The Craftsy blog is always full of great, useful tips and information that will make knitting easier for you, and this post about yarn texture is no exception.

Ashley looks at different plies of yarn and shares the general rule that the more plies a yarn has, the more stitch definition you will get. So a yarn with more plies would be better for cables and other textured stitch patterns that you really want to pop, while a singles (the proper term for a yarn made from a single strand of yarn, since you can’t really have a 1-ply) is better for plain stockinette or other stitch patterns where distinct stitches are not that important (it’s fine for felting, too).

In addition to ply, there are a whole lot of different textures you can find in yarn these days, from slubby thick and thin yarns to eyelash yarns and all sorts of textured novelty yarns. Of course when using those yarns you won’t get much stitch definition at all, but they can be a lot of fun as an accent or for an accessory like a scarf.

Do you pay much attention to the texture of a yarn when choosing what to knit with? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via Craftsy.]