Once upon a time it was so, so easy to understand yarn weights.  There was 5ply and that was Patons Bluebell, there was 8ply and that was Patons Totem or some random Acrylic yarn that was stuffed in a plastic bag in the cupboard, and 4ply, well that was Baby yarn.  Simple.  Well, these days it's not so simple and many ball bands do not even mention the term ply and you're left to figure it out for yourself.  So here's a few tips to help - and make sure you check out the chart below.

Check the tension and needle size mentioned on the yarn's ball band - for example - 8ply yarn is usually 22 stitches by 30 rows = 10x10 cm (4x4in) using a pair of 4mm needles.  But always allow for slight variations in the tension recommended and also in the feel of the yarn itself.  Sometimes an 8ply Acrylic will feel more like a 5ply depending on the quality of the yarn and then if it's a pure wool 8ply and tends to be a bit "thick & thin" it could feel more like a 10ply.  So if you're not sure, take the time to do a tension sample - don't be caught one ball short for your project.

Yarn wrap test.  If you have some yarn and you don't know what ply or weight it is, you can work it out by wrapping some yarn around a ruler and then counting the number of wraps it takes to cover one 2.5 cm (one inch).  Why not try it now - grab a ruler and make sure the yarn lies flat.  Push the yarn together so there are no gaps between wraps and smooth it out so it's neither too loose nor too tight.

Here are some useful calculations:

Many of my friends and customers are turning on to crochet and why not - it's a lot of fun.  So I thought I'd share some of the reasons I like to crochet.  Firstly, your project grows a lot quicker than knitting, secondly, you only have one stitch and so if you drop it, well, no biggie and another reason is that the crochet patterns for baby shawls and blankets are spectacular.
So would you like to know how to crochet? Well, I've included a series of videos below which will take you through all the basics - how to make a slip knot, how to hold the hook and how to make the most commonly used stitches.
Just remember, if you are using a US pattern the stitches will be created slightly different - for example - a double crochet in an Aussie pattern is slightly different from dc in a US pattern.  The video below teaches you How to Crochet using Australian/UK terminology.
Have fun and don't forget to check out the hundreds of yarns available in my store.