Just a query need to pick someone's brains I have a cone of 4ply wool do not like knitting with less than dk (unless for a baby) if I double the 4 ply wgat weight does it become ? If I had to hazzard a guess maybe aran so if anyone knows this please tell me.

Just a query need to pick someone's brains I have a cone of 4ply wool do not like knitting with less than dk (unless for a baby) if I double the 4 ply wgat weight does it become ? If I had to hazzard a guess maybe aran so if anyone knows this please tell me.
Yes, 4-ply is equivalent to DK weight, and doubling it will give a roughly aran weight.

I'm gonna sound silly/stupid now...but i don't care....well maybe a little ;)

When you say double the yarn do you mean like unravel the ball and just bring two ends together so you knit with two joined together strands or have i got the wrong idea :confused: :blush:

Why do you do this?

I'm gonna sound silly/stupid now...but i don't care....well maybe a little ;)

When you say double the yarn do you mean like unravel the ball and just bring two ends together so you knit with two joined together strands or have i got the wrong idea :confused: :blush:

Why do you do this?
It's just like working with two balls of yarn at once; hold the two strands together - one from each ball - and knit with them. If I only have one ball I tend to unwind half of one and wind it into another ball first.

You do it if you want to work with a thicker yarn, and you only have something that's roughly half the weight. You can get a variegated effect at the same time if you use two different colours, which is what I did for my Rowan wrist warmers/gloves.

I'm gonna sound silly/stupid now...but i don't care....well maybe a little ;)

When you say double the yarn do you mean like unravel the ball and just bring two ends together so you knit with two joined together strands or have i got the wrong idea :confused: :blush:

Why do you do this?

I was going to make the cone into 2 balls and knit them together to make thicker wool.

It's just like working with two balls of yarn at once; hold the two strands together - one from each ball - and knit with them. If I only have one ball I tend to unwind half of one and wind it into another ball first.

You do it if you want to work with a thicker yarn, and you only have something that's roughly half the weight. You can get a variegated effect at the same time if you use two different colours, which is what I did for my Rowan wrist warmers/gloves.

Oh right, i see, that makes much more sense - the two balls at once way. Still not sure i understand how you do it if you have one ball. But i doubt i've got enough knitting wisdom to even think to do this, and i don't have much of a stash as i generally buy with something in mind everytime...and know my limits :P

Yes, 4-ply is equivalent to DK weight, and doubling it will give a roughly aran weight.

:huh: I thought 4ply was thinner than dk - sport weight is dk isnt it? All the 4ply that Ive knitted with is thinner than dk Im sure.

Confused of Hillsborough:hihi:

(I think Hecate is right about 2 strands of 4ply being approximately the same as aran)

:huh: I thought 4ply was thinner than dk - sport weight is dk isnt it? All the 4ply that Ive knitted with is thinner than dk Im sure.

Confused of Hillsborough:hihi:

(I think Hecate is right about 2 strands of 4ply being approximately the same as aran)
I've always thought of 4 ply as being at the thin end of DK :huh: . I always thought too that sport weight was the American equivalent of DK. Could be wrong though :) . I tend to look at the gauge of the yarn, rather than its category, and try to match that when I'm substituting yarn, then (if I'm not feeling lazy) do a test swatch to make sure.

I think the categories are rather confusing, and find that a lot of yarns don't fit neatly into the DK, aran etc categories. It's become more complicated since the internet has opened up the US market, so we get the American categories too (sport, bulky etc).

Some places don't make a distinction between DK and 4 ply at all. For example, I'd just been browsing at the 'House of Hemp' site when I posted that last post, which states that 'Our DK (4ply) is equivalent to a 'double knit' '...

I always thought that 4 ply was half of DK. I thought that DK was 8 ply....so doubling up 4ply would make DK. And aran - well that's just aran :D

I always assumed that 4ply was half of DK, and aran was twice DK.

Here's an interesting article (http://goknitinyourhat.blogspot.com/2006/04/why-i-hate-new-standard-yarn-chart.html) about yarn classification.

I've never used the term '8-ply' before to describe DK, though having read the posts on here, I can see where the system comes from.

I have my own system, I think: cobweb, lace-weight, sock, DK, Aran, chunky and extra-chunky. I suggest that we all adapt to my system immediately ;) :hihi: .

I find this useful http://www.yarnstandards.com/weight.html

The Americans tend to use the term "ply" in a different way to us so it is not really a reliable way of substituting yarn. Double stranded 4 ply would probably make a reasonable DK substitute but would be best to do a tension square. Bit more problematic creating aran as the DK range of tensions vary. Also, a cotton DK can feel much thicker than an acrylic. As Hecate says, the length of the yarn can be helpful combined with the tension. The length can vary considerably from one DK to the next e.g. Debbie Bliss 50g Cotton DK is 84m and Stylecraft Special DK acrylic equivalent weight is approx 145m ! Not always easy this yarn stuff:D

Doubling DK gets you an aran, or thereabouts. There are a lot of yarns that are in between the standard weights though, mainly so that you can't easily find a substitute. Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino is a good example!

Doubling DK gets you an aran, or thereabouts.
So doubling 4-ply gets you roughly DK and not Aran weight?
There are a lot of yarns that are in between the standard weights though, mainly so that you can't easily find a substitute. Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino is a good example!
I definitely agree with that! It's probably a better idea to compare stitches per inch when substituting yarn, and not automatically assuming that one DK, for example, will automatically take the place of another (one you've taken into account fibre content etc).

Oooh its complicated all this knitting lark init:D

So doubling 4-ply gets you roughly DK and not Aran weight?

Yep..................

GL Note: I had to add the dots to your post as once I'd fixed the quote brackets, your message was too short to post. It needs to be ten characters or more :)

Yep..................
Right. I'll correct my first post so I don't look quite so silly then :lol: .

Hmm - this is just proving the horrible theory that we all really do need to swatch before starting anything.

I can't believe I just said that - must go wash mouth out with soap straight away. :gag: