SUBSTITUTING YARN

When substituting a yarn other than the yarn that is called for, there are four things to Consider.

1) Will my yarn knit to the gauge specified in the pattern?

This is extremely important, you must meet the gauge requirements for your Pattern, in order to make your garment the size you are hoping for.

2) Will my yarn behave the way the called for yarn will?

If you pick a mohair instead of a worsted weight called for in the pattern, even if the gauge is correct, you will not be able to see a patterned stitch. And the garment will have a different drape and a completely different look.

If you pick a dark color for pattern work, you may well be disappointed that the pattern is very difficult to see, dark yarns have more shadows and it is almost impossible to see patterned stitches.

It is always best to make a swatch with the substitute yarn to make sure that It will have the look and drape you desire.

Avoid using yarns of different fibers such as using a cotton or linen, when a wool is called for, be aware, cotton and linen don’t have the stretch that wool does, so you must keep this in mind when going to a different fiber content.

Also check to make sure all of your yarn is from the same dye lot, colors can vary a great deal from dye lot to dye lot, it is a shame to finish a garment and to find huge color variations from top to bottom.

And if you don’t purchase enough yarn for the garment in the beginning, finding the same dye lot later can be next to impossible.

Also remember that different fibers have different care needs, a lot of novelties for instance cannot be washed at all, so they would not be a wise choice for something that would need to be washed often, such as children’s wear.

Wools need to be hand washed or dry cleaned, unless you choose a superwash wool.

3) How much yarn will I need?

Always check the yardage called for in the pattern, if possible, yardage is a much better way to measure the amount of yarn you will need than weight. Some yarns are denser than others thus you will end up with less yardage.

Multiply the number of skeins called for by the pattern, by the yardage of a single unit of yarn, and that will tell you how much yarn you should purchase.

Sources: Knitty.com feature article by Jenna Wilson 4/15/05 How to Knit TNNA pages 7-8 Knitters Handbook, Montse Stanley pages 46-47. The Harmony Guides Knitting Techniques Volume 1 page 7-8. Vogue Knitting The Ultimate book of Knitting pages 15,56.