Because there are sometimes some differences in the thickness of different brands of yarn, I have an overview of yarns and their thickness here. Not all yarns are easily available everywhere, so you can use this overview to estimate whether the yarn that is easy to obtain for you somewhat corresponds to the yarn that is recommended for a project.

Measure thread or yarn thickness

wpi1I weave, and in order to make a good estimate of sizes and consumption for a weaving project, it is customary to use the ‘wpi’ unit of measurement. Wpi stands for wraps per inch. That’s how many times you can lay a yarn side by side within an inch. A good way to measure that is to use a ruler, preferably with inches of course, and wrap the yarn you have on the end about the length of an inch, then count the number of wraps. Do that a few times, or about two or three inches, say, and then average it, to be exact. Of course it doesn’t matter much for tatting if you’re a little off, but the more accurate, the better of course. 1 Inch  is 2.54 cm, so take into account that little bit extra if you use a ruler in centimeters.wpi2

Work in progress

I still need to measure some things, and of course I don’t have all the threads or yarns that are available! Do you want to contribute to supplement this overview? Send an email to info@thecraftsteacher.com and let me know what your measurement results are! If you have the data listed in the tables below, I would be very happy with it (presumably known)

Yarn composition

Yarn or thread is usually made up of several ‘sub’threads that are twisted around each other, which is called plying. With the threads/yarn I have indicated how many ‘sub’threads a thread/yarn is made up of. For example: 20/3 means size (thickness) 20, made up of 3 ‘sub’threads.

Please let me know if the phrases I use here are correct, I’m not a spinner, probably the only thing I haven’t done yet where it comes to working with yarn 🙂 .

Overview

In the column ‘Size /#Ply’ I first show the size according to the manufacturer and after  ‘/’ the ply, the number of ‘sub’threads. If a yarn doesn’t have a size it says n.a. (not available).

Brand: DMC

Name Size /#Ply WPI

Crochet hook

 Weight Length Material 
Babylo 20/3 45 1,25 – 1,50 100 gr 733 m 100%  cotton
Cotton Perle 12 / 2     25 gr 300 m 100%  cotton
Petra 5 / 2 29 1,75 – 2 100 gr 400 m 100%  cotton
Coton Perlé 8  / 2 40   10 gr 80 m 100%  cotton

Brand: Lammy

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Coton Crochet 10/3 32 2 50 gr 280 m 100%  mercerised cotton

Brand: Altınbaşak

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Renkli Dantel İpliği 50/3 44   20 gr 200 m 100%  mercerised cotton

Brand: Venus

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Pearl Coton 8 / 2 42 1 – 1,25 10 gr 82 m 100%  mercerised cotton
Pearl Coton 12 / 2 45   10 gr   100%  mercerised cotton

Brand: Scheepjes

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Maxi n.a. / 3 35 1,25 – 1,5 100 gr 560 m 100%  mercerised cotton
             
             

Brand: Madame Tricote 

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Maxi Metallic n.a. / 3 + 1 * 34 1,5 100 gr 540 m 96%  mercerised cotton, 4% metallic

* 3 twined threads plus a metallic thread twined around this

Brand: Suzanne’s 

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Egyptisch cotton n.a. / 3 32 1,5 – 2 50 gr 250 m 100%  mercerised Egyptian cotton

Brand: Alize

Name Size /#Ply WPI Crochet hook Weight Length Material 
Diva ? / 4 25 2,5 – 3,5 100 gr 350 m 100%  microfiber acrylic