What are yarn counts
Yarn counts can be a confusing topic but it is a useful piece of information.
The yarn count tells us the thickness and ply of the yarn. All yarn has a yarn count although this is not so obvious in some yarns such as knitting yarn which are often described in words e.g. double knit etc.
Counts are expressed as two numbers separated by a forward slash followed by the count system abbreviation e.g. 16/2 nm, 2/16wc etc. One number is the count, this tells us the length of yarn for a given weight of each individual strand of yarn. The other (usually smaller number) tells us how many strands of yarn have been plied together.
Some counts may be expressed with the ply number missing e.g. 16 nm. When a count is expressed like this it is assumed the ply is 1. Generally, the larger the number the finer the yarn.
The twist is not measured within a yarn count as each manufacturer sets this themselves. The twist of a yarn is sometimes expressed separately as twists per inch (tpi) or twists per metre (tpm).
Different measuring systems
There are many different systems used for measuring yarn. I am just going to cover the most common ones in this post.
| Count system | Yarn | Definition |
| Cotton count (cc or ne) | Cottons | 840 yards/pound |
| Worsted count (wc) | Wools | 560 yards/pound |
| Linen count (lea or nel) | Linen | 300 yards/pound |
| Numero metric count (nm or mc) | Silks | 1000 meters/kilo |
Although the different systems are commonly used for specific yarns they are often used for other types of yarn too. The numero metric count is particularly used across different yarn types.
Imperial counts (cc/wc/lea) are written ply/count
Metric counts (nm) are written count/ply
Working out the yards/pound or meters/kilo
When you know the count of a yarn this enables you to work out how many metres/yards you have per kilo/pound of that particular yarn. To work this out you multiply the number of yards/meters per pound/kilo by the yarn count. Then divide this by the ply. See the table and example below:
| Cotton count | yards per pound = (840 x count) / ply |
| Worsted count | yards per pound = (560 x count) / ply |
| Linen count | yards per pound = (300 x count) / ply |
| Numero Metric count | metres per kilo = (1000 x count) / ply |
For example:
16/2 nm
m/kg = (1000 x 16) / 2
8000 m/kg
2/12 cc
y/lb = (840 x 12) / 2
5040 y/lb
When yarn is plied there is a little bit of take up so the amounts may not work out exactly but in thinner yarns this is negligible.
Being able to do this calculation is useful because it enables you to work out how much yarn you are going to need for your project.
It is also useful to be able to convert between the two:
y/lb to m/k multiply by 2.016
m/k to y/lb multiply by 0.495
(these are rounded to three decimal places)
For example:
5040 y/lb x 2.016 = 10160.64 m/kg
To convert directly between metres and yards use the following calculation:
metres to yards – multiply by 1.09
yards to metres – multiply by 0.91