From TS0058@OHSTMVSA.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDUTue Mar 14 10:49:11 1995 Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 17:48:51 -0600 From: VICKIE STARBUCK To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Knit: 2/16, 3/32 Below is part of an article excerpted from Thrums, the central Ohio Weaver's Guild Newsletter. Complements of Pat Bullen. Figuring out just what the numbers above mean is/can be confusing. Most of the time I have seen them reference coned weaving yarns, although some of us, myself included , are using those for knitting too. I send this along for completeness. It's true that the first numbers above, 2 & 3, are the plys, the bottom numbers 16 & 32, are the finess ( usually) of the yarn, 32 's being twice as fine as 16's. For more see below. ********** article below The size of any particular yarn is referred to as the count. Usually the higher the number, the finer the yarn. (The exception to this is the count for rayon and certain other man-made fibers, in which, the lower numbres denote the finer yarns. For metallics and other novelty yarns, refer to the manufactureres specifications.) The count system is based on a key number that is the number of yards, or standard lengths of material that are spun from a pound of raw fiber. This key number, then, is the basic number for yarn of that fiber. The general formula is: Size divided by ply X key number = The key number for cotton is 840. For example, to find yarnds per pound for 5/3 cotton, divide the size (5) by the ply (3) and multiply by standard or key number (840) which gives you 1400 yards per pound. There are two systems for wool, the first being the Philadelphia system based on a cut of 300 yards. The formula for this is Size multiplied by 300, divided by ply. In general, you will see this system is used for tweeds and single ply. For example, 6 cut equals 1800 yards per pound. The most common system for wool is based on the key number 560. For example, using the general formula, a 2/8 yarn would have 2240 yards per pound. The system for linen is based up a lea, which is 300 yards, making 300 the key number for the linen formula. For example a 4/1 linen would have 1200 yards per pound. Note that conventionally, for cotton and linen, the yarn size is above the ply (8/2, 20/2). Wol and worsted are the opposite with the ply above the size (2/8). Cheers, Vickie