Yarn weight has nothing to do with how much the ball weighs. It describes how thick the strand is — and the most reliable way to read that is metres per 100g. A thin yarn packs a lot of length into 100g; a thick one packs very little.
The scale, from thin to thick
Names differ between countries, which is why the same yarn can be called DK in the UK and light worsted in the US. The metres tell you the truth.
- Lace and 2 ply — roughly 800m+ per 100g. Shawls, fine edgings. Slow, delicate work.
- 4 ply / sport — roughly 350–450m per 100g. Socks, baby garments, close-fitting knits.
- DK / 8 ply — roughly 250–320m per 100g. The everyday weight: jumpers, cardigans, amigurumi, blankets. Fast enough to finish, fine enough to hold detail.
- Aran / worsted — roughly 160–220m per 100g. Warmer garments, cushions, textured stitchwork. About a third quicker than DK.
- Chunky and super bulky — under about 120m per 100g. Blankets, scarves, home pieces. Very quick, and heavy in the finished piece.
Where our yarns sit
Every figure below is taken from the ball itself.
| Yarn | Ball | Metres per 100g | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| DK Ombre Multicolour | 100g / 300m | 300m | DK |
| Dream Ombre DK | 150g / 280m | ~187m | DK at the heavy end |
| Perfect Aran Ombre | 300g / 600m | 200m | Aran |
| Pom Poms Soft Yarn | 200g / 100m | 50m | Super bulky |
| Cotton DK Amigurumi | — | — | DK cotton |
Two things in that table are worth pausing on.
Dream Ombre DK sits close to Aran. It is sold as DK and its recommended needle is 5.5mm, but at roughly 187m per 100g it is nearer our Aran than our DK Ombre. If a pattern asks for DK and your tension comes out loose, this is why — go down a needle size before you blame yourself.
Pom Poms is a different animal. 100m in a 200g ball, knitting at 10 stitches to 10cm. That is a blanket-and-scarf yarn. It will not hold the stitch definition a garment pattern expects.
Tension is the real test
Weight gets you to the right shelf. Tension gets you the right size. The figures on our balls:
- DK Ombre Multicolour — needles 3.75–4.5mm, hook 4.5–5.5mm
- Dream Ombre DK — 5.5mm, 20 stitches x 14 rows per 10cm
- Cotton DK Amigurumi — needles 3.5–4.5mm, hook 2.5–3.5mm, 17 stitches x 25 rows per 10cm
- Perfect Aran Ombre — 5mm gives 17 x 23 per 10cm; 5.5mm gives 12 x 15
- Pom Poms Soft Yarn — needles 5–5.5mm, hook 4.5–5mm, 10 stitches x 10 rows per 10cm
Notice that Perfect Aran is listed at two needle sizes with very different results. That is not a contradiction — it is the yarn telling you it can be worked firm or open, and that the choice is yours.
Crochet reads it differently
A hook eats more yarn than a needle for the same surface area, and amigurumi eats more still because it is worked tight and stuffed. Cotton DK Amigurumi is the clearest example on our shelf: its recommended hook is 2.5–3.5mm, well below its needle size, precisely so the stitches close up and the stuffing stays in.
The short version
Read metres per 100g, not the name on the label. Match tension before you cast on. And if a yarn is described as one weight but behaves like another, trust the swatch.
