What Is Lace Weight Yarn?

Lace weight yarn is used to make items that are worn in the warmer months.

Normally used in more delicate patterns like shawls and wraps because of the resulting fabric this yarn creates.

You can work this yarn by holding two strands together to create a fingering weight yarn.

What Can I Make With Lace Weight Yarn?

As this yarn is very thin and normally used for more complex knitting or crochet projects, it is not an ideal choice for a beginner and sometimes it’s a challenge for an experienced knitter.

Lace patterns for shawls and wraps often include complicated motifs that look like leaves, flowers, diamonds, chevrons, and other geometric shapes that look amazing with this.

This yarn is also sometimes used to make hats, scarves, gloves, and other accessories, plus sweaters, lightweight garments, and lightweight summer tops.

Sweaters are less common because the thickness of the yarn makes the projects difficult to work on for large projects.

Lace Weight Yarn

When lace-weight yarn is used in knitting or crochet projects, the fabric is normally very thin.

Yarns with this texture have a knitting gauge of 8 or more stitches per inch.

The needle or hook size recommended to use with this yarn is very small.

(Knitting needle size 1.5- 2.25 mm, crochet hook size 1.6-1.4 mm.)

But most patterns will give a larger needle or hook size so that when the patterns are worked, the stitches stand out, especially in an openwork pattern.

Types of Yarn:

• Crochet Thread – this is normally cotton and sold in balls in all different colors and sizes.
• Light Fingering – this yarn can be really thin but there is also fingering, which is categorized as slightly thicker, so make sure you select the right type of fingering for your project.
• Lace – If you are on a yarn shop website doing a search, most likely they will have the option to search by weight – so you can select lace and browse the yarns on offer.

The pros and cons of using lace-weight yarn

Most knitters or crocheters prefer to use worsted weight or more bulky yarns, as thinner yarns can be difficult to work with.

It is likely that the lace yarn will break during knitting or crocheting and this can also happen when a piece is being blocked.

You can also get a lot for your money, as the lace-weight yarns are very economical – with 50g or 100g having much more yardage than other balls of similar size and weight.

What Number Is Lace Weight Yarn?

This is known as 0 – and has other common names; thread, cobweb, lace, and light fingering.

The Craft Yarn Council standard yarn weight system puts all very fine yarn into the lace weight category.

Fingering weight yarn, which is used for socks is thicker than lace and is known as ‘superfine’.

What Ply Is Lace Weight Yarn?

How Do I Know If My Yarn Is Lace Weight?

Everything you need to know about your yarn, you will find on the yarn label.

The yarn manufacturer provides all the necessary details about your yarn.

From the weight, the yardage, the fiber content, and the size of hooks, and needles you will need for this specific yarn.

Check out how to read a yarn label here.

Tip – If you end up throwing away the label, just google the yarn and you will find everything you need on the brand’s website.

What Is Lace Weight Yarn Made With?

Lace weight yarn is mostly made of natural fibers like silk, cashmere, merino wool, and mohair.

You can also find lace yarns made out of a mix of fibers like a mix of wool and silk.

Silk is used a lot in lace yarns as gives a wonderful silky feel to the finished project.

My Favorite Lace Weight Yarns

If you are looking to add some lace-weight yarn to your yarn stash these are some of my personal favorites.

Martin’s Lab Yarns has an amazing collection of high-quality yarns in gorgeous colors.

Plus it has a beautiful selection of hand-dyed yarns.

Silky Mohair – Petals by Martin’s Lab.

This lace blend of mohair and silk is ideal for shawls and lightweight garments.

Malabrigo Lace by Malabrigo

Malabrigo Lace is an exquisite lace yarn, spun from merino wool, that will give your projects a lot of drape and elegance.

Malabrigo Sock by Malabrigo

This gloriously soft 100% merino superwash sock yarn has a slight sheen, making it a great choice for lace-weight knitting.

Cascade Heritage Silk by Cascade Yarns

Combine superwash merino wool with exquisite mulberry silk and you get the gorgeous Cascade Heritage Silk.