Fonal

Fonal is a Hungarian noun meaning thread or yarn, referring to a continuous strand produced by spinning fibers and used for sewing, knitting, and weaving. In textile vocabulary, fonal encompasses yarns of various fiber contents, weights, and twists. It forms the basic material for many crafts and manufactured fabrics, and it appears in everyday language as well as in technical descriptions of textile products.

In common usage, fonal can denote different types of yarn, including natural-fiber yarns such as cotton and wool, as well as synthetic yarns. For example, phrases like pamutfonal (cotton yarn) and gyapjúfonal (wool yarn) are widely recognized. The choice of fonal—its fiber content, ply, and twist—affects texture, strength, warmth, and drape of the finished item. Fonal may be sold by weight or length and is selected according to the needs of a project, whether knitting a garment, crocheting, or weaving.

Etymology traces fonal to the Hungarian verb fonni, meaning to weave, reflecting its role in producing woven and knitted goods. The term also appears in compound forms describing specific yarns or threads used for particular crafts, such as embroidery or sewing.

Notes: Fonal is primarily a linguistic and cultural term within Hungarian textile contexts. In discussions of global textiles, it is often translated as thread or yarn and may appear in catalogs, manuals, and craft instructions referencing Hungarian terminology.