This chart was kindly submitted to Cara’s Machine Knitting by:

Carole R. Ingram

Obtained from Cara's Free Page: www.cara4webshopping.com Email: ">Email me.

YARN THICKNESS/LENGTH STANDARDS AND COUNTS

• Yorkshire Wool 256 yards/per pound.
• Linen 300 yards/per pound.
• Worsted 500 yards/per pound.
• Cotton 840 yards/per pound.
• Spun Silk 840 yards/per pound.
• One spinning of one pound of raw fiber produces 'x' yards/pound of that raw fiber.
• One spinning of one pound of raw worsted produces 500 yards.
• One spinning of one pound of cotton or silk produces 840 yards.

  All calculations go from there.

  THE PRIMARY STANDARD TO DETERMINE YARN THICKNESS IS WORSTED AT 500 YARDS/PER POUND.

• Yarn thickness is determined by the number of times the standard length of yarn is spun.
• The thickness number is calculated using the thickness of a single strand of spun yarn.
• The number of times spun and the number of plies (strands) produce the yarn 'count'.
• The thinner the yarn, the higher the number and the more yards to the pound.

Example: 3/9 count yarn

The first number of the fraction (3) is the number of plies. A ply is a single strand, so this is 3-ply yarn.
The second number of the fraction (9) is the yarn thickness. This yarn thickness means the yarn has been spun 9 times the standard length of 500: 9 x 500 = 4,500.
So, for this 3-ply yarn, the thickness number (4,500) is divided by the number of strands (3) = 1,500 yards/per pound.
Good for standard machines or doubled for the bulky at 750 yards/per pound.

Example: 2/30 count yarn

2-ply yarn and (30 x 500) = 15,000 &#divide; 2 = 7,500 yards/per pound. Good for double-bed jacquard work.

Example: 4/18 count yarn

4-ply yarn and (18 x 500) = 9,000 &#divide; 4 = 2,250 yards/per pound. Good for single bed work or doubled for bulky.

Situation:

Let's say you take a trip to England this summer and see some British hand-knitting yarn in 100-gram skeins that say 302 meters each and you want to buy it, but there's no one around who can convert this to yarns or pounds so you can know how much to buy. There are two ways to handle this, really three.

(1) First, you can just know how to convert from meters to yarns and pounds because you're smarter than most of us.

(2) You can always be a good Girl or Boy Scout and carry the following handy little chart with you. You can use this same chart if you know that yarn count or an approximation of meters per 100 grams.

(3) Or, if you forgot your chart but have your calculator or converter, you can simply calculate it for yourself.

CONVERTING NUMBERS ON LABELS

302 Meters/100 Grams to Yards/Pound:

• Multiply the meters (302) by the number of grams per pound (454) to the hundredth:
  302 x 4.54 = 1,371 meters per pound
• Then, multiply the 1,371 meters per pound by the conversion factor from meters to yards (1.094)
  1,371 meters x 1.094 = 1,500 yards per pound

  1,500 Yards/Pound to Meters:

• Multiply the total yards (1,500) by the conversion factor from yards to meters (0.9144)

  1,500 yards x .9144 = 1,371 meters

• Then to find out how much yarn there is per 100 grams, divide the total meters (1,371) by 4.54

  1,371 meters to a pound &#divide; 4.54 = 302 meters per 100 grams

  The better yarn comes from the first-spun yarn, like the best olive oil comes from the first pressing. You get longer and longer strands, less apt to break, therefore less likely to separate and pill. The more expensive yarn, because it is the best yarn, is what comes from the earlier spinning.

• 1 oz. = 28 (28.349) grams 1 lb. = 16 oz. And 454 (453.584) grams
• 500 grams = about 17.6 oz. 450 grams = about 1 lb. (15.9 oz.)
• 400 grams = about 14.1 oz. 350 grams = about 12.5 oz.
• 250 grams = about 8.8 oz. 100 grams = about 3.5 oz.
• 50 grams = about 1.76 oz.

Raw Cotton Cotton growing in a field and unusable for knitting. If you've seen cotton balls, you've seen pretty much what raw cotton on the plant resembles.

Carded or Combed Cotton Cotton that has been 'combed', the first stage of processing, to remove plant residue before spinning to a specific thickness. Usually quite soft, not at all recommended for fitted skirts due to 'seating out' problems, with a tendency to separate into plies, can break easily and will pill often.

Mercerized Cotton Carded cotton that has been spun to a specific thickness and then treated in an acid-solution bath to both set the yarn fibers and the colors. This yarn is usually quite strong, holds its color quite well and is much less likely to pill. Can sometimes be plied, twisted or basket-woven.

Gassed Cotton Mercerized cotton that has had all or most of the excess lint and/or fuzz burned off to bring the color to the surface. Gassed cotton often gives the illusion of iridescence.

1. Adapted from DUET Magazine

2. Frin Ysdab-Kolmes Industries (UKI)