1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,160
Hello my friends and welcome to 
Simply Hooked, a crochet 

2
00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,000
podcast. 
I'm your host Marcy, a crochet 

3
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,760
designer, mom of two, and 
creative entrepreneur. 

4
00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,560
Here we celebrate the joy of 
crochet and talk about what it 

5
00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,960
really means to create a life 
you love through your own unique

6
00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,800
gifts. 
Hello my friends. 

7
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,720
So if you are new to crochet, 
you may have recently taken your

8
00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:30,600
first trip down the yarn aisle 
of a Michaels or Hobby Lobby and

9
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,520
probably felt a bit overwhelmed.
I know I did the first time. 

10
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:39,600
Walking into the yarn aisles can
sometimes feel like landing in a

11
00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,440
foreign country. 
It's beautiful. 

12
00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,600
There's colors everywhere that 
there's so much texture. 

13
00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:49,880
But then you pick up a scheme 
and suddenly you feel like you 

14
00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,920
need a translator. 
There are abbreviations for 

15
00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,680
stitches. 
There's words that do not 

16
00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,600
exactly roll off your tongue. 
Does anyone remember the first 

17
00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,960
time they tried to pronounce the
word scheme? 

18
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,360
Or is it skein? 
Or is it skein? 

19
00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,640
I call it scheme. 
I don't know if that is correct 

20
00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,000
or not. 
And then there's that paper 

21
00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,520
wrapped around the middle of the
yarn, and it is covered in tiny 

22
00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:25,840
symbols, grids, numbers, laundry
icons, like what does all of 

23
00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,280
this mean? 
Today we are going to crack the 

24
00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,440
code of the yarn label. 
So this is a great episode if 

25
00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:36,400
you're just starting out because
those labels are not meant to 

26
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,200
confuse you or gatekeep the 
hobby. 

27
00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,960
They're actually a CHEAT SHEET. 
They are there to help you 

28
00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:46,400
predict exactly how your project
will turn out before you ever 

29
00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,760
pick up your hook. 
So let's walk through these 

30
00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:54,480
labels one little box at a time,
because reading the label saves 

31
00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,760
us from heartbreak later. 
So not all the yarns work well 

32
00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,080
for all projects. 
A yarn that is perfect for a 

33
00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,920
thick winter scarf might be a 
terrible choice for a 

34
00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,320
lightweight summer top. 
And a yarn that looks beautiful 

35
00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,600
on the shelf might not hold up 
well as a baby blanket or 

36
00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,120
something that needs to be 
washed frequently. 

37
00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,960
So understanding the yarn labels
helps you choose yarn that fits 

38
00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,800
the purpose of your project, not
just the look, and it will help 

39
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,680
you avoid surprises and 
frustration later on. 

40
00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,160
So here are the main things the 
labels are going to tell you. 

41
00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,120
How thick the yarn is. 
How much yarn is in the scheme. 

42
00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,720
What hook size to start with. 
How to care for your finished 

43
00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,120
piece. 
What the yarn is made of and 

44
00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,600
information about color and the 
dye lot. 

45
00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:49,320
So once you know where to look, 
it all starts to feel much less 

46
00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,640
intimidating. 
So if you have a skein of yarn 

47
00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:55,640
nearby that still has the 
wrapper on it, go ahead and grab

48
00:02:55,640 --> 00:03:00,000
it and we will go through this. 
So when you look at the wrapper,

49
00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,440
you're going to see a few 
distinct sections. 

50
00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,680
You'll see the brand name, big 
and bold on the front. 

51
00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,640
And then if you rotate it, 
you'll find all the technical 

52
00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:12,560
stuff. 
And usually these are organized 

53
00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,200
into little shapes or boxes. 
So first we're going to look at 

54
00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,040
the yarn weight. 
On almost every commercial yarn 

55
00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,400
label, you are going to see a 
small icon that looks a little 

56
00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,400
bit like a black and white 
scheme of yarn. 

