Yarn weights

UK yarn weights explained: 4 ply, DK, aran and chunky

In the UK, DK usually means about 286m per 100g, aran about 190m, chunky about 140m and 4 ply about 400m. Those are the medians from 40 yarns we looked up on sale in the UK, not figures from a chart. The weight name tells you roughly what to expect, but the spread inside each name is wide, so the metres on the label matter more than the word on the band.

HazelLoop planning guide · Reviewed 1 October 2026 · Figures from cited sources

Save to Pinterest

The short version

Each UK weight name lines up with one Craft Yarn Council category. The Craft Yarn Council lists DK under category 3 (Light), aran and worsted under category 4 (Medium), and chunky under category 5 (Bulky). UK 4 ply matches US fingering or sock yarn, which the Council puts in category 1 (Super Fine).

In Australia and New Zealand the same yarns go by ply numbers, according to the New Zealand retailer Direct Sewing: 4 ply is still 4 ply, DK is 8 ply, aran is 10 ply, and chunky is 12 ply in Australia and 12 to 14 ply in New Zealand. Super chunky is 14 ply and up in both. The ply number works as a weight name and doesn’t tell you how many strands the yarn has.

UK weight names in metres per 100g, from 40 UK-sold yarns (checked 1 October 2026)
UK name	CYC category	US name	AU/NZ name	Yarns checked	Metres per 100g: min / median / max	Most common listed hook
4 ply	1 Super Fine	Fingering, sock	4 ply	8	250 / 400 / 439	3.25mm (6 of 8; all 8 cover it)
DK	3 Light	DK, light worsted	8 ply	12	208 / 286 / 334	4mm (10 of 12; all 12 cover it)
Aran	4 Medium	Worsted, aran	10 ply	8	170 / 190 / 235	5mm (6 of 8)
Chunky	5 Bulky	Bulky	12 ply (AU), 12–14 ply (NZ)	6	106 / 140.5 / 152	6mm (4 of 6)
Super chunky	6 Super Bulky	Super bulky	14 ply+	6	60 / 80.5 / 96	10mm (4 of 6; 5 cover it)

Download this table (CSV) · free to reuse with a link to HazelLoop

Where our numbers come from

We opened the product page for each yarn on the UK yarn shop LoveCrafts on 1 October 2026, and noted the ball weight, the length and the weight name the shop gives it. For Stylecraft Special 4 Ply, DK, Aran and Chunky we also checked the figures on Stylecraft’s own site, and they matched. A 50g ball was doubled to give metres per 100g, and the 200g Special XL ball was halved.

We kept the weight name exactly as the shop lists it. We haven’t measured any yarn ourselves, so every length here is the manufacturer’s figure. Check the label on the ball you actually buy in case it differs from the shop listing.

