Lace yarn
Lace is category 0, the finest numbered yarn group. The openness of a lace fabric often comes from using a larger tool than a dense-fabric gauge would suggest.
Gauge and tools
- Category
- 0
- Common names
- Fine lace yarn, crochet thread
- Stockinette stitches per 4 inches
- 33–40
- Needles (mm)
- 1.5–2.25
- Hooks (mm)
- 1.4–1.6 steel; 2.25 regular
These are starting ranges. Follow the gauge in your pattern and measure the washed fabric.
Working with this weight
Open lace and fine thread work. Choose the intended holes and drape before settling on a needle. A shawl can be deliberately airy; a finely worked thread motif needs much more defined stitches. Measure after washing and drying the lace in its intended shape.
Compare a replacement
Fingering appears in more than one naming system. If the label says fingering, check its category and sample gauge instead of assuming that every product with that word belongs in category 0.
Calculate replacement yarn and compare washed gaugeWorked check
For a lace shawl, match the blocked pattern repeat dimensions. Counting a dense stockinette sample alone will not reproduce the open repeat.
Calculate your gauge difference