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Ever wonder what all those numbers and symbols on the back of a yarn label are trying to tell you? It can be super confusing when all you want to do is pick up some yarn and a hook and get to making and then the yarn wants you to READ it.
When I first started crocheting, I just picked up a yarn I thought looked cute and a hook that seemed like it would work. I paid zero attention to anything the yarn label said. I ignored the material, the gauge, the yardage, literally everything. It’s no surprise that when I first started following patterns all those years ago, my makes came out SUPER different than the photos. I’ve learned a lot since then and I’m here to share that knowledge so that we can all have the pretty crochet makes we see in magazines.
I’m here to help de-mystify the markings on the back of a yarn label. Bonus – it’s a lot easier than you might think.
First things first, let’s go through the basics we all need to look for when picking up some yarn.
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Yarn Label Basics
This is a short list of what we need to pay attention to when we’re picking up yarn. It’s good to have this information so you know how much yarn you need for your project, what kind of hook you’ll need, and what kind of projects your yarn will work best for.
- Yarn Weight: This tells you the weight or thickness of the yarn. The larger the number, the thicker the yarn. I’ll jump into more detail later in this post but the yarn weight is important for us to know what size hook we need as well as what the yarn is best suited for. (i.e. large/bulky yarns are better for sweaters than they are for summer clothes)
- Yardage Information: This tells you how any yards are in one skein of yarn. This is helpful to determine how any skeins you will need to complete a certain project.
- Recommended Hook or Needle Size: Here’s one of the most important aspects of our yarn label. We need. to know what kind of hook we should be working with! As a general rule of thumb, lighter-weight yarns require smaller hooks and vice versa.
- Care Instructions: Last but certainly not least, we need to know how to care for the yarn! Once it becomes a blanket or other garment, we need to know how we can wash it.
- Bonus – Yarn Material: This is super important if you have an allergy to a certain material or fabric. Besides allergies, the material can also give you an idea of how your yarn might stretch out over time or how much it will change once blocked. This also can tell you how soft or scratchy your yarn might feel or if it’s best suited for summer or winter projects. (i.e. Cotton is a GREAT material for summer but for winter you’d probably be more inclined to pick up some wool yarn)
Now that we know the basics, let’s jump into some more detail and see how we can find these details on an actual yarn label.
Yarn Weight
Yarn weight ranges from 0 to 7. You can use the chart below to help you determine what kind of yarn you’re working with as well as what projects are best suited for this yarn. Recommended hook sizes are included as well.
Yarn weight will help determine the thickness of your finished project as well as the weight of it. Thicker yarns are better suited for bulky sweater & blankets while lighter weight yarns may be better for lighter crochet garments, doilies and other garments.
On the back of your yarn label you will often see a symbol depicting a skein of yarn with a number in the middle – this is the weight of the yarn.
| Weight | Description | Best Suited For | Recommended Hook Size (crochet) |
| 0 | Lace | Doilies, earrings, detailed work. | 1.5-2.5mm |
| 1 | Super Fine / Sock / Fingering | Can be used for socks, baby items and other lighter weight work. | 2.75-3.25mm |
| 2 | Fine / Sport | Lightweight projects such as bralettes, light garments for summer and more detailed items. Also great for baby clothes. | 3.5-3.75mm |
| 3 | Light / DK | Great for tank tops, summer items and garments that need more drape. | 4-5mm |
| 4 | Medium / Worsted | This is a standard size – good for clothes/garments as well as amigurumi, blankets and more. | 5.5-6.5mm |
| 5 | Bulky | Good for winter hats, sweaters and blankets. | 7-9mm |
| 6 | Super Bulky | Thick blankets, jackets and winter accessories. Also good for rugs. | 10-12mm |
| 7 | Jumbo | Thick blankets, home accessories or rugs. | 13mm & up |
When looking at a crochet pattern to follow, it will give you the yarn weight that’s required as well as the recommended hook size. Making sure you have the correct weight yarn when crocheting or knitting means you will have an accurate gauge (or more accurate depending on your tension) so that your crochet pattern will come out just like the photos and will have the right measurements which is especially important when making garments.
Yardage
Yarn labels also include yardage information. Normally this appears as how many yards and meters are included in one skein of a certain yarn.
For example, this yarn label for Lion Brand Coboo shows that it has 232 yds or 212 meters per skein. This is helpful in calculating how many skeins you would need for a certain project.
Say a pattern I want to make requires 600 yards of a certain type of yarn. I would take that 600 and divide it by the 232 per skein I know this yarn has. Then I would know I need about 2.5 skeins of this yarn to complete my project so I’d pick up 3 skeins.
Recommended Hook or Needle Size
On the back of your yarn label you’ll always find a symbol of a set of knitting needle and one for a crochet hook. Either above or below these you’ll find number, usually written in millimeters that tells you what hook size you need.
The above yarn label for Lion Brand Coboo shows us that we need a 4mm hook if we are knitting or 4mm hook if we crochet.
These numbers aren’t always the same, as you can see from the below yarn label for Lion Brand Comfy Cotton Blend which recommends 4.5mm knitting needles but a 6mm crochet hook.
These hook and needle sizes are just recommendations given to help you match the gauge you need for a project and to make a good fabric. If your tension is tighter, you may want to use a larger hook so your piece isn’t bunched up and vice versa.
Care Instructions
If you take the time to hand-make something, you probably want it to last you a good, long time. That’s why this part of a yarn label is so important. Most yarn labels include symbols for washing instructions just like you would find on a piece of clothing from the store.
You can see below the different symbols you might come across on a yarn label and what they mean. I personally love to opt for yarns that are machine washable and dryable for ease of use although I rarely tumble dry my makes (I think they tend to last longer when they are dried hanging or flat – depending on the material/style of yarn).
I choose to machine wash my handmade items (where the label says to) using these delicate laundry bags and then I dry them flat so that they keep their shape and don’t become too stretch out during the washing or drying process.
Material
All yarn labels will also tell you what the material consists of. It range from acrylic to cotton to wool. Many yarns are a blend of different materials and the label will tell you what percentage of each material your yarn is.
The material is important in understanding how your yarn will drape as well as how it might react to water, heat, blocking and general wear. Some yarns do not hold up well to heat so if you need to block them, it’s best to wet block.
The material also tells you what kind of garment you may want to make. If you have a yarn that’s mostly cotton, that would make a great summer garment, dish towel or other home item. A wool yarn would be better suited toward colder weather items and blankets.
I hope this information was helpful for you! I know it definitely would have benefited me to know this when I first began crocheting all those years ago.
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