Yarn label is not only beautiful piece of packaging, it also a great source of information about your yarn – things like fibre content, yardage, type of yarn, recommended gauge and knitting needles as well as care instructions.
While some information such as needle size is advisable there is part of label with about yarn-weight and fibre content which provide the important information about the yarn at first glance and help to find the correct yarn for the next project.
Most brands provide the all necessary details about their yarn, however how labels represent this information can differ. So let’s see some label examples and how to read them.
But before we start it is also important to mention that standard of yarn weight and how it specified can differ from country to country. Below you can see the table of standard yarn weights and conversion from the Craft Yarn Council
1. How to read yarn gauge information.
The gauge of yarn is normally presented in a square graphic with 4″/10 cm label on the left, which means size of the square swatch. Along the bottom it says “18 sts” and along the right side it says “24 rows”. In the centre of this square you can find knitting needles and/or crochet hook symbols with recommended sizes.
In other words, the label suggests that yarn should be knitted with gauge of 18 sts & 24 rows = 4″/10 cm using a US 8/5mm needle.
In one of my older posts we discussed that the knitting gauge on a label is manufacturer recommendation and should be used as a guidance and starting point for swatching. However, the knitter’s gauge depend on many factors and it is more important to check and follows the gauge recommended in your pattern. See more here.
As you can see some examples of yarn gauge provided in different formants from different brands.
2. Fibre content of the yarn.
This information is normally written in words and tells you the all fibres are used – animal fibre, plant fibre or artificial material. This information helps you decide which type of project you can knit with this yarn. You can read about choosing the yarn for knitting project here.
3. Care instructions.
This information is very important and explain how to care of your future garment. Some yarns can be washed in washing machine and even tumble dried while other delicate materials require hand washing and drying flat. In first case you can even find the word “super wash” or the abbreviation SW on your label.
Although yarn manufacture provide this piece of information, it is always recommended to knit a swatch and wash it the same way as you plan to care of your future garment in order to make sure the yarn wouldn’t change after washing and your favourite knitted piece would last for a long time.
4. Size of yarn skein.
On every label you can find weight of skein as well as the yarn length in yards and meters. This information helps you to calculate the required quantity of yarn for your project.
5. Other useful information.
Last but not least important information is colour/shade (in words or number code) of yarn and dye lot. Please see photo above. Those would help you to buy extra yarn in case you run out of it in the middle of knitting. While colour code stays the same from batch to batch, the dye Lot number changes and slight difference in shades may occur. Some big sellers provide this information in yarn description and allow to choose the dye lot. However, if you have bought a yarn long time ago, the chance to find the same lot is extremely low.
I hope the provided information would help you to read yarn labels and choice the suitable yarn for your next knitting or crochet project easier.
To see some behind the scene photos you can follow me on Instagram. You are also welcome to join my Facebook knitting group to share your work and get some help with my patterns.
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