yarn Weight System |

The number of plys quite often doesn't have anything to do with the actual weight. What they call an '8 ply' in Australia is commonly referred to as Worsted weight in America.

I've got some sock weight yarns in the shop that are 4 ply and some worsted weight yarns that are 2 ply.

It all depends on the actual thickness of the individual plys that are used to make up the final yarn.

What you may find useful is to take some of your favourite yarns and compute the WPI - Wraps per Inch.

This is done by wrapping the yarn around a ruler and counting the number of wraps that it takes to cover 1 inch. The finer the yarn, the more number of wraps you will have.

That will give you a good idea of your yarn weights.

[crochetgal]

And your 'Good Old Red Heart' as you put it comes in many weights as well.

There is the Red Heart 'Heart & Sole' sock yarn which is a fingering weight, all the way to the Red Heart Chic which is a heavy bulky weight.

Red Heart Yarns currently has more than 30 different yarns available.

[Mixpixlix]

Are you saying there are different weights in the 4 ply category?

[Mixpixlix]

Thanks for the list. I've made a copy and will go through my stash and see if I can separate the yarns into groups by weight.

[Maryjane]

Thanks for the chart! I think a lot of us will use it!

[crochetgal]

Are you saying there are different weights in the 4 ply category?

Yes, the 'ply' of a yarn is the number of strands that have been spun together to create the yarn. So a 4 ply yarn that is lace weight is much lighter than a 4 ply yarn that is bulky weight.

And as I stated earlier, in some countries, the term 'ply' refers to the weight of the yarn.