Yarn Count Converter (Ne, Nm, Tex, Denier)
Convert yarn fineness values seamlessly across indirect (Ne, Nm) and direct (Tex, Denier) yarn count systems.
Yarn counts describe fineness, but the textile world uses two opposite logics. Indirect systems (Ne and Nm) count length per unit weight, so a higher number means a finer yarn. Direct systems (Tex and Denier) count weight per unit length, so a higher number means a coarser yarn. This converter pivots every conversion through Ne and shows all four systems at once, rounded to one decimal place, so a single input answers the conversion in every direction.
What is Yarn Count Conversion?
Ne, the English Cotton Count, is the number of 840-yard hanks in one pound of yarn: 30 Ne means 30 hanks of 840 yards weigh one pound. Nm, the Metric Count, is metres per gram: higher Nm is finer. Tex is grams per 1,000 metres, and Denier is grams per 9,000 metres: for both direct systems, a higher number is a heavier, coarser yarn. The same physical yarn therefore has four different numbers, and buyers, mills, and knitters each tend to quote a different one.
Conversion matters wherever yarn is bought, specified, or substituted. A buyer specification in Ne must be matched to a mill offer in Tex, a knitting programme written for Nm must be checked against a stock yarn in Denier, and a costing sheet must keep the count consistent across fabric, thread, and price. Converting by formula, rather than by memory, prevents the classic error of treating a higher direct count as finer when it is actually coarser. For fabric costing that depends on the converted count, see the Fabric Consumption Calculator.
Formula
Nm = Ne x 1.693 Ne = Nm / 1.693 Tex = 590.5 / Ne Ne = 590.5 / Tex Denier = 5315 / Ne Ne = 5315 / Denier (All constants as coded in this converter; results rounded to one decimal place)
- Ne: English Cotton Count, hanks of 840 yards per pound. Indirect: higher means finer.
- Nm: Metric Count, metres per gram. Indirect: higher means finer. Conversion factor 1.693.
- Tex: grams per 1,000 metres. Direct: higher means coarser. Constant 590.5.
- Denier: grams per 9,000 metres. Direct: higher means coarser. Constant 5315 as coded here.
- Rounding: results are shown to one decimal place, so converting back from a rounded result can differ slightly from the original input.
One constant deserves a note. The lessons on this site use Denier = 5314.5 / Ne, while this converter uses the rounded constant 5315. The difference is 0.5 in 5315, or 0.0094 percent, which is invisible at the one-decimal display for common counts: 30 Ne gives 177.2 Denier under either constant. For very fine counts the last displayed decimal can differ by 0.1: 100 Ne gives 53.2 Denier with 5315 and 53.1 with 5314.5. This guide describes the converter as coded, so the numbers here match the numbers the tool shows.
How to Calculate
- Enter the yarn count value as a positive number.
- Select the system the value is in: Ne, Nm, Tex, or Denier.
- Convert, and read all four systems at once. The input system is shown alongside the three conversions.
- Check the direction of fineness: if the input was indirect (Ne or Nm), a larger converted direct value (Tex or Denier) means coarser, not finer.
- For buying or costing, use the converted value in the system your counterpart quotes, and keep the original value on the record so a rounded conversion can be traced back.
Example
Take an illustrative 30 Ne cotton yarn, a common shirting count. Converting gives Nm = 30 x 1.693 = 50.8, Tex = 590.5 / 30 = 19.7, and Denier = 5315 / 30 = 177.2. The same yarn described three ways shows the indirect-direct flip clearly: 50.8 Nm sounds fine because Nm is indirect, while 177.2 Denier sounds coarse because Denier is direct, yet all four numbers describe one yarn.
Reverse conversions use the same constants. An illustrative 20 Tex yarn converts to Ne = 590.5 / 20 = 29.5, Nm = 50, and Denier = 180, so a 20 Tex offer is essentially a 30 Ne yarn. An illustrative 150 Denier filament converts to Ne = 5315 / 150 = 35.4, Nm = 60, and Tex = 16.7. Note the rounding behaviour: converting the rounded 29.5 Ne back gives Tex = 590.5 / 29.5 = 20, which returns cleanly here, but a rounded value converted twice can drift by 0.1 in the last decimal, so always keep the unrounded original for records.
Assumptions
This converter handles single-yarn counts only. It does not calculate plied yarns, such as 2/30 Ne, and it does not calculate twist, twist multiplier, or turns per inch: those need their own calculations and are outside this tool. Constants are exactly as coded (1.693, 590.5, 5315), results are rounded to one decimal place, and the input must be a positive number. Counts describe fineness only: strength, evenness, and hairiness are separate yarn properties that no count conversion can show.