I am intimidated by yarn weights!

[Girlymomwithsons]

Ok ladies, I need some help conquering a fear. I have been loving my new obsession, knitting, but when it comes to yarn, I am lost. I have a TON that has been donated to me, that I need to work through before I can buy more. I keep doing projects where the gage doesn't matter, but I don't want to keep being stuck by this! I could just knit up a bunch of gage squares, but I don't have the patience for that if I don't have a project in mind. I want to use the yarns to make cool stuff, I don't know how to tell what their thicknesses are called. I know all the names, figering, worsted, all that, but how can I tell which one the yarn I have in my hand is? I have seen pictures in books, with strands of varying thicknesses, but some of the yarns that I have look like the ones in the book, but knit up MUCH smaller than what it should according to what I can figure, if it really is that weight. What can I look for to clear this up?

[honeybunmom]

You need this. I had to get one to identify some mystery yarn I'd received in a yarn swap. Love having it now!

[kwilki8]

You can also wrap the yarn around a ruler. Here is a chart that shows the wpi (wraps per inch) for the different yarn weights, along with needle sizes.

[xanandali]

Yeah, it can be really decieving! I've seen "worsted" weight yarns that look more like fingering and vice versa. I too am not a huge fan of guage swatches! Its taking me the whole last year to really start to get a good feel for what yarn is what weight, and just recently figuring out how that relates to yardage and how much I need for a project. You can give me all the Nancys Knit cards in the world, but it's just experience thats making it click for me. If you screw up enough you'll learn from the mistakes

[mamadaisy]

Umm, the other thing that plays a major role in what size your finished knitting will be is your needle size. If you knit a worsted weight yarn on size 3 needles the resulting fabric will be markedly different than if you knit it on size 9 needles. Additionally, there are times when worsted weight yarn can be knit at either of these gauges. Most marked skeins/balls of yarn have a suggested needle size, but that does not mean you are forced to use that size. It is just a recommendation. You will need to play around with different needles to see what fabric results and if that sort of fabric works for the type of project. So, take the example above...you can knit worsted weight yarn on size 3 needles to knit socks for a very dense fabric or on size 9s for a drapier fabric that would work better for clothing. It also depends on how tight or loose you knit. That is why gauge matters (mostly for wearable items). I still don't normally knit gauge swatches as I have a pretty keen eye for visual spatial things. So, if you are a learn by doing kinda gal, play around see what happens and you will figure it out. If you'd like to produce usable things from your yarn without much reknitting use gauge swatches. You will also need to invest in a few sets of needles. I would suggest getting some circular needles as they can be used to knit flat, can't loose just one, can be used to make things circularly. When I first started knitting a few years ago we were on a VERY tight budget. Buying more than one set of needles seemed like an incredible expenditure, especially when I was not sure how much knitting I'd be doing. However, you really do need to invest (even if it can be done only a little at a time) in several pairs of needles (or several hundred). Just three years ago I could never have conceived of the day when my now massive needle accumulation would not be enough, but lo and behold I cannot find either my size 6 or 7 16" circulars which are much used in my house for knitting hats.

[joshs_girl]

I think to immediately organize your stash - the best method would be the WPI method - it's a little less confusing than trying to identify unlabeled yarns or even deciphering some yarn labels for that matter.

[WNB]

Originally Posted by kwilki8

You can also wrap the yarn around a ruler. Here is a chart that shows the wpi (wraps per inch) for the different yarn weights, along with needle sizes.

^--- that is a handy little reference! Thanks for the link.

OP - the needle sizes and stitch gauges on the chart aren't rules set in stone, just guidelines for what you could use to get a "normal" stockinette fabric: not too loose, not too stiff. If you want a drapier fabric or if you plan n fulling it, go with larger-than-suggested needles (i.e., 5mm on DK or sport weight). If you want something very tight and dense - go with skinny needles (i.e. US2 on worsted weight).

[Girlymomwithsons]

Thanks everyone. I have got the different sized needles give different thickensses (etc) thing, and I have been playing around with some "mystery" yarns making baby slippers, small enough to be a gage square, usefull enough to be something. I have gotten 3 pairs baby sized, and one adult sized, most of which I expected to turn out the way they did, so I am getting the grasp of that part. It's the part where I read a pattern, and it says to use a certain weight yarn, and I don't know what to look for. I will try both of those links that were posted, later, when boys aren't roaming about yelling for thier blankets.

[Girlymomwithsons]

Just a regular ruler? The ones about an inch accross? That knitpicks one is very cool, I like that it holds the yarn still while you wrap.

Originally Posted by kwilki8

You can also wrap the yarn around a ruler. Here is a chart that shows the wpi (wraps per inch) for the different yarn weights, along with needle sizes.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

wraps per inch is super helpful! Another trick I use often is to start swatching with a needle that is approximately the same diameter as the yarn - so, basically just hold the yarn up next to the needle and go witht he needle that looks the same thickness as the yarn. That generally will get you a nice fabric to start

[Girlymomwithsons]

Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade

wraps per inch is super helpful! Another trick I use often is to start swatching with a needle that is approximately the same diameter as the yarn - so, basically just hold the yarn up next to the needle and go witht he needle that looks the same thickness as the yarn. That generally will get you a nice fabric to start

That is a helpful trick too! Thanks.