Yarn Fineness
Fineness Units
Name of Fineness Unit Length Unit Weight Unit
Cotton English (Ne) [general] hank of 840 yd 1 lb
Indirect Cotton Metric (Nm) [sewing thread] hank of 1000 m 1 kg
System
Worsted (Nw) [sweater yarn] hank of 560 yd 1 lb
Tex [general] 1000 m 1g
Denier (D) [filament] 9000 m 1g
Direct Micronaire (Mic) [fiber fineness] 1 inch 1 μg (10-6g)
System Spyndle [jute yarn] 14400 yd 1 lb
Grain/yard (gr/yd) [lap/sliver etc.] 1 yd 1 gr (7000 grain =
1 lb)
Indirect system.
Length per unit weight of materials.
Cotton English (Ne): Number of hanks of 840 yd to make 1 lb weight.
For example, if you take 840 yards of
a yarn to make a hank and the
combined weight of such 40 hanks is
1 lb, then the fineness of the yarn
in Cotton English system is 40 Ne.
Cotton English (Ne)
Fineness of a yarn is 40 Ne.
It can be mathematically elaborated as
Length of 1 lb weight of yarn is (840 × 40) yd
or
Weight of (840 × 40) yd length of yarn is 1 lb.
Sample A = 40 Ne
Sample B = 20 Ne
Which one is finer?
Sample A = 40 Ne
#Length of a yarn sample is 60000 m and weight is 1.6 kg. Determine its fineness in Cotton English system.
60000 m = 65400 yd [1 m = 1.09 yd]
1.6 kg = 3.53 lb [1 kg = 2.2046 lb]
Length of 3.53 lb yarn is 65400 yd
So, Length of 1 lb yarn is yd
or, Length of 1 lb yarn is hank.
Therefore, Fineness of the yarn sample is .
# A yarn package of 30 Ne fineness weighs 3.5 kg. Calculate the length of yarn in that package.
3.5 kg = 7.716 lb [1 kg = 2.2046 lb]
It is mentioned in the question that the fineness of yarn is 30 Ne.
Therefore, Length of 1 lb yarn is = 840 × 30 yd
So, Length of 7.716 lb yarn is = 840 × 30 × 7.716 = 194443.2 yd
Therefore, total length of the yarn package is 194443.2 yd or 178388.26 m.
Cotton Metric (Nm)
Definition: Number of hanks of 1000 m to make 1 kg weight.
Fineness of a yarn is 40 Nm. Name of Fineness Unit Length Unit Weight Unit
It can be mathematically elaborated as
Cotton English (Ne) [general] hank of 840 yd 1 lb
Length of 1 kg weight of yarn is (1000 × 40) m Indirect Cotton Metric (Nm) [sewing hank of 1000 m 1 kg
System thread]
or Worsted (Nw) [sweater yarn] hank of 560 yd 1 lb
Tex [general] 1000 m 1g
Weight of (1000 × 40) m length of yarn is 1 kg. Denier (D) [filament] 9000 m 1g
Micronaire (Mic) [fiber 1 inch 1 μg (10-6g)
Direct fineness]
Sample A = 40 Nm System
Spyndle [jute yarn] 14400 yd 1 lb
Sample B = 20 Nm Grain/yard (gr/yd) [lap/sliver 1 yd 1 gr (7000 grain = 1 lb)
etc.]
Which one is finer?
Sample A = 40 Nm
#Length of a yarn sample is 60000 yd and weight is 3.6 lb. Determine its fineness in Cotton Metric system.
60000 yd = 55045.87 m [1 m = 1.09 yd]
3.6 lb = 1.63 kg [1 kg = 2.2046 lb]
Length of 1.63 kg yarn is 55045.87 m
So, Length of 1 kg yarn is m
or, Length of 1 kg yarn is hank.
Therefore, Fineness of the yarn sample is .
# A yarn package of 26 Nm fineness weighs 5 lb. Calculate the length of yarn in that package.
5 lb = 2.27 kg [1 kg = 2.2046 lb]
It is mentioned in the question that the fineness of yarn is 26 Nm.
Therefore, Length of 1 kg yarn is = 1000 × 26 m
So, Length of 2.27 kg yarn is = 1000 × 26 × 2.27 = 59020 m
Therefore, total length of the yarn package is 59020 m or 64331.8 yd.
