Like me, you have probably been unsettled by reading the label on a skein or ball, especially when it comes to industrial wool balls, especially those from foreign countries.
Want to know more? Come on, follow me, I'll give you some tips 🙂
First, the front side of a skein label
How to interpret this part of a skein's label?
What can you find there?
- The wool brand and range
- The brand logo
- A little explanatory text, a bit of romance, a little personal touch typical of the brand that will make you want to buy it
- Sometimes an idea of the composition (for example in this case it is specified that it is a luxurious wool made of baby alpaca, merino and silk)
So basically, the front of the label is there to tell you “look, I’m beautiful, buy me”…
It's a bit of the company's personal touch that will make you recognize at first glance the coveted ball of wool (you know, the one you look for when you run out? Yes, exactly that one).
Let's move on to the back of the label
This is where things get complicated because the back side usually gives you a lot of information, but all of it is different: depending on the origin of the wool (where it is produced), how it is made – wool from the yarn industry or wool dyed by a dyer, etc.
Let's try to take a look at what you can find on this label.
- The mention of the sample
- As text (for example: 23 sts / 30 rows)
- In the form of a logo: a small rectangle on which numbers are noted (one will specify the number of stitches, another the number of rows (this number is not always present) and yet another the height and length of the sample (this number is also not always present)
- The roughly estimated quantity needed to make a sweater
- The weight of the skein and the length (for example: 100 g / 160 m)
- The size of the wool (e.g., fingering wool)
- The composition of wool
- The interview
- In the form of logos (see below)
- In text
- The color and its dye bath
- In figures
- With a name (for example: Lovers on the beach)
- Traceability (sometimes this information is found inside the label)
- Provenance (designed in, made in…)
- A barcode
- A website, social networks
- A logo of the Craft Yarn Council, and this is especially true for industrial wools produced in the USA (a ball of wool with a number inside – see below)
So, here is roughly the information you can find on a label of a skein or ball of wool.
But not only that!
Sometimes you can also find the history of the wool, the process, and/or QR codes encouraging you to take a look at the website. So, a significant amount of information on such a small piece of paper!
If you want to know more about the subject, go take a look at the video I posted on YouTube.
Finally, if you have any additional questions or suggestions, please feel free to share them below in the comments section.
See you soon,
Christelle
