What we're up to!

I’ve never written a blog post, so please forgive my clumsiness. I thought a blog might be a fun thing. Someone stopped in the store the other day and during the course of our conversation she suggested that people might be interested in random bits of information I possess which I don’t think anyone would find interesting. Go figure, right?

I’ve learned a lot of bits and pieces about yarn, yarn production, fleece, etc. since opening the Mill. For instance, there is no real standardization of yarn thicknesses and what they are called. In Britain a yarn described as “4-ply” does not have 4 plies to it, necessarily. 4-ply means what we would call fingering weight. Of course in the US at least fingering weight is open for interpretation as well. In the Mill we describe a yarn as fingering weight if it has 1800-2400 yards in a pound of yarn. There are other yards per pound designations described as fingering weight. There is also the numbering system, which can be found at the craft yarn council’s website: https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/yarn-weight-system

Yards per pound is more accurate. If you weave, or use a knitting machine, and the size of the yarn is critical, yards per pound or the gauge (think about wire sizes) is probably what you want to know. If you’re knitting a scarf, the numbering system will probably serve you well.