How to Read a Yarn Label
What’s a yarn label? We talked about different yarn fibers, yarn weight, WPI and yarn color in the previous article. Now that we understand all these categories, let’s see how we can make use of this knowledge in real life, and where we can find all this info when it comes to a particular yarn. The answer is quite simple – everything is on the yarn LABEL.
Pretty much like a label on your clothes, yarn label (also called a band) offers valuable information about the yarn content, as well as care instructions. Labels are not the same on all yarns, but almost all of them have all the essential parts. I think the best way to demonstrate how to use the yarn label information is by showing you two different examples, from two different yarn brands.
Yarn label elements
- Brand and Type – Information about who was the yarn made by and its name (the line). You should keep this info in case you need to replenish or use the same yarn for any other projects.
- Fiber Content – It’s listed up to 100% of content
- Length (or yardage) – This is an approximate length of yarn in a single unit, usually listed in meters and yards, but sometimes only one measure is given. In that case, you can use online converter such as THIS.
- Gauge and Hook – Most often you will find here knitting needle and hook sizes, as well as knitting gauge. More and more yarns are now including a crochet gauge shown in sc (single crochet) stitches and rows for 10×10 cm /4×4 in square. If only knitting needle size is given, use that as a guide in mm.
- Weight – Yarn weight is shown in numbers (0-7) and category, or just one of those
- Color and Dye Lot – Color and Dye Lot can be printed on the label itself or, very often, added as a sticker.
- Care Instructions – Just like on any other fabric, instructions for the best care are given using international symbols.
As you can see from the example above, or on any other yarn you have, there are some differences in the way brands present these pieces of information, but the elements contained on their labels are pretty much all the same.
