Don't Be Fooled! Yarn Count Realities

Yarn Count Systems

Count is a numeric value which expresses the coarseness or fineness (diameter) of the yarn and also indicates the relationship between length and weight (the mass per unit length or the length per unit mass) of that yarn.

When selecting the cloth for a particular shirt, you'll usually see this expressed in forms such as 2-ply 140s or 2x2 170s.

Yarn count specifies a certain ratio of length to weight.

The fineness of the yarn is expressed in terms of its linear density. There are many (too many!) systems and units for expressing yarn fineness. They are classified into two basic systems:

Types of Yarn Count Systems:

1. Direct Count System 
2. Indirect Count System

Direct Count Systems:

Direct count systems: The length of the yarn is fixed and the weight of yarn varies in relation to its fineness.

The Direct Systems are as follows

1. Tex system ..........................No. of grams per 1000 meters
2. Denier .................................No. of grams per 9000 meters
3. Deci Tex ..............................No. of grams per 10,000 metres
4. Millitex ................................No. of milligrams per 1000 metres
5. Kilotex............................... .No. of kilograms per 1000 metres.
6. Jute count............................No. of lb per 14,400 yds

Indirect Count Systems:

Indirect count systems: The weight of yarn is fixed and the length of yarn varies according to its fineness.

The Indirect Systems are as follows

1. Ne ..........................No. of 840 yard hanks in One pound
2. Nm .........................No. of 1000 meter hanks in One Kilogram

You can convert yarn count from one unit to another using this myriad of forumulas.

	From/To	Formula
1	Ne to Denier	5315 / Ne
2	Denier to Ne	5315 / Denier
3	Ne to Nm	Ne X 1.69
4	Nm to Ne	Nm  / 1.69
5	Denier to Nm	9000 / Denier
6	Nm to Denier	9000 / Nm
7	Ne to Tex	590.5 / Ne
8	Tex to Ne	590.5 / Tex
9	Tex to Nm	1000 / Tex
10	Nm to Tex	1000 / Nm
11	Tex to Denier	Tex x 9
12	Denier to Tex	Denier / 9
13	Denier to Decitex	Denier / 0.9
14	Nm to Decitex	10,000 / Nm
15	Ne to Decitex	5905 / Ne