Knitting Yarn FAQs

There are a huge range of knitting yarns available to handknitters today. In today’s post we will answer some frequently asked questions about yarn.

Yarn FAQs

What is the most expensive yarn in the world?

How many grams are in a skein of yarn?

What is the warmest yarn?

What is the best yarn for sensitive skin?

What is the most expensive yarn in the world?

The most expensive yarn is made from vicuna fibre. Vicuna are a wild relative of domestic alpacas and have wool that is especially warm and soft. Because they are a protected species, there are limits on how much wool can be collected from wild vicuna. On top of this, each animal only produces a small amount of wool each year. These factors all combine to make vicuna fibre both desirable and rare, resulting in a price tag of up to 600 USD (£450) per kilo! In comparison, cashmere, which is considered a luxury fibre, only costs about 80 USD (£60) per kilo.

How many grams in a skein of yarn?

It depends! Most hand-dyed skeins of yarn will be 50 or 100 grams. Generally something labelled a mini-skein will 20 grams. How many yards this gets you will depend on the weight of the yarn and what the fibre composition is like. For example, a 100 gram skein of fingering weight yarn might include about 400 metres, while a 100 gram skein of DK yarn might have closer to 200 metres. When choosing a yarn for your project, it’s always important to check the specifications of the yarn before you buy it, to make sure you will have enough to complete your project. For help estimating how much yarn you’ll need for standard projects, check out our guide ‘How much yarn do I need?’, or for help substituting yarns, see our Yarn Substitution Guide.

What is the warmest yarn?

There is a lot of discussion about the warmest type of yarn. Some people have found yarn made from Alaskan Malamute dog hair to be the best insulator! However, it is widely said that qiviut is the warmest yarn available for handknitting. Qiviut is made from the inner wool of muskox. Qiviut is collected when the muskox shed it, making this yarn relatively rare and expensive, and not an accessible choice for most people. Another contender for warmest yarn is vicuna wool, which we discussed above. Like qiviut yarn (and malamute dog hair!), this exotic fibre is expensive and not widely available for hand knitters.

Merino, alpaca, and cashmere are among the warmest fibres that are commonly commercially available. If you’re looking to knit an extra warm winter garment, consider using yarn made from one of these fibres, or a blend or all three!

What is the best yarn for sensitive skin?

Everyone has different sensitivities, so there is no one yarn or fibre that can be guaranteed not to irritate anyone. However, there are yarns that tend to be more suitable for sensitive skin than others.

Superwash Wool: Superwash wool has been treated to stop it from felting. Because of this, it tends to have a smoother finish than non-superwash wool, which can make it less itchy.

Silk: Silk is known to be very smooth and soft, which makes it a great choice for those with sensitive skin.

Vegan Yarns: Some people might find that they are sensitive to all animal fibres. Cotton, acrylic, or other plant-based fibres can be a good choice if you find all animal fibres irritating. However, these fibres can behave quite differently to animal fibres, so keep that in mind when substituting them in a pattern written for wool yarn.

Merino Wool: Merino wool is probably the softest sheep wool widely available to handknitters. The fibre is very smooth and doesn’t tend to have the prickly feel of other wools.

Cashmere: Cashmere is very soft and can have an almost buttery feeling, which makes it a great choice for sensitive skin.