Yarns.......
The word yarn simply means any kind of thread, no matter what it was made from or how it was made. The word carries no implication of quality and can be applied both to a quality natural fibre and the lowest synthetic fibre.
Click here to see a list of yarns available from BHKC Spinners.

It would be easy to go to a retailer and buy the yarn specified and start knitting, but problems often crop up: the retailer may stock XX but not in a suitable colour. BB double knitting cotton is in a desired colour. Would it be safe to change? Is the alternative in 50g balls or 100gs? What is the metreage?
May people use the yarn specified in the pattern because it can be quite overwhelming but a basic knowledge of yarns can give a knitter greater confidence when buying and knitting to avoid difficulties and disappointments they might otherwise experience.
Yarn Labels....
Yarn Companys put all the information on a yarn label which has:
Company Name
Shade
Yarn Composition
Weight
Length
Recommened Needle Sizes
Recommend Tension
Dye Lot



Types of yarn.....
There is a wonderful range of yarns available to the knitter.
Below is a brief explanation of composition, fibres used, metrage and plys:

The Composition of knitting yarns can vary endlessly and can be made from the fibres explained below, either 100% natural fibres or 100% synthetic fibres or in blends. There is an endless variety of blends available today from 100% merino wool, 50% merino wool/50% cotton, 100% cotton to 80% cotton/20% arcylic. The compostion of a yarn is printed on the ball band.

The fibres used to make a yarn is divided into two main categories:
Natural fibres are vegetable, cotton, linen or animal, merino wool, alpaca, cashmere and silk. Silk and cashmere is one of the most expensive fibres because the animals that produce it only do so in a small amount and the resulting fibre is soft.
Synthetic fibres are for example acrylics, polyamides (nylon), and microfibres.Synthetic fibres have an good washing performance, especially in washing machines.

The ply of a knitting yarn is the most important and can lead to confusion as there are many different plys available.
Basically the ply refers to the thickness of a yarn and a knowledge of different plys is needed when substituting yarns as well as an understanding of tension.
A yarn is made by spinning threads together, a single thread is in very basic terms one ply, so to spin 2, 3 or 4 threads together the yarn is 2, 3 or 4 ply.The basic thicknesses of the yarns are below and explained further in tension.
The basic thicknesses of yarns are:
4 ply
double knitting
aran
chunky

The metrage is the length of yarn on a ball or skein. The metrage is dependant on the ply and fibre content of a yarn. A 4 ply yarn may have 100 metres (109
yards) on a 50g ball while a chunky may have 85 metres (93 yards) on a 50g ball.Metrage is also important in substituting yarns as it can mean the difference of 2 or 4 balls.

Dye lots, finally ! it is important to check the dye lot number. Yarn is dyed in bulk lots and different dye lots vary in shading which may not be obivous when comparing the balls of yarn but is when your jumper has a different shaded area.