Guide to Fingering Weight Yarn

Fingering weight yarn, worsted yarn, DK yarn, why are these terms so confusing? If you are like me when I began crocheting, you have no idea what type of yarn you need. The choices are overwhelming.

Guide to Fingering Weight Yarn.

You have to choose a colour, a weight, and a ply. Why are there so many choices? There is actually a good reason; different yarns are used to create different fabrics. If you are interested in learning more facts about fingering weight crochet yarn, continue reading below.

What is Fingering Weight Crochet Yarn?

fingering crochet yarn
Palette Fingering Crochet Yarn

If you are here, you are interested in learning more about fingering weight crochet yarn. Fingering yarn is referred to as yarn weight #1, super fine yarn, sock yarn, and baby yarn. It is a lightweight yarn that is used to make thin projects.

Fingering weight crochet yarn is comparable to lace weight yarn. It is a very thin yarn that is one size up from lace weight yarn. If you have a project that calls for lace weight yarn, you can generally substitute fingering weight. The thin size makes it a wonderful choice for summer and warm weather projects. You will often find it recommended for making baby cloths, socks, shawls, throws, and more.

What Can You Make with Fingering Weight Crochet Yarn?

Since fingering yarn is very thin, it is often used to make lightweight projects, such as:

  • Hats
  • Sweaters
  • Shawls
  • Throws
  • Scarves
  • Cowls
  • Fingerless gloves
  • Baby items
  • Socks
  • Dishcloths
  • Toys
  •  …and More

Advantages of Fingering Yarn

fingering weight yarn
Hawthorne Fingering Crochet Yarn

There are many advantages of crocheting with fingering yarn. These include:

  • Versatility

Fingering yarn is very versatile. It is a great size for making lightweight summer projects.

  • Drape

Fingering weight crochet yarn can provide a nice drape for garments. It sits smoothly against the body, unlike bulky

yarn. Bulky yarn creates a denser fabric that can look chunky and unflattering.

  • Details

Since fingering yarn is thin, you can get more stitches into an area. This makes it easier to create details. You will

often find that patterns that use colourwork require super fine yarn.

  • Lightweight

Fingering crochet yarn is thin, making it a great choice for summer projects. Even though it is thin, it is still tough enough

for everyday wear.

  • Yardage

When looking for patterns, you may notice that some use grams instead of yards. If you start looking at gram

measurements, you will see fingering yarn has between 380-500 yards per gram, compared to worsted weight

which only has 190-240 yards. So, when buying fingering weight crochet yarn, you get more yardage per gram.

What Crochet Hook is Recommended for this super fine yarn?

Zen Yarn Garden super fine yarn
Zen Yarn Garden super fine yarn

When crocheting, you will often see 2.25 to 3.5 mm crochet hooks recommended for super fine yarn. However, these are just recommendations. Using the recommended hooks will create a solid fabric that is not too loose or too tight. To make a looser fabric, you will need a larger hook size. To make a tighter fabric, you will need a smaller hook size.

Fingering Weight Ply

Fingering crochet yarn is typically 4 ply but you can also find it in other plies. Ply refers to the number of threads twisted together to form the yarn. The higher the ply count, usually the stronger the yarn.

Single ply yarn is made from a single thread, while 2 ply yarn has 2 threads, and so on. The more threads, the stronger the yarn. Since fingering yarn is already thin, to begin with, you generally want to go with more than one ply.

Fingering Weight Gauge

When crocheting a pattern, gauge is often very important. Gauge is another one of those crochet terms that can be confusing at first. But all it means is the number of rows and stitches per inch. When crocheting with super fine yarn, you will generally have a gauge between 21-32 stitches/rows per 4 inches.

If you are working on a pattern that has a specified gauge, make a gauge swatch before you begin. If your gauge does not match the designer’s, you can use a different crochet hook size. If you have too many rows and stitches per inch, use a bigger hook. If you do not have enough rows and stitches, use a smaller hook.

Now that you know more about fingering crochet yarn, I hope you give it a try.

Different types of yarns can be very confusing. They come in so many weights, fibres, and plies. Fingering yarn is often a wonderful choice for making lightweight materials. It comes in a wide variety of colours, textures, and fibres.

Want to learn more, do check out these articles: Crochet Hook Sizes, Guide to Crochet Thread Sizes, Different Yarn Weights, Types Of Yarn For Crochet and Crochet Abbreviations. We love to hear your feedback, send it over to our Facebook page!

Many crocheters skip patterns that use it because they think it is too thin to crochet with. But this is not the case. Fingering weight crochet yarn can be used to make some beautiful creations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Salazar

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