US yarn in the UK
Loops & Threads Soft Classic in the UK: closest UK yarns
We couldn’t find it at LoveCrafts UK. The closest UK swap in the yarns we track is Paintbox Simply Aran: 100% acrylic, 184m per 100g against 163.6m, and 18 knitted stitches to 10cm on its ball band against 17 on the maker’s.
Best UK swap: Paintbox Simply Aran · 53 shades in stock · from £1.69 a ball
See Paintbox Simply Aran shades at LoveCrafts ↗More choice: search Amazon UK for aran acrylic yarn ↗
Ad · paid links. Price and stock at LoveCrafts checked 6 October 2026.
How many balls to buy
Buy by length, not by ball: a ball of Loops & Threads Soft Classic in a solid shade holds 324m (print and multi shades often come in smaller balls; check the label) and a ball of Paintbox Simply Aran holds 184m.
- 1 ball of Loops & Threads Soft Classic (324m) → 2 of Paintbox Simply Aran
- 3 balls of Loops & Threads Soft Classic (972m) → 6 of Paintbox Simply Aran
- 5 balls of Loops & Threads Soft Classic (1620m) → 9 of Paintbox Simply Aran
- 10 balls of Loops & Threads Soft Classic (3240m) → 18 of Paintbox Simply Aran
For any pattern, our yarn substitution calculator does the sum, and the pattern reader pulls the yarn list out of a pasted pattern.
UK yarns compared
| UK yarn | UK weight | Fibre | Metres per 100g | Knit tension (10cm) | UK balls per Loops & Threads Soft Classic ball | Shades in stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paintbox Simply Aran best match | Aran | 100% acrylic | 184m (+12%) | 18 sts (+6%) | 1.76 | 53 of 65, from £1.69 |
| Paintbox Wool Mix Aran | Aran | 50% wool, 50% acrylic | 180m (+10%) | 18 sts (+6%) | 1.80 | 37 of 60, from £4.55 |
| King Cole Wool Aran | Aran | 100% wool | 180m (+10%) | 18 sts (+6%) | 1.80 | 11 of 19, from £4.99 |
Loops & Threads Soft Classic: the maker’s specs
| Weight | Medium (4) |
|---|---|
| Fibre | 100% acrylic |
| Ball (solid shades) | 198g (7 oz), 324m (354 yd) |
| Metres per 100g | 163.6m |
| Hook | 5.5 mm, US I/9 |
| Needles | 5 mm, US 8 |
| Tension | Knit: 17 sts x 23 rows = 4" (10 cm) (no crochet gauge stated; suggested hook 5.5 mm, US I/9) |
Before you swap
US “worsted” (weight 4) sits between UK DK and aran; most worsted patterns work in a UK aran, but a lighter worsted can be closer to a heavy DK. Make a 10cm swatch in your swap yarn with the pattern’s hook or needles and compare it with the tension above. If your square is bigger, go down a size; if it’s smaller, go up. Swapping fibre changes the feel and the wash: acrylic for acrylic, cotton for cotton keeps a pattern behaving as written.
Sources: Michaels product page (archived), Paintbox Simply Aran. How we rank swaps: one combined score for closeness in metres per 100g, knitted tension on the ball band and fibre, with a small penalty for yarns with fewer than 10 shades in stock and for a chunky standing in for a worsted. See also UK yarn weights explained.