Top three tips for knitters and crocheters - Week 1 - Yarn Substitutions.
Ok, so there are a heck of a lot of things out there that every knitter and crocheter should know - but what are the top three that will help you get the best out of your projects?
For me, the top three things that I find customers asking or not knowing that they need to ask about are:
- Yarn Substitutions
- Finishing
- Gauge
There are others, but these are the main things that will make a HUGE difference to your project.
Lets take them one at a time. This week we're going to look at:
- Yarn Substitutions.
The first thing to remember is that no two yarns are created equal.
If we take 'double knit' as an example. Within the range of double knit (DK or 8ply) you can include any yarn which has between 200 and 250m per 100g. With 4ply, in the UK this is even wider (in the US it is split between Sport and Fingering, and in Australia, it is 4ply and 5ply), you have anywhere between 260m and 480m per 100g. This is a ridiculous range of lengths, and that is before we get as far as the actual thickness of the yarn.
So if your pattern says '2 balls of DK', you don't know until you look up the yarn whether you need 400m or 500m of yarn to complete the pattern. This is because different fibres weigh different amounts. For example, Wensleydale is a very heavy wool, so if you were to go by the length and weight, you might get 230m per 100g, but if you were to look at the thickness, it would be closer to a sport weight or fingering weight/4ply.
So how do we work this out?
We look for the WPI - the Wraps Per Inch.
Very simply, this means how many strands of the yarn can you lay next to each other neatly (not pulled tight) into one inch.
When we do this, seeing how compatible the yarns are gets a lot easier. You want to have the same number, or within 1 wrap, to the yarn the pattern was designed for.
There are a couple of different sites that are great for searching this up. The first one is yarnsub.com which has a huge range of details for both current and discontinued yarns. This means that you can check what the meterage and WPI of the pattern yarn are so that you can work out whether the yarn you want to use will work or not. It will also tell you what it thinks is the closest match and why,
The other option is ravelry.com where they have a yarn section which will also give you a lot of details including the meterage and wpi of the yarn.
The third thing to consider is what the yarn is made of and the look of the fabric you want to create. If the pattern uses a wool based yarn and you'd like to use a cotton, this will look and hang very differently to the way the sample looks. You want to choose a yarn that will have the effect you want - think about the shine, the drape, the bounce; and what you will be using it for - does it need to stretch, does it want to hang, does it need to be hardwearing.
So here's your checklist for substituting yarn for a pattern.
- What meterage do you actually need - don't go by number of balls! Look it up and calculate the actual length you need.
- What wraps per inch is the yarn used, is the one you want to use comparable?
- Will the yarn you want to use give you the same look as the pattern or the look you want?
Check the image below for our handy yarn chart, and consider purchasing one of our 'Yarnie's Friends' to help you with your WPI calculations.
