I was talking with a new knitter recently, who was trying to understand yarn weights, and the names given to them, like DK and worsted etc. Making matters more confusing is other countries might use different names, like 8-ply or 4-ply. Some of these names meant something at the time, but over the years have come to mean something else or taken on more than what was originally intended. I, for one, am glad the yarn industry is trying to standardize yarn weights, and I think using the number system is a better way to label the different weights. But it is fun to learn how some of these names came to be. Worsted weight yarn, also known as yarn weight 4, is sort of the most well-known weight, or the one most commonly used. But why do we call it Worsted? It’s named after the town of Worstead, England where this yarn was first produced. Worsted is also a term used for the spinning technique used to make some worsted wool. In the shop, an example of a worsted yarn is Woolstok . I made a swea...