Denier (den) Unit used in measuring the fineness of yarns, equal to the total weight in grams of 9,000 metres of fibre, filament, or yarn. Denier is a direct numbering system in which the lower numbers represent finer yarns and the higher numbers the coarser yarns.
Denier per filament (dpf) The weight in grams of 9,000 meters of an individual filament, calculated by taking the yarn denier and dividing it by the number of filaments in the yarn.
Decitex (dtex) The linear density (mass per unit length) of fibres, filaments, and yarns, or other textile material. Equals the total weight in grams of 10,000 meters.
Cotton Count (Ne) An indirect yarn numbering system based on length and weight originally used for cotton yarns and now employed for most staple yarns. The count of the yarn is equal to the number of 840-yard skeins (or hanks) required to weigh one pound. Under this system, the higher the number, the finer the yarn.
Number-metric (Nm)The number-metric count of yarn is equal to the number of kilometers required to weigh one kilogram. Similar to Cotton Count, the higher the number the finer the yarn.