Guide
Real yarn from Cascade Yarns, Lion Brand, Red Heart, Rowan and more — with verified yardage, gauge and needle size for each weight category.
Quick summary: Pattern instructions often just say "worsted weight" or "DK," which tells you little about what's actually on the shelf at your local yarn shop. This guide starts from real, currently-sold products, with specifications taken directly from the manufacturers' own product pages.
Yarn weight names ("fingering," "DK," "worsted," "Aran") are only a rough guide — two yarns labeled the same way can still knit up at noticeably different gauges. Once you know which real products fall into which weight category, it becomes much easier to substitute yarn confidently, whether the original pattern calls for a yarn that's out of stock or one you simply can't get where you live. Use our yarn substitution calculator once you've found an alternative in the right weight category below.
The US and UK markets are dominated by a mix of long-established mills and a handful of newer, widely-distributed favorites:
Company locations and product specifications above come from the brands’ own sites, including West Yorkshire Spinners. Weight categories follow the Craft Yarn Council’s Standard Yarn Weight System. Always knit a swatch and trust the ball band over any category name.
Need a full conversion chart for all standard yarn categories? Explore our comprehensive Standard Yarn Weights Guide & Chart (CYC 0–7) for gauge ranges, wraps per inch (WPI), and US needle sizes.
A mohair-silk lace yarn from Rowan, knitted either on its own or held together with a heavier yarn for extra halo. Its wide gauge range — 18 to 25 sts over 4 in — is what makes it work in both roles.
Single-ply hand-dyed baby merino at lace weight — 470 yd430 m in a 1.75 oz50 g skein, the longest yardage per gram in this list.
A superwash merino and nylon sock yarn stocked in most US yarn shops; the nylon adds durability where heels and toes wear through first.
West Yorkshire Spinners state that the yarn has won 'Best Sock Yarn' at the British Knitting and Crochet Awards for several years running. Superwash treated, and 35% of the wool is Bluefaced Leicester.
Kettle-dyed single-ply superwash merino from Uruguay, with 440 yd402 m on a 3.5 oz100 g skein.
The sport-weight member of the Cascade 220 family. Cascade describe it as lofty, with superb stitch definition, and suited to lace and everyday knitting.
A sport-weight acrylic from Knit Picks at 24 sts per 4 in, with 340 yd311 m on a 3.5 oz100 g ball.
LoveCrafts' own budget acrylic DK, a common US-pattern substitute for Stylecraft Special DK thanks to a near-identical gauge and huge color range.
A machine-washable nylon-acrylic blend that Sirdar sell for newborn and children's knitting.
An affordable machine-washable acrylic-wool blend, sold in 3 oz85 g balls rather than the 1.75 oz50 g or 3.5 oz100 g most of this list uses.
A budget acrylic DK with 322 yd295 m on a 3.5 oz100 g ball — the longest yardage per gram of any DK in this list, which is what makes it a common choice for blankets.
A 100% Peruvian Highland Wool worsted sold direct to consumers by Knit Picks, in solid and heathered colorways.
A wool-mohair blend from Brown Sheep in Nebraska. The 15% mohair is what gives it the halo that distinguishes it from a plain worsted wool.
Cascade describe 220 as a handwash staple suited to cables, lace, colorwork and felting, available in more than 150 colors. The Sport and Grande entries in this list are the same wool at other weights.
A budget acrylic worsted sold in 7 oz198 g skeins — far larger than the 1.75 oz50 g or 3.5 oz100 g put-ups most of this list uses, which is why patterns quote it in whole skeins.
Kettle-dyed single-ply merino with tonal colorways. Being single-ply, it shows the colour rather than the stitch, which is why it suits plain garter and stockinette.
A half-and-half blend of super fine alpaca and Peruvian wool at worsted weight. The wool supplies the elasticity alpaca on its own lacks — see the alpaca entry in the fiber lexicon.
A budget acrylic worsted with a noticeably glossy surface, sold in 6 oz170 g skeins.
Woolen-spun in the USA from American Targhee-Columbia fleece. Woolen spinning traps air between the fibers, which is why 1.75 oz50 g goes as far as 140 yd128 m at worsted weight.
The same Peruvian Highland Wool as Cascade 220, spun heavier: each 7 oz200 g hank holds the same 220 yards, at 12–14 sts per 4 in instead of 18–20.
A 3-ply bulky merino at 14 sts per 4 in. Our experience is that a plied bulky holds up better to rubbing than a single-ply one of the same weight.
A super bulky acrylic-wool blend at 9 sts per 4 in on US 13 needles, with 106 yd97 m in a 6 oz170 g skein — enough for a hat or a cowl from one skein.
A hand-dyed single-ply super bulky merino, 90 yd82 m in a 5.3 oz150 g skein, worked at 8–10 sts per 4 in.
A chenille-style super bulky polyester at 8 sts per 4 in, sold in 10.6 oz300 g skeins — the largest put-up in this list.
The paper band around a skein of yarn usually has everything you need to judge whether it will work for your project: yardage (meters or yards per gram weight), fiber content, recommended gauge, recommended needle size, and care instructions. See our ball band dictionary entry for a full explanation, or the fiber lexicon for more on the fiber types themselves.
The same yarn is often labeled differently on the two sides of the Atlantic. What the US calls "worsted weight" is close to what the UK calls "Aran" (though UK Aran runs very slightly heavier), and the US "DK" and UK "double knitting" are the same thing. When in doubt, ignore the printed weight name and compare yardage and gauge on the ball band instead — that's the only reliable way to tell if two yarns really match.
Yes. Cascade Yarns is headquartered in Tukwila, Washington, and distributes to yarn shops across North America. Like many US and UK yarn brands, though, the wool itself is often spun and dyed abroad — Cascade 220, for example, is made from Peruvian Highland Wool.
Traditional Fair Isle patterns use fine, springy Shetland wool, most famously from Jamieson's of Shetland and Jamieson & Smith. Its slight halo and give make stranded colorwork easier to block flat, which is why it's still the first choice for authentic Fair Isle yoke sweaters.
All three are 100% Peruvian Highland Wool from the same family, just spun to different thicknesses. 220 Sport is the finest (164 yd / 1.75 oz150 m / 50 g), standard 220 is worsted weight (220 yd / 3.5 oz200 m / 100 g), and 220 Grande is the thickest (220 yd / 7 oz200 m / 200 g) for fast, bulky projects. You can substitute between them by matching yardage rather than skein count.
Published Updated