Every yarn in the sample, as listed by LoveCrafts
Yarn	Sold as	Ball	Length	Metres per 100g	Listed hook	Listed tension (sts per 10cm)
Scheepjes Catona	4 ply	50g	125m	250	2.5–3.5mm	26
Paintbox Yarns Cotton 4 ply	4 ply	50g	170m	340	3–3.25mm	27
King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply	4 ply	50g	180m	360	3.25mm	28
King Cole Big Value Baby 4 Ply	4 ply	100g	400m	400	3.25mm	28
Sirdar Country Classic 4 Ply	4 ply	50g	200m	400	3.25mm	28
West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply	4 ply	100g	400m	400	3.25mm	28
Stylecraft Special 4 Ply	4 ply	100g	422m	422	3.25mm	28
King Cole Comfort 4 Ply	4 ply	100g	439m	439	3.25mm	28
King Cole Merino Blend DK	DK	50g	104m	208	4mm	22
Rico Essentials Cotton DK	DK	50g	120m	240	3–4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK	DK	50g	125m	250	4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Simply DK	DK	100g	276m	276	4mm	22
Hayfield Bonus DK	DK	100g	280m	280	4mm	22
King Cole Pricewise DK	DK	100g	282m	282	4mm	22
King Cole Big Value DK 50g	DK	50g	145m	290	4mm	22
Stylecraft Special DK	DK	100g	295m	295	4mm	22
Stylecraft Life DK	DK	100g	298m	298	4mm	22
Rico Baby Classic DK	DK	50g	165m	330	3.5–4mm	22
Sirdar Snuggly DK	DK	50g	165m	330	4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Baby DK	DK	50g	167m	334	4mm	22
Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran	Aran	50g	85m	170	4.5mm	20
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran	Aran	50g	90m	180	5mm	18
Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran	Aran	100g	180m	180	4.5mm	18
Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran	Aran	100g	184m	184	5mm	18
Stylecraft Special Aran	Aran	100g	196m	196	5mm	18
Stylecraft Life Aran	Aran	100g	198m	198	5mm	18
King Cole Comfort Aran	Aran	100g	202m	202	5mm	18
King Cole Big Value Aran	Aran	100g	235m	235	5mm	18
King Cole Comfort Chunky	Chunky	100g	106m	106	8mm	12
Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky	Chunky	100g	136m	136	6mm	14
Hayfield Bonus Chunky	Chunky	100g	137m	137	6.5mm	14
Stylecraft Special Chunky	Chunky	100g	144m	144	6mm	14
Stylecraft Life Chunky	Chunky	100g	148m	148	6mm	14
King Cole Big Value Chunky	Chunky	100g	152m	152	6mm	14
Paintbox Yarns Simply Super Chunky	Super chunky	100g	60m	60	10–12mm	8
Stylecraft Special XL Super Chunky	Super chunky	200g	136m	68	10mm	9
Stylecraft Life Super Chunky	Super chunky	100g	80m	80	10mm	9
King Cole Big Value Super Chunky	Super chunky	100g	81m	81	10mm	10
Hayfield Bonus Super Chunky	Super chunky	100g	82m	82	10mm	9
Rico Essentials Big	Super chunky	50g	48m	96	7–8mm	11

Download this table (CSV) · free to reuse with a link to HazelLoop

DK or aran: which needs more balls

A 100g ball of Stylecraft Special DK holds 295m. A 100g ball of Stylecraft Special Aran holds 196m. So the DK ball has about 50% more yarn in it for the same weight.

If a project needs 1,000m, that’s 4 balls of the DK (3.4 rounded up) or 6 balls of the aran (5.1 rounded up). For 1,500m it’s 6 balls of DK or 8 of aran. Aran makes thicker stitches, so an aran project usually needs fewer metres than the same thing in DK. Our blanket guide found the two roughly cancel out for blankets, but for anything else, work from the metres your pattern asks for.

Can you use DK for an aran pattern

Not as a straight swap, and the tension LoveCrafts lists for each yarn shows why. Every DK in our list has a listed tension of 22 stitches to 10cm, and seven of the eight arans give 18. LoveCrafts’ page for Paintbox Yarns Simply DK describes that figure as knitting tension (22 stitches on 4mm needles), so treat it as a way to compare yarns rather than as your crochet gauge.

A pattern written for 90 stitches at 18 to 10cm comes out 50cm wide. The same 90 stitches at 22 to 10cm come out about 41cm wide. You’d need to change hook size or the stitch count, and swatch first. For swapping one DK for another DK, or one aran for another, compare metres per 100g and the listed tension side by side.

DK, aran and chunky overlap

The DK with the fewest metres on our list, King Cole Merino Blend DK at 208m per 100g, has fewer metres than King Cole Big Value Aran at 235m. At the other end, Rico Essentials Big is sold as super chunky at 96m per 100g, while King Cole Comfort Chunky, sold as chunky, has 106m, only 10m more.

In our 4 ply, DK and aran lists, the cotton and pure wool yarns sit at the low end, though that rests on a handful of yarns: five cottons and two pure wools. Scheepjes Catona, a cotton 4 ply, has 250m per 100g against 400m or more for the acrylic, wool-acrylic and wool-nylon 4 plys, and Paintbox Yarns Cotton 4 ply (340m) and the pure wool King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply (360m) come next. The cotton DKs come in at 240 to 250m, against 276 to 334m for the acrylic and acrylic-blend ones, and the pure wool King Cole Merino Blend DK is lowest at 208m. Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran is the lowest aran at 170m. Our chunky and super chunky lists have no cotton or pure wool yarn at all. Direct Sewing notes that fibre density, twist and construction can push a yarn outside the usual range for its weight.