57
00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:30,240
And inside that scheme, there 
will be a number, usually 

58
00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,440
ranging from zero to seven. 
And just to clear up confusion, 

59
00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,720
when I say weight here we're not
talking about how heavy the ball

60
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,000
of yarn is on a scale. 
We're talking about the 

61
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,960
thickness of the strand. 
So yarn weight refers to the 

62
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,040
thickness. 
And the scale works like this. 

63
00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,360
You've got 0, which is the 
finest lace weight, super tiny, 

64
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,160
think doilies. 
And then you've got 4, which is 

65
00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,400
medium or worsted weight. 
This is the most common weight 

66
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,040
of yarn, and then it goes up to 
seven, which is jumbo. 

67
00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,560
This is like massive. 
You would need a very large 

68
00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,760
crochet hook. 
So this icon matters because 

69
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,160
patterns are written for 
specific yarn weights. 

70
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:24,800
And if a pattern calls for a #4 
medium yarn and you use a #2 

71
00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,480
fine yarn, your finished project
is going to be very tiny. 

72
00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,680
So and it's not going to look 
proportionate. 

73
00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,920
It's so always look for that 
little scheme symbol with the 

74
00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,080
number inside. 
This is really your North star 

75
00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,680
for sizing. 
Right next to that, you're 

76
00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,800
probably going to see the 
physical weight and length. 

77
00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,800
This is listed in ounces and 
grams and then yards and meters.

78
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,880
And this is crucial if you're 
substituting yarn. 

79
00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,240
So let's say a pattern tells you
that you need 3 schemes of a 

80
00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,840
specific brand. 
If you buy a different brand, 

81
00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,640
you cannot just buy 3 schemes 
and hope for the best. 

82
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,160
You need to look at the yardage.
So one brand might have 200 

83
00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,640
yards in a ball, while another 
only has 150. 

84
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:19,080
So even if the balls of yarn 
look the same size, they're not 

85
00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:22,840
always match the total yards 
required, not the number of 

86
00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:27,600
schemes and yardage is something
I pay the most attention to it. 

87
00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,920
It certainly took several 
projects or even a couple of 

88
00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:37,360
years to kind of figure out how 
much yarn I'm going to need for 

89
00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:42,360
something like with Omega Rummy 
I, I tend to design bigger 

90
00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,080
animals. 
So when I use burn that blanket 

91
00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:54,640
yarn that there's 220 yards in 
those schemes and recent and I 

92
00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,160
use like a good bit of it. 
I would probably say I use close

93
00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:02,160
to 200. 
So and that's for like a, you 

94
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:08,360
know, probably 14 inch animals, 
probably 14 inches in length or 

95
00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,880
so. 
But recently I designed a 

96
00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:16,080
Unicorn with loops and threads 
Demi parole yarn, which is 152 

97
00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,880
yards and I literally had inches
left. 

98
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:24,240
So I really cut it close with 
that one and I don't like doing 

99
00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:29,880
that because if someone uses 
your pattern and they only buy 

100
00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:35,040
one scheme of it, but they don't
crochet with as tight of 

101
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,200
attention that I do, then they 
might be stuck buying 2 schemes 

102
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,680
and finding out, you know, when 
they have one leg left. 

103
00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,200
And that's just so frustrating 
to have to go to the store and 

104
00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:50,800
get another scheme. 
So the yardage definitely 

105
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,040
matters and something you want 
to pay attention to. 

106
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,360
If you're making something like 
a blanket though. 

107
00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,840
I mean, if you're making a baby 
blanket, maybe you would get 2 

108
00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:01,640
schemes. 
But if you want to make like a 

109
00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,920
throw blanket for your entire 
couch, I mean, you might need 8.

110
00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,760
It just depends how many yards 
are in one scheme. 

111
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,640
But when you think about making 
like huge blankets like that, 

112
00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,080
it's going to it's going to get 
a little costly depending how 

113
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,400
much the yarn is. 
I mean, if you need to buy 8 

114
00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,600
skeins anyway. 
So the next thing you are going 

115
00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:31,400
to look at is the fiber content.
And this is where you'll see a 

116
00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,400
list of percentages. 
So it might say 100% cotton or 

117
00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:40,960
90% acrylic slash 10% alpaca. 
So this tells you how the yarn 

118
00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,640
is going to behave. 
So cotton is going to have very 

119
00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,480
little stretch and is great for 
durability. 

