Enter your single-end yarn count and how many identical ends are twisted together, and read the effective folded count — the thickness the yarn actually knits at — in Nm, Ne, Tex, dtex and denier. The count math is exact for equal plies; twist take-up is ignored and the thickness class is a planning guide, so confirm the real gauge on a sampling swatch.
⚠️ The count math is exact; the thickness class is a guide. This assumes equal singles of the same count. Folding is a mass sum: effective Tex = plies × single Tex, and for the indirect systems effective Nm = single Nm ÷ plies — those numbers are not estimates. It ignores twist take-up (real folded yarn is a hair shorter and heavier per length than the pure sum), and the thickness class is an indicative planning label from Tex alone. Real knit gauge also depends on twist, tension and machine, so confirm it on a sampling swatch before locking a production spec.
A folded — or plied — yarn is several identical singles twisted together. Ply count changes the yarn's mass per length, not its total length per gram, so the two count families move in opposite directions. The indirect counts (Nm and Ne, where a higher number means finer) get divided by the number of plies; the direct counts (Tex, dtex and denier, where a higher number means thicker) get multiplied. To keep every system consistent, this tool routes the single through Tex, multiplies by the plies, then reads the rest back out — nothing hidden.
effective Tex = plies × single Tex2 × 33.33 = 66.7 Texeffective Nm = single Nm ÷ plies30 ÷ 2 = Nm 15Ne = 590.5 ÷ Tex · dtex = 10 × Tex · denier = 9 × TexNe 8.9 · dtex 667 · denier 600So two ends of a 30 Nm single fold to an effective Nm 15, Tex 66.7, denier 600 — roughly twice the weight of the single, which is why the fabric knits noticeably heavier than the "30" on the cone would suggest.
When a mill quotes 2/30 (or 30/2), it means two ends of a 30-count single folded together — the pair of numbers is simply the ply count and the single count, and the order varies by supplier. Enter the single count (30) and the plies (2), not the "15" you might expect to see, and the calculator returns the effective count the yarn actually knits at. If a spec only gives you the single count of what is clearly a plied yarn, run it through here first so your gauge, weight and cost assumptions are built on the folded figure — not the single.
For n identical singles twisted together, the effective metric count is the single's Nm divided by n, and the effective Tex is n times the single's Tex. So two ends of Nm 30 give effective Nm 15 and effective Tex 66.7 (denier 600). The indirect counts — Nm and Ne — divide by the number of plies, while the direct counts — Tex, dtex and denier — multiply by it, because folding adds mass per length rather than length per gram.
It is a folded yarn: two ends of a 30 Nm single (or a 30s cotton single) twisted together. The two numbers are the ply count and the single count; some mills write 2/30 and others 30/2, but the meaning is the same. The yarn knits about twice as heavy as the single — 2/30 Nm behaves like Nm 15, roughly Tex 67. Enter the single count and the number of plies here to read the effective count as it is actually knitted.
Because you lay several ends side by side, the grams per metre add up. Two Nm 30 ends carry twice the mass per length of one, so the bundle behaves like a single yarn of half the metric number — Nm 15, not Nm 30. If a supplier quotes only the single count of a plied yarn, the finished fabric will be heavier and the gauge coarser than the single number implies, which is exactly the mismatch this tool is meant to catch.
No. It tells you the yarn's effective thickness, which is the main driver of gauge, but the finished needles-per-inch also depends on twist, knitting tension and machine setting. Treat the thickness class here as a planning guide and confirm the real gauge on a sampling swatch. Kiwi Giyim is a Gaziantep, Turkey OEM and private-label knitwear manufacturer with a 250-pieces-per-colour minimum, and if a supplier's yarn spec is ambiguous we will confirm the effective count for you.
Working the yarn into a full spec? Convert a single count between systems with the yarn count converter, work out cloth weight with the GSM fabric weight calculator, and nail down needles-per-inch with the knitting gauge converter. Browse every tool at our free knitwear tools hub.