----Brenda Paternoster <paternos...@appleshack.com> wrote: >From what I understand of the American terms for knitting yarns 'sock yarn and >fingering are similar, if not the same.----
That's the way I've understood the terms. However, in Brenda's article on yarns, the "official" numbering system lists "fingering" under #0 (lace weight), #1 (sock weight), and #3 (DK weight). I think decades ago (in the US), the main categories of yarn were "worsted" (4-ply), "sport" (3-ply), and "baby" (2-ply). I also remember the term "fingering", but don't remember if it was sized with "sport" or with "baby" in those days. In those days, yarn was either wool or acrylic, and there were none of the eyelash, lurex, furry, etc. things we can get now. You'd think the new number system would make it easy. But I am looking at a knitted lace pattern ("Forest Path Stole" by Faina Letoutchaia, in the book "The Best of Interweave Knits") that has me confused. It says to use "fingering weight (#1 Super Fine)" and size 3 (3.25 mm) needles. Now, I was just knitting with sock yarn on #3 needles and it's not lacy at all--if you stretch the swatch (like blocking) you can see the holes, but the stitches between the holes are quite solid. The pictures of this shawl show a much lacier piece, with a lot of visibility even in the "solid" areas. It has to be done with lace weight yarn (#0), not sock yarn (#1). Crazy! Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA robinl...@socal.rr.com - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com