Yarn Weight ↔ Reed/Dent Reference Chart
Starting-point rigid-heddle reed sizes for plain (balanced) weave, by common yarn weight — for a direct warp (one end per dent). Source: Schacht Spindle Company, "Simple Guide for Your Rigid Heddle Reeds", retrieved 2026-09-16.
| Yarn weight | WPI | Reed dent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulky | 10 | 5 | Great as a warp yarn. |
| Worsted / Aran | 11-12 | 8 | Most common yarn for beginning weavers. |
| DK | 13 | 8-10 | Fits between worsted and sport. |
| Sport / Baby | 14 | 10 | Allows finer gauges of knitting yarn. |
| Fingering / Sock | 16 | 12 | Makes lightweight scarves and shawls. |
| Light Fingering / Heavy Laceweight | 18+ | 15 | For the skinniest commonly-woven yarns. |
These are starting points for a plain-weave, direct warp. A denser threading (two ends per dent), a twill or other structure, or an unusually textured/elastic/slippery yarn all call for a woven test swatch before committing a full warp — use the sett calculator if you've measured your own yarn's WPI.
Note: this chart can give a noticeably denser sett than the WPI ÷ 2 rule in the sett calculator for the same yarn weight — that's expected, not a mistake. Lofty knitting yarns compress when wrapped around a ruler, so a WPI-based estimate under-setts them; for a lofty wool/acrylic knitting yarn, trust this chart over the WPI estimate.