~ Yarn Weight Chart ~
Every yarn weight from CYC 0 (lace) to CYC 7 (jumbo), with the hook and needle range for each, the gauge that actually defines it, and wraps per inch for when the ball band is long gone. UK and Australian ply names are listed separately rather than merged into the US ones — that merge is the single most common way a substituted yarn comes out the wrong size.
Type a yarn name, a ply number, a hook size, or a wraps-per-inch count.
Try: worsted · aran · DK · 4 ply · 8 ply · 5.5 mm hook · 10 wpi
| CYC | US | UK | AU / NZ | Hook (mm) | Needle (mm) | Knit gauge / 4 in | WPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | lace, thread, cobweb | 1 ply, 2 ply, cobweb | 2 ply | 1.6–2.25 | 1.5–2.25 | 33–40 | 35+ |
| 1 | fingering, sock, baby | 3 ply, 4 ply | 3 ply, 4 ply | 2.25–3.5 | 2.25–3.25 | 27–32 | 19–22 |
| 2 | sport, baby | 5 ply | 5 ply | 3.5–4.5 | 3.25–3.75 | 23–26 | 15–18 |
| 3 | DK, light worsted | DK (double knitting) | 8 ply | 4.5–5.5 | 3.75–4.5 | 21–24 | 12–14 |
| 4 | worsted, afghan | aran | 10 ply, 12 ply | 5.5–6.5 | 4.5–5.5 | 16–20 | 9–11 |
| 5 | chunky, craft, rug | chunky | 12 ply, 14 ply | 6.5–9 | 5.5–8 | 12–15 | 7–8 |
| 6 | super chunky, roving | super chunky | 16 ply and up | 9–15 | 8–12.75 | 7–11 | 5–6 |
| 7 | jumbo, roving | no standard name | no standard name | 15–25 | 12.75–25 | 6 and fewer | 4 and fewer |
WPI is approximate. It is not part of the CYC standard and published tables disagree by two to three wraps — treat it as a way to narrow down an unlabelled ball, not as a definition.
Each weight below links to itself, so you can send someone straight to the row they asked about.
These three are the reason this page keeps the national names apart. In each case two names share a CYC row and are not interchangeable at the needle.
Both are filed under CYC 4, so charts print them on one line. In practice UK aran runs heavier — it sits at the top of CYC 4 and often crosses into CYC 5. Substituting aran into a US worsted pattern without re-swatching produces a garment roughly one size too big.
In the UK and Australia the ply number is a traditional weight name. A modern yarn labelled 4 ply may be spun from any number of actual plies — including one. Counting the strands in the ball tells you nothing about which pattern it fits.
Both are CYC 3. UK DK is the narrower, older definition and usually knits slightly finer than a yarn US mills label light worsted. Within one project the difference is a half-size hook; across a garment it is a full gauge swatch.
No, though both are filed under CYC 4. UK aran runs heavier than US worsted — it sits at the top of CYC 4 and often crosses into CYC 5. Swap one for the other without swatching and a garment comes out roughly a size large.
8 ply is the Australian and New Zealand name for CYC 3 — the same weight the UK calls DK and the US calls DK or light worsted. It takes a 4.5–5.5 mm hook or a 3.75–4.5 mm needle.
No. In the UK and Australia the ply number is a traditional weight name, not a strand count. A modern yarn sold as 4 ply may be spun from any number of plies, including one. 4 ply is CYC 1 — fingering or sock weight in the US.
Wraps per inch. Wind the yarn around a ruler or pencil for one inch without stretching or overlapping, then count the wraps. It is the only way to weigh an unlabelled ball, but it is approximate — it is not part of the CYC standard and published tables differ by two to three wraps.
The chart above gives the range for each weight, from 1.6–2.25 mm for lace up to 15 mm and above for jumbo. The range is a starting point — the pattern gauge decides the final hook, and a tight or loose hand moves it by half a size in either direction.
The Craft Yarn Council standard sorts yarn into eight categories, 0 to 7, defined by gauge rather than by name. It is the only part of yarn naming that is standardised — every trade name in the other columns varies by country and by mill.