Aran vs DK - what's the difference? Is one more expensive than the other? Does one work better as longies and another as skirties or is it just personal preference?
Is aran more leak proof for nighttimes or does it not make any difference? Wonders 21 Collaborations 3 Gallery Feedback. Means you need thinner needles for the thinner yarn and there are more stitches to knit per inch then too.
The pile of wool isn't down to the thickness, it's more the staple of the type of wool or fibre. Merino piles more because it has short staple. If you have merino fibres they will split apart in small sections, compared to BFL that has a longer staple so will rip naturally into bigger sections.
This type of yarn is common in the UK. Aran weight yarns lie between the Double Knit and the Chunky yarns. The Aran and Worsted yarns are great for knitting winter garments. Most knitters and crocheters use these two to make sweaters, scarves, mittens, and more. Worsted yarn also belongs to the medium-weight category like the Aran. They have a slight difference in weight and thickness.
They still both belong to middle or medium-weight yarns. Their needle or hook size can vary from 7 to 9 for US needle size or 4 to 4. UK size. Since Aran is a little thicker, it is great to work on with a 5mm needle size or hook. The Worsted yarn is better on 7 to 9 for US needle size or 4 to 4.
UK needle size. Worsted yarns can either be light-worsted or medium-worsted. This is why the recommended needle or hook size range is between 4 to 4. They both make around 4 to 5 stitches in every inch 2. Their knit gauge is between 16 to 20 stitches every 4 inches 10 cm. Do not confuse yourself with these yarn weights. In the previous chapter, you have learned about Aran weight yarn. This time, you will understand its difference with Chunky yarn. The term Chunky refers to the weight of the yarn with a ply thickness.
This is thicker and bigger than Aran and Worsted yarns. There is a big difference between the weight and the size of Chunky and Aran. The latter belongs to the medium-weight, while Chunky belongs to the heavy-weight category. The Chunky yarn has a knit gauge of between 12 to 16 stitches every 4 inches 10 cm. The recommended needle size is between 10 to 11 for US size or 5.
Yarn weight varies from size Lace to Super Bulky. Each size has a corresponding number symbols, 0 for Lace and 7 for Super Bulky. When you buy yarn, it has a number printed on its label that ranges from 0 to 7. These numbers also indicated the weight of the yarn. The Chunky has an equivalent number symbol of 5, while Aran is number 4.
The Chunky weight yarns are almost twice the thickness of the Aran and Worsted. This type of yarn is best for big and thick jackets, scarves, and blankets. The Double Knit DK yarn weight has the symbol 3. It is thinner and lighter than Aran. The DK or the Light-Worsted yarn has an 8-ply thickness.
This weight has a knit gauge of 21 to 24 stitches per 4 inches 10 cm. You can see that when the yarn has a lower weight, it has a wider knit gauge. The Double Knit yarn works best on the needle size range of between 5 to 7 mm. The DK is much lighter than Aran weight yarn.
This type of yarn is best for lighter sweaters, leggings, and baby garments. The term 4-ply refers to the number of strands in a yarn. If you check its weight counterpart, it is the Sport weight. You may also call it the Sock yarn. The Sport weight yarn has four strands of fibers. It is thinner than Aran yarns and uses a needle size of 3 to 6 in US size or 3.
This yarn has a knit gauge of 24 to 27 stitches per 4 inches 10 cm. Most knitters use the Sport weight yarns for making baby socks and shawls. The yarn weights Aran and Worsted are both under the medium-weight category. The Aran is a little thicker than Worsted. The Worsted yarn can either be light-worsted or medium-worsted. You will often see roving associated with super bulky jumbo yarns. It is the carded fibre, that is used to spin into yarn. Roving is what is used to spin the woollen type of yarn we used earlier.
It is great for felting projects and looks beautiful in weavings and wall hangings. It is soft, beautiful to look at and totally stroke-able. But the cold hard truth is that true roving is not very practical when used as yarn. Sorry to crack that perfection veneer. The good news is that there are other jumbo yarns available which are a bit more durable! In a word, not necessarily. Though they can be. Aran sweaters are typically wool the fibre cabled sweater designs, sometimes referred to as fisherman sweaters.
Their name comes from the Aran Islands, just off the coast of Ireland. Not the type of yarn used. It was inspired by an Aran sweater though. Yes — this is usually only minor but it can be an issue. Most things can be mitigated with a bit of prep and forethought.
Did I miss something? Although mass produced yarns are generally consistent, even something like dye colour can impact the thickness of the yarn.
Your posts are always very informative. Even I think that it would be more useful to include yarn WPI in the pattern instead of only yarn weight. I had posted this in one FB group too. If WPI is mentioned in the lattern, then it would be easier to substitute the yarn. Because different yarn, even in the same category have different thickness. And about holding 2 strands together, I believe lion brand chart is more accurate.
Yes, I agree. My friend Fay provenance craft co has just written a great blog post all about stranding after lots of experimenting. I will drop a link in the post as soon as I get a mo! That was an interesting read, thank you so much for putting that together! I guess one of them fluffs up more than the other.
It is my preferred categorisation though. So the yarn is twisted as it is spun, rather than anything a crocheter does. Mandatory reading for newbies and oldies! Thank you so much for your article. I have been reading so much about yarn and yarn choices this really helps. Yarn is not cheap and ordering via the mail is hard since you can not feel the yarn. How yarn is spun is so interesting but I have not wish to spin yarn it sounds like way to much work.
How did I miss this gem of an article? You answered lots of my questions and then your readers posed the questions I intended to ask. Michelle, thank you for your continuing education. And that the comments covered your extra questions. I always think that if I have a question, someone else will have the same one somewhere!
Thank you for making the oddities of yarn so clear. I love your articles — they are clear and interesting and not a bit condescending so thank you! Love the wraps per inch method. The one thing yo be a bit careful about is if the yarn has a halo fluff not to squash that together but to let the yarn kinda breathe! Thanks for the lovely feedback too! Thanks for this, it absolutely answered my question about doubling up yarn, too.
What size do you use? Thanks, Jen. So if you wrap it wound a pencil, the width of the wraps would be the same as if you wrapped it round a rolling pin for example , but for the latter you will use a much longer length of yarn. Hope that makes sense! Your article exactly answered the question I asked Google — do two strands of lace weight equal dk. I found some gorgeous lace weight in a colour my daughter wants for a hat, but the pattern will probably call for dk or a light aran.
Problem now solved. Thank you! Thankyou sooooo much for your post on yarn, ever since I started crocheting 2 years ago I have never understood yarn weights. Now I feel a bit more confident in finding a fingering weight yarn to do a beautiful shawl I bought the pattern for. You should put all these posts of crochet knowledge into a book for us to purchase remember some of us have tight budgets lol I see it being on every crocheters bookshelf especially mine There is such a need for something like this in the market, the way you have written this article.
I have read many but yours has made sense so thankyou and please email when you have written xxxx. Thank you so much for that feedback. And the book is on the to-do list, an ebook at least!
Hi, l love your article. Question, what is the meaning of PA? I would like to understand the comparison.
0コメント