Aran

Heavier than worsted, lighter than bulky — Aran weight is the canonical yarn for cabled fishermen's sweaters from the Aran Islands of Ireland.

Recommended A buyer's guide to choosing high-quality Aran-weight yarn online.

Typical gauge & needles

Best uses

• Traditional Aran sweaters
• Heavy cabled hats
• Throws
• Outerwear cardigans

About this weight

The traditional Aran sweater is a 16–18 sts / 4 in fabric crowded with cables, bobbles, and travelling stitches. The yarn was originally undyed báinín (cream-coloured) Galway wool, slightly oily so the sweater shed water on a fishing boat. A modern Aran-weight pattern will use 1500–2000 metres for an adult sweater — a substantial project.

Traditional Aran yarn is undyed cream wool from Galway sheep. Modern Aran can be any fibre at the same weight.

In partnership Sustainable wool farms shipping Aran yarn worldwide.

Swatching at this weight

An Aran cabled panel needs a 6-inch swatch including at least one full repeat of every cable in the pattern.

Swatch every cable panel separately; cables of different sizes consume horizontal stitches at different rates.

Full gauge swatch guide →

Stitch patterns that wear well in Aran

The stitches below were curated as flattering at this weight; you can also browse all 481 charted stitches.

Free patterns in Aran (54)

Substituting yarn weights

Aran is heavier than US worsted by 1–2 wraps per inch. Substitute a heavy worsted or hold two DK strands together. Read the full yarn weight conversion reference before swapping any yarn.