If you take a glance in the Arts and Crafts section of eBay, you will see that there are many kinds of yarn available for sale. For someone who is buying or selling yarn, it can be challenging to know the difference between the varieties bought and sold. The easiest way to understand yarns, their uses and values, is to consider the following factors that contribute to a yarn's quality:

Yarn Qualities

• Nature (organic or man-made)
• Raw material source
• Region of origin
• Physical attributes
• Availability

In order to understand these attributes, we can begin with an example of a frequently used yarn and describe it using the attributes listed above.

Many countries produce a yarn known as lamb's wool.  This yarn is organic, since it is made from the wooly fleece of young sheep. It is produced in many different regions of the world, the most common coming from Scotland, New Zealand, and Eastern Europe.  Wool is manufactured by taking the cut fleece from sheep, cleaning and removing oils, cleaning out vegetation, and then spinning it into yarn.  Because lamb's wool is removed only from young lambs, it is very soft and can be spun to a very thin yarn, so it is ideal for textiles and fine knit sweaters.  Lamb's wool is widely available, but scarcer than standard wool, and is proportionately more expensive.

Specifications

When reading or wriring a description of yarn for an eBay auction, it is important to note the yarn's specifications.  The specifications are the attributes of the actual skein of yarn itself. These are listed on a label by the manufacturer, but they always need to be communicated to the potential buyer, and by the potential seller. In any list of specifications, you should list as much of the following information as possible:

• Manufacturer
• Product Line
• Yarn type and variety
• Color number
• Dye lot number
• Size (in weight and length, use both US and UK measurements whenever possible)
• Gauge (UK: Tension) Note: this is not essential, but useful when available.
• Country of origin

This is an example of a description of yarn that would account for all its specifications:

Creative Yarns Alpaca, 100% Alpaca wool, fingering weight, color number 0011, duy lot number 0207, weight 50 grams / 1.75 oz, length 215 yards, recommended knitting needle size: US number 2 or 3, made in Bolivia.

Variety

The variety of yarn can refer to its brand name, but also refers to the thickness and texture of the yarn. This is an important aspect of a yarn's description because buyers and sellers have specific wants when it comes to the texture of yarn. As noted in the above example of specifications, you see the phrase fingering weight. This is a particular thickness of yarn that is very thin, and used for very fine knitting or weaving. Generally speaking, yarns fall into four categories of thickness:

• Fingering weight
• DK (or Double Knitting)
• Novelty
• Bulky

These varieties are illustrated in the following photographs:

Understanding Yarn Uses

Every yarn is used because of its inherent qualities.  There are some general rules about yarns and their properties which reflect how they are used.

Wool: Naturally water resistant, elastic, lightweight, cool in summer and warm in winter, plentiful but more expensive than synthetic yarns, takes dyes easily, will shrink when washed in warm or hot water, can be an allergen for some people because of its occasional scratchiness, does not easily stain.

Cotton: Strong, non-water resistant, heavy, washes in any water temperature, plentiful and relatively less expensive than wool, takes dyes easily, non-allergenic.

Synthetics: Strong, water resistant, non-elastic or elastic, depending on the variety, plentiful and inexpensive, does not dye easily (with the exception of nylon), washes in any wather temperature and never shrinks, can be produced in interesting textures, non-alergenic, non-stain resistant, can be insulating and thermal, but does not breathe.

Specialty Wools: These are the more expensive wools that come from rare sources, such as alpaca, vicuna, angora, quivit, and cashmere. They are of animal origin, and come from goats, alpaca, rabbits, reindeer and other animals. They carry the same qualities as sheep's wool, but are more delicate and proportionately more expensive. When constructed as a garment, they require special care.

Yarns at Auction in eBay

Whether a buyer or a seller, knowing your yarns is a key to understanding what they can be used for and how much one can expect to pay for a particular yarn. The best way to begin is to do an eBay search for wool yarn.  Read the descriptions, observe the photographs.

As a seller, communicating the details about your yarn product is essential for a quality buyer. Buyers want to know as much as possible about the yarn they are bidding on so that they don't receive a product that does not match their needs. As you work with yarns, feel them, note their textures and weights, you will begin to appreciate their multitude of qualities and be a more informed consumer.