Read Knitting Rules! for Free Online

skein in the backyard under a tree. We all understand.
IT SEEMS LIKE …
    If, after burning, sniffing, bleaching, and guessing you still aren’t sure what you have, go back to the stash and find something similar to what you think you have. If you think it’s wool, put a wool yarn through the tests and see if it behaves like the suspect.
    There is no test I know of (short of getting a microscope and an education in these matters) that will help you distinguish among different animal fibers. You can guess, by characteristics like elasticity and drape, but being able to reliably tell the difference between alpaca and llama is going to remain a challenge.
FIGURING WEIGHT
    With experience, you’re probably going to be able to tell if a yarn is chunky or worsted weight by giving it a little squeeze and, eventually, with a glance. If you don’t have this experience, or if you’re dealing with hand-spun, where it can be a little trickier, you could probably use a few hints.
    The most reliable way to tell what you have is to swatch some of it, but I prefer using “wraps per inch” or WPI. This method is faster and leaves more knitting time. Find a ruler (sorry … I don’t know where it is) and your yarn and plant yourself in a comfy chair. Wrap the yarn around the ruler — not too tight or you stretch the yarn;not too loose or you can’t measure properly. Just wrap, laying the yarn next to itself on the ruler so that you fill all the spaces between the strands, but don’t squash them together. Find the marking for one inch on the ruler and count how many wraps of the yarn fit in that space. If you are an inconsistent wrapper or a really precise knitter, measure the wraps over a couple of inches and divide to get an average and consistent number.
HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE?
    Once you’ve figured out what your yarn is made of and what weight it is, the only thing left to wonder is “How much is in the ball?” (Well, there are also these questions: “Is it enough to make a sweater?” and “When will the world have peace?” but you know what I mean.)
Wraps per Inch
Approximate yarn weight
Common gauge
More than 18
Floss or cobweb (occasionally referred to by non-knitters as “crazyville”)
Variable, depending on effect desired
18
Lace weight
Variable
16
Fingering/sock yarn/baby yarn
28 stitches to 4"/10 cm
14
Sport/light worsted/DK (double knitting)
24 stitches to 4"/10 cm
12
Worsted/aran
20 stitches to 4"/10 cm
10
Chunky/rug yarn
16 stiches to 4"/10 cm
8 or less
Bulky/superbulky
12 or less stitches to 4"/10 cm
    Following are five ways to guesstimate how much you have of a particular yarn.
    Method 1
    Get a McMorran balance . This little gizmo is a kind of scale set to balance at a certain weight. You hang a piece of yarn on it, snip away at it until the arm balances, then measure the piece of yarn you have and multiply by 100. This tells you how many yards there are per pound. Then you weigh the skein and bob’s yer uncle, you know how much yarn you have. (
Disadvantage:
You need to get a McMorran balance, and because it’s mainly a spinner/weaver gadget, you may not be able to get one from your local yarn store.)
    Method 2
    Get a yarn meter . Clamp the meter onto a table in between the ball of yarn and your ball winder. Slide the yarn through the slot in the top of the thing, attach it to the ball winder, and start pulling the yarn through the meter by winding it on the ball winder. The yarn passes through little rollers in the middle that count off yards or meters, and displays how much has passed through. (
Disadvantage:
Requires a ball winder, and because most have a digital display, they stop working if you happen to spill coffee on them.)
    Method 3
    Cut 10 yards of yarn from the ball and take the piece and that ball over to the post office. Get someone thereto weigh the 10 yards. (If your post office is sort of cranky about your knitting