If you have ever looked at two skeins of yarn and thought, “those are definitely the same color,” only to hold them next to each other and discover one is slightly bluer, darker, or somehow mysteriously more purple, welcome.
You have met the dye lot.
A dye lot is the batch of yarn dyed at the same time. Even when the colorway has exactly the same name, yarn from different dye lots can look slightly different.
Sometimes the difference is tiny.
Sometimes the difference is large enough that one sleeve of a sweater looks like it belongs to a close relative rather than the same garment.
Many buyers on Fiber Market Exchange are looking for yarn to finish an existing project.
That means they are often searching for:
If you include the dye lot in your listing, your yarn is much easier to find and much more likely to sell.
A buyer who desperately needs dye lot 4723 is unlikely to take a chance on “I think it matches?”
The dye lot is usually printed somewhere on the yarn label.
Look for:
It is often on the back or side of the label.
For your listing photos, it is always a good idea to include:
That way buyers do not have to squint at a blurry photo like they are trying to solve a particularly woolly crime.
Sometimes a yarn lot includes skeins with more than one dye lot.
That is perfectly fine, but it is important to say so clearly in the listing.
For example:
If possible, photograph the groups separately.
Some buyers will still be very interested, especially if they are making a striped project, colorwork, or something where a slight difference will not matter.
Others may want matching skeins for a sweater and will appreciate knowing ahead of time.
Everyone likes a pleasant surprise. A less pleasant surprise is realizing halfway through knitting that one sock is “soft sage” and the other is “soft sage but somehow with opinions.”
If you have several skeins with the same dye lot, especially in a discontinued yarn, they are often worth more sold together.
Matching dye lots are especially valuable for:
A buyer is often willing to pay more for six matching skeins than for six separate listings with mixed dye lots.
It saves them time, makes project planning easier, and spares them from spending three evenings searching the internet while becoming increasingly dramatic.
Some yarn labels do not include a dye lot at all.
Handspun yarn, mini skeins, and some small-batch yarns may not have one.
If that happens, simply mention it in the listing.
You can say something like:
“No dye lot listed on label.”
Or:
“Hand dyed yarn, no dye lot available.”
Honesty is always the best approach.
Dye lots may seem like a small detail, but they can make a very big difference to buyers.
Including the dye lot in your listing helps your yarn show up in searches, makes buyers feel more confident, and increases the chances that your yarn finds exactly the right new home.
And if you are ever tempted to skip photographing the dye lot because it seems unimportant, just remember that somewhere out there is a knitter trying to finish a sleeve from 2019 and hoping, against all odds, that you have exactly the right skein.
