Yarn Weights

The group goes over the different available yarn weights from thinnest to thickest, and what types of projects to work with each kind. They also talk about their preferences to use for their crafts.

Different patterns mentioned during the share your current project segment

Back East Wrap Shawl pattern

Harvest Cardigan pattern

Seed Dot Beanie pattern

List of Yarn Weights

WEIGHT NAME	ALTERNATIVE NAMES	US WEIGHT #	YARN WRAPS ACROSS 1″ (WPI)
Lace	Ultra Fine, Thread	0	16 or more
Fingering	Super Fine, Sock	1	13-15
Sport	Fine	2	12
DK	Light	3	11
Worsted	Medium	4	9-10
Aran	Heavy Worsted	4	8
Bulky	Chunky	5	7
Super Bulky	Super Chunky	6	5-6
Jumbo	Roving	6	4 or less

Wraps Per Inch / WPI

WPI, or wraps per inch, indicate how many times you can wrap a piece of yarn neatly next to each other across an inch. Some companies make special tools for this, but you can easily do this with a ruler from home. Wrap your yarn (loosely, not too tight) around a ruler making sure each wrap is directly lined up next to each other and does not overlap. Once you get to the 1″ mark, you count the number of wraps you needed to make to get from 0″ to 1″. You can then compare the number of wraps you’ve done to the chart above, and it will tell you what weight yarn you have.

WPI is a handy tool that many experienced crafting folks take on because of the common occurrence of inheriting or finding yarn without a tag mentioning the yarn’s weight. This way, you don’t need the tag (unless you need to track dye lots, colorways, etc.) specifically for tracking the yarn’s weight.