What Are The Equivalent Yarn Weights?
We receive this type of question every day from fans around the world. The Crochet Crowd, being Canadian, we have access to yarns that our friends in the UK and Australia cannot find on their yarn store shelves.
It's a hard question to answer because I've not had enough exposure to other yarns, outside of Canada / USA to give a firm answer. Most people are looking for the most economic solutions.
I went looking online and found an excellent resource by Sarah London. Sarah has done her homework in cross-analysis of comparing the USA, UK and Australia with giving brands that we are typically using here in North America.
I invite you to review this article called Crochet Talk: Yarn Weight by Sarah London as she has pictures and excellent tables to refer to. It's a resource that I found extremely helpful when understanding the yarns that I am not typically exposed to here.
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Bruce Glassford says
Yarn weights vary like ladies clothing sizes - what it says on one isn't the same as on another (we guys are lucky - the random sizing on labels for clothes isn't as prevalent for us).
Grabbed a few balls of #4/Medium/Worsted weight yarn
Recommended hook sizes: H/I/J 5/5.5/6 mm 8/9/10 (presume these are UK size?)
Metres per gram (they differed in weights): 1.64/1.66/1.7
The one that was H/5/8 and 1.64 metres per gram was also described as "4 ply"
Then I grabbed another "worsted" (Knit Picks Chroma) - 1.98 meters per gram, I-K hooks recommended.
Whee!
Rachel C says
To be honest I find the charts on Wikipedia a better comparison. If you were using red heart super saver I would automatically opt for aran weight rather than double knit
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarn_weight
Catherine A. McClarey says
When a yarn recommended in a pattern is unfamiliar to me, the first place I check is on Ravelry's yarn database, which uses a consistent yarn weight classification system for yarns regardless of source. Occasionally, a yarn won't be in Ravelry's yarn database (I'm looking at you, Phentex Express!), and then the next place I check is Yarndex (which doesn't include any Phentex yarns, alas!) or just a Google search. I've become slightly more familiar with yarns available in the UK via email newsletters from UK online yarn vendors such as Loveknitting and Deramores, both of which have US versions of their websites and free shipping to the USA (with min. purchase). When I can't find any information otherwise, I can post a question on Ravelry, either in the main Yarn forum, or in the forum for a yarn-brand-specific group. (Don't always get useful info that way either, though . . . )