Page "Knitting" Paragraph 76

Yarn for hand-knitting is usually sold as balls or skeins ( hanks ), although it may also be wound on spools or cones.

Skeins and balls are generally sold with a yarn-band, a label that describes the yarn's weight, length, dye lot, fiber content, washing instructions, suggested needle size, likely gauge, etc.

It is common practice to save the yarn band for future reference, especially if additional skeins must be purchased.

Knitters generally ensure that the yarn for a project comes from a single dye lot.

The dye lot specifies a group of skeins that were dyed together and thus have precisely the same color ; skeins from different dye-lots, even if very similar in color, are usually slightly different and may produce a visible stripe when knitted together.

If a knitter buys insufficient yarn of a single dye lot to complete a project, additional skeins of the same dye lot can sometimes be obtained from other yarn stores or online.

Otherwise, knitters can alternate skeins every few rows to help the dye lots blend together easier.