Direct system.
Weight per unit Length of materials.
Tex: Weight of 1000 m material in grams (g).
For example, if you are given a sample and the weight of a 1000 m long
piece is 42 g, then the fineness of the material in Tex system is 42 tex.
Tex
Name of Fineness Unit Length Unit Weight Unit
Fineness of a yarn is 50 tex. Cotton English (Ne) [general] hank of 840 yd 1 lb
It can be mathematically elaborated as Indirect Cotton Metric (Nm) [sewing hank of 1000 m 1 kg
System thread]
Length of 50 g weight of yarn is 1000 m Worsted (Nw) [sweater yarn] hank of 560 yd 1 lb
Tex [general] 1000 m 1g
or Denier (D) [filament] 9000 m 1g
Micronaire (Mic) [fiber 1 inch 1 μg (10-6g)
Weight of 1000 m length of yarn is 50 g. Direct fineness]
System
Spyndle [jute yarn] 14400 yd 1 lb
Sample A = 40 tex Grain/yard (gr/yd) [lap/sliver
etc.]
1 yd 1 gr (7000 grain = 1 lb)
Sample B = 20 tex
Which one is finer?
Sample B = 20 tex
#Length of a yarn sample is 80000 yd and weight is 8.6 lb. Determine its fineness in Tex system.
80000 yd = 73394.5 m [1 m = 1.09 yd]
8.6 lb = 3900.96 g [1 lb = 453.6 g]
Weight of 73394.5 m yarn is 3900.96 g
So, weight of 1 m yarn is g
So, weight of 1000 m yarn is
Therefore, Fineness of the yarn sample is .
# A yarn package of 38 tex fineness weighs 6 lb. Calculate the length of yarn in that package.
6 lb = 2721.6 g [1 lb = 453.6 g]
It is mentioned in the question that the fineness of yarn is 38 tex.
Therefore, Length of 38 g yarn is 1000 m
So, Length of 2721.6 g yarn is = = 71621 m
Therefore, total length of the yarn package is 71621 m or 78066.89 yd.
Denier
Definition: Weight of 9000 m material in grams (g).
Fineness of a yarn is 500 D. Name of Fineness Unit Length Unit Weight Unit
It can be mathematically elaborated as
Cotton English (Ne) [general] hank of 840 yd 1 lb
Length of 500 g weight of yarn is 9000 m Indirect Cotton Metric (Nm) [sewing
thread]
hank of 1000 m 1 kg
System
or Worsted (Nw) [sweater yarn] hank of 560 yd 1 lb
Tex [general] 1000 m 1g
Weight of 9000 m length of yarn is 500 g. Denier (D) [filament] 9000 m 1g
Micronaire (Mic) [fiber 1 inch 1 μg (10-6g)
Direct fineness]
System
Sample A = 280 D Spyndle [jute yarn] 14400 yd 1 lb
Sample B = 160 D Grain/yard (gr/yd) [lap/sliver 1 yd 1 gr (7000 grain = 1 lb)
etc.]
Which one is finer?
Sample B = 160 D
#Length of a yarn sample is 80000 yd and weight is 8.6 lb. Determine its fineness in Denier system.
80000 yd = 73394.5 m [1 m = 1.09 yd]
8.6 lb = 3900.96 g [1 lb = 453.6 g]
Weight of 73394.5 m yarn is 3900.96 g
So, weight of 1 m yarn is g
So, weight of 9000 m yarn is
Therefore, Fineness of the yarn sample is D.
# A yarn package of 380 D fineness weighs 6 lb. Calculate the length of yarn in that package.
6 lb = 2721.6 g [1 lb = 453.6 g]
It is mentioned in the question that the fineness of yarn is 380 D.
Therefore, Length of 380 g yarn is 9000 m
So, Length of 2721.6 g yarn is = = 64459 m
Therefore, total length of the yarn package is 64459 m or 70260 yd.
Conversion Table
• Ne × Tex = 590.5
• Ne × Den = 5315
• Den = Tex × 9
• Ne × 1.5 = Nw
• Ne × 1.69 = Nm
• Ktex × 1000 = Tex
• Ktex × 14.11 = gr/yd