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Yarndex.com Your Source For…..

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You wanted it, you got it. This is my primo source. I NEVER (and I repeat: NEVER) knit a pattern with the yarn that is recommended. There are a plethora of reasons for this, mostly centering around the fact that the brain currently housed in my little head isn’t very organized.

But enough of that. I have enough yarn in my stash room to substitute just about anything. So what do I do?

I find out how many yards of yarn I need for my project. Then I connect to www.yarndex.com and find the brand and name of the yarn that is required and find out both the weight of the yarn and how many yards are on each skein. From there I multiply how many yards on each skein by how many skeins are called for to give me the total yardage suggested for my project. I then take that number into my own private lys yarn room and go from there.

That’s my best advice for substituting yarn. You can always take 2 or more lighter weight yarns and hold them together to get a heavier weight also, but that’s kind of sketchy.

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Comments

  1. THANK YOU!! My private yarn room – closet, garage, under the bed, behind the sofa – will appreciate the help too!

  2. Thank you so much for your endorsement of Yarndex.com and your description of how you use our yarn reference library. We at Yarndex really appreciate hearing about how knitters, crocheters, weavers, designers, really anyone with a passion for yarn enjoys exploring all those options (over 5,000 yarns to date and still growing)!

    Thanks again for your support,

    Jan and the Yarndex Yarn Enthusiasts

  4. Can anyone advise me on a substitute yarn for Red heart and TLC Baby Amore Yarn. The size of hook is 5mm. I need various soft baby colour. I don’t understand the term worsted but the blanket is the first I have done. Will using a different wool affect the size or the pattern which is of little baby ducks, dogs, cats and dogs. I would appreciate some advice. Thank you in anticipation.

  5. Hi Tina,
    Worsted is a standard size, a tad bit heavier than DK but less than bulky. I don’t know how crochet hooks size up as far as worsted weight yarns, you’d have to ask JD, our crochet editor. I’d think, with a child’s sweater that will most likely be machine washed and dried, you’d want to have all the same makeup of yarn (ie, all cotton, or all wool….).
    Hope this helps!

    Terrye

  6. Have a Beret pattern caling for Croajingolong yarn. Haven’t been able to find m uch on it. How about a substitute, please.

Have you read?

Stitch Your Favorite Fruit on a Sweater

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.” 

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them. 

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits. 

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves. 

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit. 

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy. 

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]