If you have never walked into a craft store to purchase yarn then you probably have no idea how many different types of yarn there are available. Most craft stores carry shelves and shelves full of yarn, so sometimes trying to pick the right yarn for your knitting project can be a rather gruesome experience. Because of how many different types of yarns are available to choose from many people tend to buy the exact type of yarn that is listed in the instructions for their knitting pattern. But the good news is that if you know some basic facts about yarn you can choose different yarns, yarns you want to use, for any of your knitting projects.
Yarn weight system:
Basically what yarn weight refers to is the thickness of the yarn and it can range from super fine to super bulky. Currently there are six different categories of yarn weights and each weight should produce a certain number of stitches when you are using a certain sized needle. Basically the higher the number the heavier your yarn is going to be and you will get fewer stitches per inch.
The yarn weights are:
1: Super fine – the yarns in this weight are baby, fingering and sock. The needle size used for this weight would be between a 1 and a 3 and you can usually get 27 to 32 stitches per 4 inches.
2: Fine – the yarns in this weight are baby and sport. The needle size for this weight would be between a 3 and a 5 and you would get about 23 to 26 stitches per 4 inches.
3: Light – the yarns in this weight would be DK, light, and worsted. The needle size for this weight would be between a 5 and a 7 and you would get about 16 to 20 stitches per 4 inches.
4: Medium – the yarns in this weight would be Afghan, aran and worsted. The needle size that would be used for this weight would be between a 7 and a 9 and you could get between 16 to 20 stitches per 4 inches.
5: Bulky – the yarns in this weight would be chunky, craft and rug. The needle sizes that you could use for this weight would be between 9 and an 11 and you could get about 12 to 15 stitches per four inches.
6: Super bulky – the yarns in this weight would be bulky and roving. The needle sizes that you could use with this type of yarn would be from an 11 or anything bigger than that and you would be able to get anywhere from 6 to 11 stitches per 4 inches.
In order to choose the right type of yarn for your knitting project you are going to need to know about the different weight yarns or the gauge of the yarn. The gauge is the number of stitches and rows per inch that the designer obtained when they worked the pattern. Having this information will allow you to choose different yearn than what is recommended because you can choose the right type of yarn.
But another thing that you need to know about when choosing the right type of yarn is making sure that you find the right fiber. There are numerous types of yarn and you are going to want to use a yarn that is the right fiber for your project. Here is some information on the two most popular yarn fibers.
Cotton – is a good choice for light, breathable, and/or utilitarian items, but can be hard to work with because of its inelasticity
Wool – this is one of the best types of knitting yarns because of its naturalness, the wide variety of colors and textures available and how easy it is to work with. It can also be used in projects that are for either winter or summer because the wool is full of air which makes it warm in the winter and keeps heat out during the summer.
Just keep in mind that the best way to choose your yarn is to choose the yarn that is best for the project you are working on, most of the times patterns will include what type of yarn you will need, but you can still substitute if you know what you are doing.