Is aran the same as worsted

They share a Craft Yarn Council category, number 4, but Direct Sewing warns that worsted can be a little lighter than aran and says not to swap one for the other on the name alone. Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted, for example, gives 200m per 100g and 20 stitches to 10cm, against 196m and 18 stitches for Stylecraft Special Aran.

So the metres are close, but the tension is not. If a US pattern calls for worsted, compare its gauge with the tension on your aran label before you buy.

Our DK and aran listings ask for a smaller hook than the chart

The DK and aran yarns in our list, and most of the chunkies, have a smaller listed hook than the Craft Yarn Council range; the 4 ply ones fall inside it. All twelve DKs list 4mm, and ten give it as the only size, while the Council’s range for category 3 is 4.5 to 5.5mm. Six of the eight arans say 5mm, below the 5.5 to 6.5mm the Council gives for category 4, and four of the six chunkies say 6mm, below its 6.5 to 9mm for category 5. In super chunky, five of the six sit inside the Council’s 9 to 15mm; the exception is Rico Essentials Big at 7 to 8mm.

If you follow a UK pattern, use the hook the pattern gives. If you’re choosing a hook for yourself, the hook on the ball band is a better starting point than a generic chart, and a swatch beats both.

Got an unlabelled ball

Weigh it. If you know the yarn, the grams-to-metres tool turns the weight into a length using the metres per 100g from the label. If you don’t know the yarn, the median for its weight name in the table above gives you a rough figure, but expect it to be out by the spread shown.

Check before you move on

Metres per 100g read from the label, not guessed from the weight name
Label tension compared with your pattern’s tension
Hook size taken from the pattern first, then the label
Swatch made before swapping DK for aran or worsted for aran
Ball count worked out from metres, then rounded up
Cotton and pure wool checked separately, as the few in our list ran shorter

Ready to buy?

The DK and aran in our examples, and a scale for unlabelled balls

All crochet supplies ↗

Illustration · colour approximate

Ad · Amazon UK

Our pick

Four of the nine blankets in our blanket guide use Stylecraft Special DK, so our tables convert straight to its 295m balls.

Stylecraft Special DK, Charcoal (1128)

One 100g / 295m ball, 100% acrylic, sold by The Great British Yarn Company.

View on Amazon (paid link) ↗

Illustration · colour approximate

Ad · Amazon UK

Stylecraft Special Aran, Cream (1005)

One 100g / 196m ball, 100% acrylic, sold by The Great British Yarn Company.

View on Amazon (paid link) ↗

Illustration, not a product photo

Ad · Amazon UK

Vitafit 500g digital pocket scale

Tare function, 500g capacity, 0.01g display increment as stated by the listing, uses 2 x AAA batteries.

View on Amazon (paid link) ↗

Paid links: we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Nothing you type into our tools is added to these links. Check price, seller and delivery at Amazon. Colour swatches are approximate.

Try it with your own numbers.

Estimate remaining metres from the yarn’s weight and label, then bring them into your list.

Convert my leftovers ↗

Common questions

What is DK yarn in US terms?

DK is category 3, Light, in the Craft Yarn Council system, which lists it alongside light worsted. The UK DKs we checked run from 208 to 334m per 100g, with a median of 286m.

Is 8 ply the same as DK?

In most modern Australian and New Zealand patterns, yes: 8 ply is the name used for DK weight. The ply number works as a weight name and doesn’t tell you how many strands the yarn has.

Is aran the same as worsted?

Both are category 4 in the Craft Yarn Council system, but worsted can be a little lighter. Compare the tension on the label with your pattern before swapping.

Does DK or aran need more balls?

For the same number of metres, aran does. Stylecraft Special DK has 295m per 100g and Special Aran has 196m, so 1,000m is 4 balls of DK or 6 of aran.

How many metres is a 100g ball of chunky?

In the six UK chunky yarns we checked, between 106 and 152m, with most between 136 and 152m.

Sources and scope

Sources checked 1 October 2026. Label facts come from the linked references; worked purchase examples and arithmetic are our own illustrations.

Keep planning

These are planning methods, not physically tested crochet patterns. Read our method and editorial approach.