Yarn Identification

Inspiration

 

I have a file box of assorted supplies I've gathered or been given over the years.  I want to make pidge scarves for Christmas gifts, but to use the free Ravelry patterns, I needed to know the yarn weight and yardage in order to use what I have in place of their suggested yarns.

Materials

• Digital kitchen scale
• #2 pencil
• Yardstick or vinyl tape measure
• Ruler
• Small note papers
• Stick pins
• Pen
• Calculator or pen & paper

Step 1:  Weigh the yarn

Using your kitchen scale, tare at 0g, and weigh the whole skein.  If you have multiple balls and skeins of the same kind and color, use a lightweight bowl to hold them all and tare it at 0g.  Record this on a note paper.

Step 2:  Measure several yards of yarn and weigh this

My kitchen scale won't register less than 2g, so I measured enough yards of yarn to register at least 3g.  You don't have to cut this off; merely rest the measured length on the scale, and let the rest hang off the edge to the nearby skein.  Divide the weight of the skein by the 3g and multiply by the number of yards you measured to obtain the approximate total yardage of the skein.  Record these numbers on the paper.

Step 3:  Determine the WPI of the yarn

WPI is "wraps per inch."  Wrap the yarn around a #2 pencil for at least 1" and count the number of wraps per inch.  I did 2" and divided by 2 to ensure a better measure.  Record on the note paper.

Step 4: Determine the weight of the yarn

This is the yarn 'thickness'.  Using the WPI chart linked in Step 3, determine the number and name of the yarn weight.  Make a note of this.  Include the Gauge as well, if you like.

Step 5: Attach the paper to the yarn

I used a stick pin and made sure the point was buried in the yarn.

Result

Two hours later, I'm prepared to choose patterns!