Demystifying Yarn Substitution

By Margaret Radcliffe
Published on November 24, 2014
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The structure and fiber content of the yarn you use will affect the look of the finished fabric. This swatch is knit with Lamb's Pride, a wool and mohair singles yarn.
The structure and fiber content of the yarn you use will affect the look of the finished fabric. This swatch is knit with Lamb's Pride, a wool and mohair singles yarn.
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Swatch knit with 2-ply handspun wool.
Swatch knit with 2-ply handspun wool.
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Swatch knit with Nature Spun, a 3-ply wool yarn.
Swatch knit with Nature Spun, a 3-ply wool yarn.
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Swatch knit with Shepherd's Shades, a wool yarn with 3 sets of 2-plies.
Swatch knit with Shepherd's Shades, a wool yarn with 3 sets of 2-plies.
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Swatch knit with Cotton Fleece, a cotton and wool yarn with 4 strands of 3 sets of 2-plies.
Swatch knit with Cotton Fleece, a cotton and wool yarn with 4 strands of 3 sets of 2-plies.
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Swatch knit with cabled handspun wool, 2 sets of 2-plies.
Swatch knit with cabled handspun wool, 2 sets of 2-plies.
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3-ply with good twist shows off the textured pattern stitches in spite of the color variations.
3-ply with good twist shows off the textured pattern stitches in spite of the color variations.
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Dark yarn hides the textured stitches completely.
Dark yarn hides the textured stitches completely.
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Brushed mohair obscures the textured patterns.
Brushed mohair obscures the textured patterns.
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Variegated handspun yarn with different colored plies provides an interesting variation of effects in the different pattern stitches, although you can't tell what the patterns are.
Variegated handspun yarn with different colored plies provides an interesting variation of effects in the different pattern stitches, although you can't tell what the patterns are.
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"The Knowledgeable Knitter" by Margaret Radcliffe is an exploration of the options available to every knitter at every step of knitting a sweater, from choosing or substituting yarn to casting on, modifying patterns, and finishing techniques.

The Knowledgeable Knitter(Storey Publishing, 2014) by Margaret Radcliffe offers an in-depth tour of a sweater-knitting project to show the choices and options open to every knitter at every step. Radcliffe demonstrates not only how to execute these techniques but why you might choose one over another, allowing you to make tailored, elegant items that are beautiful reflections of your personal style.

Finding a Yarn Substitution for Your Pattern

You have the best chance of a successful garment the more closely you match the yarn used in the original design; however, you shouldn’t feel compelled to use the identical yarn. There are almost always appropriate yarns you can substitute. You just need to match the yarn’s three key attributes as closely as possible: these are the thickness of the yarn, the fiber content, and the yarn’s structure and texture. You should also consider the color of the yarn, but that’s more a matter of aesthetics and personal preference.

Understanding Yarn Weights

There are several systems for yarn weights in use. In the United States, the different thicknesses of yarn have traditionally been called by name, such as sport weight, worsted weight, and bulky weight. In the United Kingdom, the terms include 4-ply and DK (“double knitting”). The Craft Yarn Council has tried to standardize references to yarn weight for knitting and crochet using a numbered system that begins with size 0 for the thinnest yarns and ends with size 6 for the thickest. In all of these cases, the label refers to a range of yarns with similar thicknesses that may or may not be close enough to the thickness you want.

To check for a comparable thickness, you need to compare the yards per ounce (or gram or pound). If you are lucky, the pattern will provide yarn specifications that include how many yards or meters are in each ball or skein and how much each ball or skein weighs. Divide the weight by the length for the yarn you’re considering and compare the result to the original yarn. If one provides weight in grams and the other in ounces, you’ll need to convert them to the same units. After decades of doing these conversions, I have memorized that 1.75 ounces equals 50 grams. This is really all you need to remember. Or, if it seems simpler to you, 3.5 ounces equals 100 grams.

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