Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

Technique – Yarn Substitutions.

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I ran across an awesome resource a long time ago, and I use it so often that it’s just assumed that everyone knows what it is. What is it? Well, hang on there, it’s so awesome that it deserves an introduction like no other.

So you find this great pattern you just have to knit, but would love to knit it in something other than the yarn called for. What to do? Unless you’re a walking yarn encyclopedia you just log on to this wonderful resource, bring up the yarn specified in the pattern and it will tell  you the weight, yardage, company, fiber content and just about everything else you’d want to know about it. Is it Ravelry? Well, yes, Ravelry is an awesome resource unto it’s own, but for the “everything you ever wanted to know about just about every kind of yarn out there” there’s none other than…..

Yarndex! Try it!yarndex_logo5

Comments

  1. I have some old Needleworks magazines and they have some great patterns but the yarns are no longer available. Any ideas of how I can knit these or finding out about older yarns?

  2. Hi,
    See if you can do an internet search for these yarns. You might not be able to buy them, but if you can get a general idea of what weight yarn and how many yards/meters per skein or hank, you can go to http://www.yarndex.com and find a substitution there.
    Good luck!
    Terrye

  3. I have a pattern for a round baby afghan (42″ in diameter) using Baby Sport – H crochet hook, if . . .

    I use a Bulky weight yarn and increase the hook to an N might that be okay to use the same pattern? (ie: be about 64″ in diameter). Or does someone have a round/circular pattern for and adult?

    The baby pattern I have is found on the Bernat website and it’s called Round Blanket to Crochet.

  4. I put in all the information and it either gave me the “sorry” line or it matched it up to itself. Not helpful.

  5. I am trying to find a substitute yarn for Lion Brand Organic Cotton Worse weight to knit a baby hoodie can you help

  7. I am trying to get to Yarndex.com, but several different links take me to LoveKnitting.com. Can you help?

  8. Yarndex was a project of Yarnmarket, which was purchased by LoveKnitting. I think they just got rid of that URL at some point and made it forward to their main site. You can search for it on the Internet Archive (archive.org), or maybe Ravelry can help answer your questions.

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.