120
00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,360
Wool is going to be warm and 
springy, and acrylic is often 

121
00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,360
durable and machine washable. 
That's the best thing about 

122
00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,440
acrylic. 
I know some people hate on 

123
00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:02,240
acrylic because it's cheap, but 
it's also just the most 

124
00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,200
practical. 
And I'm OK to say that because 

125
00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:14,680
acrylic yarns are what make 
blankets machine washable. 

126
00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:19,200
And I don't know about you, but 
I, I sure prefer that over hand 

127
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:24,640
washing something. 
So This is why 2 yarns that look

128
00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,560
the same on the shelf feel 
different in your hands. 

129
00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:32,320
So if you're making a summer 
top, check this section to make 

130
00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,799
sure that you're not buying 100%
wool or you're going to be very 

131
00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:36,760
hot. 
Right? 

132
00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,159
All right, so now we're moving 
on to hook size. 

133
00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:46,560
You're going to see 2 little 
square icons. 

134
00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:50,000
One has a pair of crossed 
knitting needles and one has a 

135
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,320
single crochet hook. 
And next to the crochet hook 

136
00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,560
symbol, there's going to be a 
number like 5.5mm or H-8. 

137
00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,880
And this is the manufacturer's 
recommendation for the best hook

138
00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:06,800
size to use with that yarn. 
However, this is a suggestion 

139
00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,520
not required. 
It's not a law. 

140
00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,520
So if you're making omegurumi, 
for example, you're going to 

141
00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:18,320
want to use a hook size that's 
smaller than what is recommended

142
00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,160
on the label to keep your 
stitches tight and keep the 

143
00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:25,960
stuffing from showing. 
But if you want to make 

144
00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:30,080
something like a flowy shawl or 
a big blanket, you might want to

145
00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:34,480
actually go up a size. 
But if you are just starting out

146
00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,760
and don't know where to start, 
just grab the hook size that is 

147
00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,720
listed on the label and you will
be just fine. 

148
00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,160
All right, so now let's talk 
about the box that most people 

149
00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:51,800
like to ignore, including me. 
This is the gauge box on the 

150
00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,320
label. 
This usually looks like a square

151
00:09:55,320 --> 00:10:00,600
grid with numbers along the side
that say 4 by 4 inches or 10 by 

152
00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,080
10 centimeters. 
And So what this tells you is if

153
00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:09,440
you use the recommended hook 
with this yarn and you crochet 

154
00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:14,960
this many stitches and this many
rows, you will get a four inch 

155
00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,920
square. 
So if you're making Omagorami, 

156
00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:23,800
you can mostly ignore this. 
But where gauge does matter is 

157
00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:28,040
when you're making a sweater or 
a hat or something where the 

158
00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:34,120
size is critical. 
So gauge is most important if 

159
00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,800
you're making wearables. 
But don't worry if you have 

160
00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,560
ignored Gage before. 
You are not alone. 

161
00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:47,640
I had one person reach out to me
in the last, you know what, 1314

162
00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:53,160
years to to say to tell me that 
they thought my gauge was wrong 

163
00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,720
on my patterns. 
But it's just not something I 

164
00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:01,400
pay attention to for Omagoromi. 
Some people are very particular 

165
00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,920
about it and if you're making 
wearables, then yes, like it 

166
00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:09,360
matters, but in my world it just
doesn't matter as much. 

167
00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,520
But anyway, that is what gauge 
means and how to interpret it. 

168
00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,520
All right, finally, we have a 
row of little shapes that look 

169
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,360
like laundry tags and these are 
the care instructions. 

170
00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,320
You will see a little tub of 
water and this tells you if you 

171
00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:30,320
can machine wash it or if there 
is a hand in the tub. 

172
00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:34,200
It means hand wash only if you 
see a triangle. 

