When you walk into a yarn store (or browse online), you’ll notice that every skein of yarn has a label filled with numbers, symbols, and fiber information. For beginners, it might look like a secret code. But understanding a yarn label is key to choosing the right yarn for your project — and ensuring your final piece turns out just the way you imagined.
Let’s decode the yarn label together.
1. Fiber Content
This tells you what the yarn is made of: wool, cotton, mohair, alpaca, silk, synthetic fibers like acrylic or nylon. Each fiber has unique qualities.
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Wool is warm and elastic.
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Cotton is breathable and great for summer.
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Mohair is fluffy and luxurious.
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Blends offer a balance of benefits.
Tip: Choose fiber based on the season, texture, and care instructions.
2. Yarn Weight (Thickness)
You’ll see terms like:
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🧶 Lace
Extremely fine and airy yarn. Ideal for lace shawls and lightweight wraps.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 600–1000 m🧶 Fingering (also called Sock or Baby)
Thin yarn for socks, gloves, and lightweight sweaters.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 400–500 m🧶 Sport
Slightly thicker than fingering. Great for light cardigans, tops, and children’s clothes.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 300–360 m🧶 DK (Double Knitting)
A versatile medium weight. Perfect for sweaters, hats, and cowls.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 200–280 m🧶 Worsted
Thicker than DK, gives a dense and warm fabric. Common in the US.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 160–200 m🧶 Bulky
Thick yarn for quick knits like chunky hats, scarves, and cardigans.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 100–140 m🧶 Super Bulky
Very thick yarn for super-fast projects like blankets, oversized hats, or home decor.
📏 100 g skein ≈ 60–90 m
These describe the thickness of the yarn and determine which needles/hooks you should use and how your fabric will feel.
Tip: For beginners, DK or worsted weight is easiest to start with.
3. Length and Weight of the Skein
Something like:
100g / 400m — means 100 grams of yarn is approximately 400 meters long.
This is helpful when you need to calculate how much yarn to buy for a project.
4. Recommended Needles or Hooks
Often shown as symbols:
Needles: 3.5–4.5 mm
This is a suggestion. If you knit tighter or looser, you might go up or down a size.
5. Gauge / Tension
You may see a little square with numbers like:
10x10 cm = 22 sts x 30 rows
This is the stitch and row count you should get with the recommended needle size. Always knit a swatch to check your gauge!
6. Care Instructions
Symbols like a washing machine, triangle, or iron indicate how to wash and care for your yarn.
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Hand wash only?
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Lay flat to dry?
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Do not bleach or tumble dry?
Pay attention to these to keep your knitted pieces beautiful and wearable.
7. Dye Lot
Some yarns have a dye lot number. This ensures color consistency. Always buy enough yarn from the same lot for one project!