There's nothing quite like a new ball of yarn. The colour is even more lovely in person than it was on a screen, the fibre is soft and squishy, and you already have big plans for what you want to make using it.
Then you turn it over and find a small paper band covered in numbers, symbols and abbreviations. Some of it looks obvious and is a little familiar, but some of it looks like a code that you need to solve.
The good news is that every label follows roughly the same template, so once you know what it means, it becomes much more straightforward. In this guide, we'll go through how to read a yarn label from one end to the other, so you know exactly what you have got in your hands before you get started.
In this guide
What a label is for · Fibre content · Ball weight and length · Needle size · Tension · Care symbols · Colour and dye lot · Why dye lots matter · Using a different yarn · FAQs
What is a yarn label for?
The label, which is sometimes also called a ball band, is the manufacturer's summary of everything you need to know about that particular yarn. It tells you what it's made from, how much of it you have, what size needles or hook would suit it best, and how it should be washed when you're finished.
Labels can vary between brands, but nearly all of them carry the same core information. Here's what each part means.
Good to know: Keep the band. Tuck it into your project bag, or take a photo of it before you start. If you run out of yarn halfway through a project, it will make it much easier to get the right yarn to carry on.
Fibre content
This tells you what the yarn is made of and is given as a percentage, for example 100% wool, or 75% wool and 25% mohair.
Good to know: If you're not sure what a particular fibre does, our guide to yarn fibres covers the main ones, their properties and what they are good for.
Ball weight and length
You'll see something like 50g and 70m. The grams tell you how much the ball of yarn weighs, and the metres or yards will tell you the length of the yarn in the ball.
Good to know: The length is the number that actually matters when you're working out how many balls to buy. Two 50g balls of different yarns can be very different lengths.
Recommended needle or hook size
This is usually given in millimetres and often covers a small range such as 7mm to 8mm. It's the size that suits most people working with that yarn at an average tension.
Good to know: Treat it as a starting point rather than an instruction. You may need to go up or down a size depending on how tightly or loosely you knit, and you should pay more attention to the needle or hook size that the pattern recommends.
Gauge, or tension
This is usually shown as a little square with numbers around it, for example 13 stitches and 19 rows to 10cm. It means that if you knit a sample on the recommended needles, you should get roughly that many stitches and rows across a 10cm width.
Good to know: This is the manufacturer's way of showing you how the yarn is expected to behave. It's also the number to compare when you're swapping one yarn for another to achieve a similar size.
Care symbols
A small row of pictures along the bottom of the band, usually five of them, each covering one part of looking after your finished project. They look cryptic at first, but there are only a handful to learn.
The tub of water. Washing. The number inside is the maximum temperature in degrees, so 30 means a 30 degree wash. Look underneath the tub too. One bar means a gentle cycle with reduced spinning, and two bars means very gentle, which is the wool or hand wash setting on most machines. A hand in the tub means hand wash only, and a cross through the whole symbol means don't wash it at home at all.
The triangle. Bleaching. Almost always crossed out on natural fibre yarn, which simply means don't use bleach.
The square with a circle inside. Tumble drying. Crossed out means don't tumble dry, which is the usual advice for wool and other animal fibres. A plain square with a horizontal line inside is a different symbol and means dry flat.
The iron. Ironing, with the safe temperature shown by the number of dots. One dot is cool, two is warm, three is hot. Crossed out means don't iron.
The circle. Dry cleaning. A letter inside, usually P or F, tells the dry cleaner which solvent to use, so you don't need to do anything with it beyond knowing the item can be cleaned professionally. Crossed out means it can't be dry cleaned.
Good to know: A cross through any symbol always means the same thing. Don't do it.
Colour and dye lot
The colour code identifies the shade. The dye lot, sometimes printed as a separate number or batch code, identifies the specific run in which that yarn was dyed. It's the detail most often missed, and the one most worth paying attention to, so that whatever you make is consistent in colour.
Why does the dye lot matter?
Natural fibres take dye slightly differently from batch to batch. Two balls in the same shade, dyed months apart, can be a fraction lighter or warmer than each other. On the shelf you'd never notice. Across the back of a jumper, in daylight, you might.
The good news is that it's easily avoided. Buy all the yarn for a project at once, from the same lot, and add a ball more than you think you need.
Request a dye lot when you order
When buying through us, you can request a specific dye lot directly on the product page. We'll always provide a requested dye lot if we have it in stock.
Return to The Nest
You dont need to worry about ordering too much yarn. We'll take back any unused yarn in exchange for store credit. Find out more about our Return to The Nest scheme.
If you do end up mixing lots, alternate two rows from each ball rather than switching over completely. The change then blends across the fabric rather than showing as a line.
What if the label doesn't match your pattern?
This happens often, and it isn't a problem. Patterns are often written using one specific yarn, but you're free to use another, as long as the two behave similarly.
Start with thickness. Your pattern will name the yarn it was written for, and yours needs to be the same sort of thickness. Then compare the gauge on both labels, since a yarn that gives the same number of stitches to 10cm will work up to a similar size. Finally, check the length per ball and work out the total metres the pattern needs, rather than matching the number of balls.
Good to know: Whatever the labels say, knit a tension square before you start. Your hands aren't the manufacturer's hands, and a few centimetres of knitting is the only reliable way to find out what yours will do.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a different needle or hook size to the one on the label?
Yes, and many crafters do. If your tension square comes out with too few stitches to 10cm, go down a needle or hook size. If it comes out with too many, go up.
Can I ask for a specific dye lot?
Yes. There's an option to request a dye lot on each product page, and we'll match it wherever we have that lot in stock.
Do all yarn labels show a dye lot?
Most commercially dyed yarns do. Hand dyed yarns are usually marked with a batch or skein number instead, and variation between batches is more noticeable, so buying together matters even more.
Why do two 50g balls give different lengths?
Because fibres differ in density and yarns differ in thickness. Fifty grams of a fine, light fibre goes a great deal further than fifty grams of a dense, chunky one.
What should I do with the label once I've cast on?
Keep it with the project. When you give a finished piece as a gift, pass the band on too, or write the washing instructions on a small card. It saves the person who receives it from guessing how to look after it.
The label is on your side
It looks like small print, but a yarn label is really just a short set of notes from the people who made the yarn. Once you are familiar with it, you can take the whole thing in at a glance.
It's also the difference between a project that goes smoothly and one that stalls three quarters of the way through. Knowing the fibre, the length and the tension before you buy means you order the right amount, on the right needles, in one lot.
Still not sure about a label?
If you're looking at one and something on it doesn't make sense, do send us a message. We're always happy to talk yarn.