While the definitions of woollen and worsted yarns can be debated, each style of yarn has a very distinct physical appearance when knitted, crocheted, or woven into cloth. Woollen yarns (upper) have a softer, more diffuse look whereas worsted yarns (lower) make very distinct stitch patterns.
A quick aside to address the words we use here. Both woollen and worsted have other meanings related to yarn; many people use the word woollen to describe anything made from wool, like a woollen blanket or a woollen hat, while the word worsted is used to describe a size range of yarn. These uses of the words are not related at all to the way the yarn is spun.
To be honest, there is a lot of debate and confusion over the way the words are used when they are used to describe spinning, too. Hand spinners have been debating the definitions of “true” woollen and worsted yarns since before I learned to spin, twenty-seven years ago, and some mills use the terms differently, too. But the debate over the words themselves is less important than understanding the yarns they describe.
All images by Michelle Boyd.
