Sport

The forgotten middleweight. Sport is heavier than fingering and lighter than DK — beautiful for a refined cabled pullover or a child's cardigan, but sometimes hard to source.

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

Typical gauge & needles

Best uses

• Lightweight pullovers
• Children's garments
• Detailed cabled hats
• Lightweight blankets

About this weight

Sport's typical gauge of 24 sts to 4 inches gives it more drape than DK and more visible stitch definition than fingering. Cables in sport-weight wool are crisp without being heavy; lace at sport weight blocks to a substantial fabric that holds up to wear.

Sport-weight is one of the least-stocked weights at major yarn shops; substituting a lightly-held DK at the same needle size often works.

In partnership Sustainable wool farms shipping Sport yarn worldwide.

Swatching at this weight

Sport's gauge sits at a noticeable boundary — at the same needle size, two different sport yarns can produce visibly different fabrics. Always swatch.

If a pattern calls for sport and you only have DK, swatch on the next-smaller needle and check both stitch and row gauge.

Full gauge swatch guide →

Stitch patterns that wear well in Sport

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

Free patterns in Sport (87)

Substituting yarn weights

A heavy fingering or a light DK will both substitute for sport with a one-needle adjustment. Read the full yarn weight conversion reference before swapping any yarn.