Craft Blog

Ply is a big part of yarn. Ply is the number of strands that are twisted together to form a piece of yarn. This number is much different than the yarn’s weight. It is important that you do not get them confused.

A long time ago, what type of yarn you used to knit or crochet was measured by plies. Now it is measured by its weight, which, like was already pointed out, is much different than ply. You have to know the weight of the yarn as well have the right size of needle. The diameter of the plies determines the weight of the yarn. The weight, after all, is the measure of the thickness of the yarn.

The more ply that are in the yarn, the stronger it is going to be. For example, it is easy to break one piece of string that is wrapped around your finger, but if you wrapped it around many times it is almost impossible to break. This is what it is like with the yarn. The more ply strands that are in it, the stronger and more durable the yarn will be.

If you are making something that you want to be very durable and strong, you will probably want to use yarn with a lot of ply because it would take a long time to wear it out. The fewer the ply, the easier it will be for it to wear out quickly or fall apart. It is not likely that it would really fall apart; it would just be much easier for it to wear out.

Some yarns will be two ply or four ply…some will even be eight ply or more. The finer the yarn, the fewer ply that will be in it. Very fine yarn equals very few ply. Very bulky yarn equals very many ply. There are six measure of yarn. There is super fine yarn, fine yarn, light yarn, medium yarn, bulky yarn and super bulky yarn.

If you were to unwind a piece of yarn you could count the amount of plies that were in it. Two ply yarn is going to be much thinner than four ply yarn. Thinner yarns will be better to use for certain things than thicker yarns, just as thicker yarns will be easier to use for certain things than thinner yarns.

You will want to use the thicker yarns with more ply on things such as scarves and blankets. This will allow the blankets to be thicker and cozier rather than way too thin. If you tried to use thinner yarn for something such as a blanket it would probably take you forever to finish it. A thicker weight on bigger things allows you to finish things much quicker.

You would use the thinner weights with fewer ply on smaller, more intricate things such as doilies. Things that have much more detail. The smaller yarn allows for much more detail. Some people will make very intricate things such as bookmarks. These are very pretty. They may not seem very useful, but for some people they are very meaningful.

When you are crocheting or knitting ply is something that you do not necessarily need to pay huge attention to unless you are worried about two-ply or four-ply. Patterns do not worry about ply anymore. They deal only with weight, which includes ply. If you are making something that you want to endure, its endurance has probably already been considered and the people who made the pattern have probably called for the best yarn possible for that item.

You’ve been crocheting for a while now and you feel like your skills have gotten to the point where you need a new challenge.  You are fairly competent in making sweaters, blankets, bibs, scarves, and you’ve even tried hats.  But you’re looking for something a little more difficult.  You’re ready to learn how to filet crochet.  But what is it?  And how is it done?

Keep reading and you’ll learn how to filet crochet and exactly what is it.  And you’ll also learn a little bit about crocheting in general, where it came from and a bit more about how to do it.

When learning to crochet, the first thing you should know about is choosing a crochet hook.  Crochet hooks come in many sizes, ranging from 3.5 to .75 millimeters, or 00 to 14 in American sizing.  These smaller hooks are used for very fine crochet work.  They come in both aluminum and plastic.  You should choose the size and type of crochet hook based on the type of project you’re working on, how big you want your loops to be, etc.

So what exactly is “crocheting?”  How is it done?  Crochet is a process of creating fabric (creating a sweater or blanket or bib or shawl, etc.) from yarn or thread.  The word “crochet” comes from the French word croc or croche, meaning “hook.”   Crocheting is similar to knitting in that you’re making a fabric out of yarn, but instead of using two needles to make the fabric, you are pulling loops of yarn through other loops.  Crochet also differs from knitting in that only one loop is actively being used at a time.  Crocheted fabric is begun by placing a slip knot loop on the crochet hook, pulling another loop through the first loop, and repeating this process again and again in order to create a chain of the desired length.  The chain is either turned and worked on in rows, or joined at the beginning of the row with a slip stitch and worked in rounds. 

Filet crochet is a technique used in crochet that can have stunning results.  It is fairly simple and can be learned by anyone who knows how to crochet (or anyone that just wants to learn!)  Filet crochet patters are made up of open and solid meshes.  It is unique in that it usually uses only two types of stitches: the chain stitch and the double crochet stitch.  These two stitches together create a grid-like fabric with a square mesh.  Patterns can be formed by filling in parts of the mesh with double crochet stitches.  Filet crochet is usually worked on in rows, but can also be done in the round. 

It is often worked on from a graph or a symbol diagram. The patterns are created by combining solid and open meshes, usually working the design in solid meshes and the background in open meshes.  Filet crochet may also be worked with half-double crochet or treble crochet.  Fine thread or very fine yarn is usually preferred in items such as doilies, tablecloths, coasters and placemats.  Many cross-stitch patterns can be easily converted to filet crochet by filling in the design region with solid blocks and crocheting an open mesh in the areas with no pattern.  Filet crochet looks best if blocked before use to highlight the design. 

Here are a few tips on how to read the charts on the patterns:

• The blank square on the chart equals open mesh
• The “x” on the chart equals solid mesh
• The long divided space on the chart (that looks like a valley between two hills) equals fancy mesh
• The box without a bottom on the chart equals long mesh

When crocheting, it is very important to understand yarn weights. If you have a pattern you have to use the weight that they have listed there or else the object that you are trying to crochet will not turn out. Especially if you are making clothes. Having the correct wait it critical. If you do not have the correct weight then your article of clothing could turn out much different than what you planned. Much different as in, it probably will not fit you. That would be bad.

If you want to be sure to get the right weight, you need to understand what the yarn weight is. The yarn weight is simply a measure of the yarn’s thickness. It is a measure of how wide the diameter is. There are six different yarn weights. The first is super fine, then there is fine, light, medium, bulky, and super bulky. Understanding the different weights helps you understand why it is so important to use the correct weight.

Each weight produces a certain number of stitches per inch that you stitch. But you also have to consider needle size. Each weight produces a certain number of stitches per inch depending on the size of needle you use. This helps to show how important it is to have the right weight. If you do not have the right weight then your piece that you are working on can turn out significantly smaller or significantly bigger than it is supposed to be.

For example, say you are crocheting a piece that is supposed to use super bulky yarn and you are using super fine. Instead of taking a few stitches per inch it would take a ton of stitches per inch. But you would probably not realize this. You would do however many stitches the pattern called for…and in the end you would end up with a very small…whatever it was that you were crocheting.

If you have a pattern for a blanket and it calls for one yarn, but you would rather use a different yarn, that is ok. You just have to make sure that the yarn you choose instead is the same weight and has the same amount of stitches per inch. You will also need the same needle size. Then you do not have to worry. You can use pink yarn instead of green yarn; just make sure that the yarn is the same type.

If you do not know how to find the yarn’s weight, it is very simple. It will usually be located on the label of the yarn. That is not too tough to find. Just find the yarn that matches the weight you need and you will be all set to go.

Yarn weights are really not so difficult to understand. Learning to understand them allows you to have a lot more flexibility in your crocheting and knitting. It allows you to have more fun with crocheting and knitting because you can play around with things and try out new types of yarn and such. You can try out different types of yarn with different patterns and see what you like best.

Understanding yarn weights just requires you to use them a lot and try out different things. If you really want to understand them you should use them, then you will come to understand them. You will understand them on a different level than just reading about them. It is like fishing. Someone can tell you how to fish but you will not get good at it until you actually practice it and learn to do it yourself.