173
00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,120
This is for bleach rules. 
And then when you see a square, 

174
00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:42,520
this tells you how to dry it. 
So a circle inside the square 

175
00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:47,920
usually means you can tumble 
dry, while a flat line means you

176
00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,920
need to lay flat to dry. 
So before you start a baby 

177
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,480
shower, Kift for example, look 
at these symbols. 

178
00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:59,040
If you give a new mom a blanket 
that has to be hand washed and 

179
00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,760
laid flat to dry, she might not 
love you for it. 

180
00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:06,000
For babies and kids, always 
check the machine wash symbol 

181
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,600
first. 
Most acrylic yarns, like I said 

182
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,360
earlier, are usually fine to be 
machine washed. 

183
00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:17,360
I made two, but I made two 
blankets for my son five years 

184
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,800
ago and now I'm using them for 
the baby and they are still 

185
00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,720
going strong. 
I wash those blankets probably 

186
00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:28,080
once a week at this point and 
they're great. 

187
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:33,840
I mean the the colour on one of 
them has faded a little bit, but

188
00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:39,040
I mean it's minimal and I mean 
that I don't have any loose 

189
00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,080
strings coming out. 
I mean everything's just whole. 

190
00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,920
It is held up so well. 
One of them was made with Baby 

191
00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,560
Burnett velvet yarn and the 
other one was more standard. 

192
00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:53,200
I don't recall the exact scheme 
but it was probably like a Loops

193
00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,000
and Threads impeccable or the 
Soft Classic. 

194
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,600
It was just a standard forested 
wet yarn, but they're doing 

195
00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:03,080
great and they even get, you 
know, softer the more you wash 

196
00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,440
them. 
So it's it's so useful. 

197
00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,840
If you're making a baby blanket 
for someone, try to get ones 

198
00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,920
that that moms can wash in a 
machine. 

199
00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,400
She'll thank you for it later. 
One last thing, so near the 

200
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:24,200
barcode there's usually a color 
name and a dye lot number, so 

201
00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:29,440
yarn is dyed in large batches. 
So even if you see two schemes 

202
00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,800
that say the colour is seafoam, 
if they come from different 

203
00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:36,880
batches, 1 might be slightly 
darker than the other, which is 

204
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:41,800
incredibly frustrating. 
If I know that I'm going to need

205
00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,960
more than one scheme for 
something, I always hold them up

206
00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,120
in the light at the store to 
make sure they're perfectly 

207
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,480
matched. 
Because it it's really 

208
00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:56,640
frustrating when you're buying 
when you need another scheme, 

209
00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,840
but you don't know that you're 
going to need it until days or 

210
00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,120
weeks later. 
You get around to it and then 

211
00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:06,880
you put it together and then you
pulled it up a little bit and 

212
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,360
you're like, oh man, the shade, 
it's just like slightly off. 

213
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,480
But that's why it's because the 
way they're manufactured. 

214
00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,760
If they're in different dye 
lots, sometimes they can just be

215
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,240
slightly different. 
So just something to keep in 

216
00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:23,960
mind. 
But that is what that number 

217
00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,880
means. 
So at the end of the day, our 

218
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,560
yarn label isn't a test that you
have to pass. 

219
00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:31,520
It's really just a tool in your 
kit. 

220
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,080
And once you know what those 
little grids and skiing icons 

221
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,080
mean, shopping becomes less 
overwhelming and a lot more 

222
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,280
empowering. 
I mean, once you know, you don't

223
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,480
have to guess anymore and you 
can start choosing yarns with 

224
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,400
confidence. 
So the next time you're standing

225
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,760
in the yarn aisle holding a 
scheme in your hands and reading

226
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,680
those labels, I hope that you 
will remember this episode and I

227
00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,400
really hope that it is helpful. 
All right, friends, that is it 

228
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,120
for this week. 
Please visit marcyma.co to 

229
00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:05,720
browse my crochet patterns. 
I have a new Unicorn pattern 

230
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:10,840
that is dropping on Tuesday the 
13th and it's super fun. 

231
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,880
And also come join us on school.
I have a free community in 

232
00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,440
school and we you're working on 
a hippo lovey right now for our 

233
00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:22,040
January crochet along so and 
that's it for today. 

234
00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:23,680
I will see you all next week.