Common Numbering Systems of Natural and Man-made fiber.

Tex System

Lower the Tex, finer the thread
Higher the Tex, thicker the thread
Higher the Ticket, finer the thread
Lower the Ticket, thicker the thread


Is symbolized by (Tex) and is a direct count of thread weight per unit length. It is based on the weight in grams of a thread 1,000 meters (1 kilometer) long. 1,000 meters of Tex 10 (very fine) thread weighs 10 grams, while 1,000 meters of Tex 100 (very coarse) weighs 100 grams. The Tex system measures the entire thread, no matter how many strands or plies it has.

Ticket number

Is a system to give easy approximations of the specific size of finished thread and is different for different thread types even if the Tex no is same. To convert Tex into ticket (1000/Tex No) x 3.


Cotton Count system

If you had a single strand of yarn 840 yards long weighing one pound, its count (or size) would be shown as 1/1. This simply means it had a count of one (the first number) and that it was a single strand or yard (the second number). If you then twisted two or those single strands together, the size would then be ½: One count yarn (the first number), in a two ply construction (the second number).

is used for threads made from natural products and is symbolized by Ne. It is based on the number of 840 yard hanks in one pound of thread made from natural fibers and yarns. The size is measure of an individual yarn or strand. Most threads are made from multiple strands or plies. In the cotton count system, 50/2 designates a two-ply thread made from two size 50 yarns. That has the same fibre contents as one size 25 yarn. 8,400 yards of size 10 (coarse) or 84,000 yards or size 100 (extremely fine) is same for one pound of cotton yard in this system. Cotton Count System (Ne) has been the accepted standard in sizing spun threads.



The Hong Kong ticket System

Is the same as the cotton count system, just written without the slash. So a cotton count 50/2 thread is a Hong Kong ticket 502 thread.


Denier System

Is used for continuous filament synthetic threads and is symbolized by d and is based on the weight in grams of a thread 9 kilometres long. Denier measurements are nine times larger than Tex for the same yarn. However denier is sometimes applied to individual strands of a multi-ply thread, while Tex is always applied to the entire thread. Denier sizes are usually written as 1000d, 200d, and so on.
Metric Count System

Is used for synthetic threads and is symbolized by Nm and is based on the number of 1 kilometre hanks in one kilogram of synthetic thread. So size 100 is a fine thread and size 10 is extremely coarse.


Collected and Edited by Enamul Haque Bipul