Miscellaneous Definitions — accessories, trims, tools and general fashion terms from Apparel Search
In the textile industry, a hank is a unit of yarn that is in a coiled or wrapped form, as opposed to other forms such as a ball, a cone, a bobbin or a spool. The form is often the best one for use with hand looms, compared to the cone form needed for power looms. A hank is a length of yarn wound into a large loop, tied so the loop holds together, and it is measured as much by custom and fiber as by any single universal standard.
What is a hank?
In the textile industry, a hank is to a unit of yarn that is in a coiled or wrapped form (as opposed to other forms such as a ball or a cone or a bobbin or a spool). This is often the best form for use with hand looms, compared to the cone form needed for power looms. Hanks come in varying lengths depending on the type of material and the manufacturer. For instance, a hank of linen is often 300 yards (270 m), and a hank of cotton or silk is 840 yards (770 m).
While hanks may differ by manufacturer and by product, a skein is usually considered 1/6th of a hank (either by weight or by length).
In yarns for handcrafts such as knitting or crochet, hanks are not a
fixed length but are sold in units by weight, most commonly 50 grams.
Depending on the thickness of the strand as well as the inherent density
of the material, hanks can range widely in yardage per 50 gram unit; for
example, 440 yards for a lace weight mohair, to 60 yards for a chunky
weight cotton. Special treatments to the materials that add cost, such
as mercerization or labor-intensive hand-painting of colors, can
influence a manufacturer's desired length per unit as well.
A hank is completely different than a Tom Hanks. As far as we know Tom Hanks does not have a direct relation to textile units of measurement.
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The hank does two jobs at once: it is a package and it is a measure. Winding yarn into a large loop of a known circumference, then counting the turns, was for centuries the simplest reliable way to portion yarn in a mill or a workshop. Multiply the turns by the loop size and the length of the hank follows. That is why hank lengths settled at round, fiber-specific numbers: 840 yards for cotton and silk, 300 yards for linen. Each trade counted its yarn in the unit its machinery, pricing and habits were built around, and the unit survived because everyone in that trade understood it. When a spinner, dyer or merchant quoted a price per hank, the length inside the coil was part of the bargain even where nothing was written down.
The coiled form itself has working advantages that a wound ball or cone cannot match. Yarn in a hank rests without tension, so elastic fibers are not stretched while they wait. The open loop lets water and dye reach every strand evenly, which is why dyers prefer to work with hanks and why hand-dyed yarn is sold in them. The loop can be washed before use to set the twist and remove finishing treatments, then hung to dry under its own light weight. Only when the yarn is about to be knitted or woven does the hank need to be opened out — usually over a swift or the back of a chair — and wound into a ball or cake that will feed smoothly without tangling.
In yarns for knitting and crochet the hank changed its basis from length to weight. Handcraft hanks are sold most commonly in 50 gram units, and the yardage inside varies widely because it depends on the thickness of the strand and the density of the material: the same 50 grams can run to about 440 yards in a lace weight mohair or only about 60 yards in a chunky weight cotton. The label, not the coil, is therefore the buyer's real guide: it states the weight, the fiber content and the yardage together, and projects are planned from those three figures. Treatments that add cost, such as mercerization or labor-intensive hand-painting of colors, can also influence the length a manufacturer puts in each unit, because the price of the hank must carry the cost of the extra work.
For weaving, the older distinction still matters. The hank is often the best form for use with hand looms, where yarn is measured out, warped and handled at a human pace, while the cone form is what power looms need, feeding continuously at machine speed without stopping. Choosing between hank, skein, ball, cone, bobbin and spool is thus not packaging trivia: each form suits a stage of work, from dyeing and storing, through measuring and warping, to the final feeding of a loom or a pair of needles.
A hank is a unit of yarn in a coiled or wrapped form. Hanks come in varying lengths depending on the type of material and the manufacturer, and the coiled form suits hand work because the yarn can be washed, dyed and stored without tension.
A hank of linen is often 300 yards (270 m), and a hank of cotton or silk is 840 yards (770 m). The difference reflects long-standing trade customs for each fiber rather than a single shared standard.
A skein is usually considered 1/6th of a hank, either by weight or by length. In yarns for handcrafts such as knitting or crochet, hanks are not a fixed length but are sold in units by weight, most commonly 50 grams.