Yarn Labels: What Information Is on Them?

Dear users, dear designers,
what information is usually found on yarn labels and how can you work with it?

Of course, the material is listed, along with the length of the yarn and the recommended needle size. Lately, I’ve also often noticed a gauge on them. And if you want to buy more, the color number is, of course, important.

Yes, the gauge is also listed — how many stitches wide and how many rows high over 10 cm. 

I find this information important if I don’t use the recommended yarn but an alternative one. 

It also says how I can wash it afterwards. Hand wash or machine wash, for example. 

When buying more yarn, the lot number is just as important as the color number.
If you use skeins from different lots together, you might run into some unpleasant surprises. Everything else has already been mentioned.

I can use this information if I want to knit a finished pattern with a different yarn—in which case I need to know whether I can follow it exactly or if I’ll need to adjust the measurements—or if I’m working without a pattern, following my own ideas.

The specified needle size is merely a guideline for which needle size to start my gauge swatch with. Ultimately, however, the texture of the knit determines which needle size I’ll use for my project.

I need the yardage to determine the number of skeins required. If I want to recreate a pattern for a wool yarn with 200m LL / 50g using a cotton yarn with 100m LL / 50g, I know I’ll need twice as many skeins.