Double trouble

I’m new to knitting, and recently went to a craft shop where they had lots of yarn labelled DK. I’ve only knitted a few scarves so far with fancy, frilly yarns from kits and wanted something more standard so I could practice. Are all yarns labelled DK the same thing?
Tracey Williams, Staffordshire

DK stands for double knitting, which refers to the thickness of the yarn. You’ll find that every yarn manufacturer produces a DK yarn – it’s a spinning industry standard that’s been around for many decades. A DK yarn should generally knit to a tension of 22 stitches to 30 rows on a 4mm needle over a 10cm square – however, different fibre contents can alter this by a stitch or row. When you move on to garment patterns, just check that the DK yarn you use matches the required tension.