Selecting yarn

Celeste@4 wrote

on Jun 23, 2009 11:11 AM

Hello everyone:

I have known how to knit since I was a teen but do it in bursts and stops. I recently took an interest in knitting again and found a pattern for a sweater in the latest issue of a popular knitting magazine. Unfortunately the recommended yarn (Muench's Oceana) was produced in 2004 and is hard to find.  I am willing to choose a different yarn but I want the sweater to look similar to the one shown in the pattern. Is there a place where I can find comparison tables for yarn that will point me to a different brand or style that is similar to Ocean? I did do some Internet surfing but could not find what I was looking for. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Dolly in FL or PA

ShelleyR wrote

on Jun 26, 2009 1:45 PM

I can think of only a partial handful of times that I have used the yarn called for in a pattern, so I substitute all the time. there are things you want to get right, and other things you can play with. You want to get the gauge of the yarn right (unless you're like me and tend to work really big, so that you can use a bigger yarn. You can also double up if you find the perfect yarn in a much smaller gauge)

Other things you can play with. Do you want more  or less sheen? Drape?  more stitch definition? all those things change with the material the yarn is made from. I like a touch of silk in many things, just to give a little bit of gleam. However if it's a tight fitting top I leave the gleam out, at least at the bust. 

You can talk to your LYS and they can make suggestions about how the yarn knits up. If you live in a place where you don't have access to a LYS, I would research online, in forums like this one for feedback on specific yarns. I often shop online for things like sock yarn, or really special yarn that my LYS tends not to carry. You can  also try ebay, were many people are offloading their stash, so you might find exactly what you're looking for. I also use etsy quite a bit now. The spinners and dyers often only post 1 skein at a time, but if you ask they will do as many as you need for your project. I've found some fabulous yarn there, but.... it's not a big bargain, just wonderful.