Tips and Tricks for Devious Knitters: Yarn Substitution

There is both an art and a science to yarn substitution, and whole classes have been taught about the subject (in fact, it’s something I address at some length in my upcoming lecture, “What Makes a Knitting Pattern Good for You“).

Yarn substitution is on my mind today because someone asked about it in regard to my Fizzy Drinks felted coasters pattern last weekend at Vogue Knitting Live. During the presentation, I spoke about why I had chosen the specific yarn I did when I designed that pattern, and the attributes I wanted for the project. Specifically, I was looking for yarn that would felt really well (which meant I wanted it to be 100% non-superwash wool, ideally in a simple structure like a singles), would knit up to the gauge I had in mind (heavy worsted), and have a range of bright colors that would visually “pop” when they were paired together. There are also other factors that go into a designer’s choice of yarn: sometimes a designer has a relationship with a yarn supplier, or is producing a pattern for a magazine or yarn company, which may restrict the yarns a designer has to choose from.

In the case of Fizzy Drinks, I was self-publishing the pattern, which gives me a lot of freedom, and I had a yarn in mind right from the start: Morehouse Farm Merino‘s 3-strand worsted. I really love how soft the Morehouse yarn is, and its wide range of bright colors (vibrant colors can be hard to find in a non-superwash yarn). The structure of the 3-strand worsted is unplied, so I knew it would felt beautifully. And it does. This yarn and this pattern were literally made to go hand-in-hand.

Does that mean it’s the only yarn one can use to knit these coasters? Absolutely not. There are a number of other yarns that would also suit this pattern nicely.

Knitters substitute yarns for many reasons. Maybe the yarn called for is out of your budget; maybe you want a color that it doesn’t come in; you might prefer to work with yarn you already have (especially when working stash-busting projects like this one); the original yarn may be unavailable; or you could be allergic to the fiber in the original yarn.

Choosing a good substitute yarn involves much more than just substituting a yarn of the same weight classification (e.g., DK or chunky). Yarn weight classifications are broad categories, and there is a tremendous amount of variation within each.

The closer you can get to the grist (or yards per ounce), construction (number of plies, woolen vs worsted spinning, and direction of twist), and fiber content of the original yarn, the more similar your results will be. It can be very helpful to start by looking up the attributes of the original yarn called for in a pattern, even if you don’t intend to use that yarn. With information about grist, construction, and fiber content in hand, your comparisons will be much more likely to yield success.

Another helpful tool is the designer’s notes in the pattern. If the designer describes the attributes of the yarn they used, they’re offering a blueprint for yarn substitution. A description like, “________ yarn is a tightly-spun, smooth, fingering weight yarn with a hint of silk for drape,” or “This pattern gets its bounce and squish factor from the airy construction of _____ yarn, which is woolen-spun and has very little twist” can lead you to look for certain attributes in your substitute yarn.

In respect to Fizzy Drinks specifically, I suggest in the pattern that you want to work with a “worsted weight non-superwash wool.” I also call out specifically that Morehouse Merino 3-strand is a singles yarn. Paying attention to both of these points will help you find great substitute yarns for this pattern.

It happens that both Malabrigo Worsted and Nuro Kureyon are 100% wool, non-superwash merino singles yarns that come in a variety of great colors. (Most “singles” yarns that are commercially spun actually have multiple strands, as does Morehouse 3-strand, but they are not plied in the traditional manner; they look like a singles and behave like singles for the purposes of felting, so for simplicity’s sake here I am calling them singles.) While the grist is not an exact match, it’s close enough for this pattern. These two yarns would be my first picks for substitute yarns for Fizzy Drinks.

But what if price point is your limiting factor? Those two yarns are not inexpensive. Here, we may have to make trade-offs. For this pattern, the breed of wool and number of plies are the next trade-offs I would make. My choice of merino for this pattern is about my own preference for knitting with yarn with a nice hand, rather than specific attributes it lends to the finished product. A yarn with a more complex construction (a multi-ply) will still felt, as long as it’s a non-superwash wool. Once we start looking at non-breed-specific, plied yarns, we see a number of substitutes: Valley Yarns Amherst, for example, or Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted are both good, budget-friendly options. These two yarns have have similar construction and nearly the same grist, but Wool of the Andes Worsted has a much larger color range and a cheaper price point, so that, in my mind, gives it the edge.

If I were determined to work from stash yarn or leftovers, I might go even farther afield. As long as the yarn is non-superwash wool and close to the right weight, I’d give it a try. This pattern, after all, doesn’t have to fit anyone exactly and that gives you more room to experiment than, say, a set-in sleeve sweater would.

If the fiber content is your tricky point — for instance if you have a wool allergy – you may be sadly out of luck for this pattern. Fizzy Drinks needs to be felted, and most non-wool fibers won’t felt. (Other animal fibers like Alpaca, Llama, and Angora technically can felt, but not as readily and I haven’t tested them, so I don’t suggest them for this pattern. I’d be interested in hearing back if someone has success with one of those fibers!)

Resources: I find yarnsub.com to be useful as a starting point when I’m comparing yarns, but you should be aware that it has its limitations. For example, it tends to lump all types of plying into one category: “plied,” without considering the number of plies or how they are organized. It’s not a substitute for a knitter’s eye and intellect when comparing yarns.

Another tried-and-true option for substituting yarn is to check projects other knitters have made and see what yarns they used. I do remind you, though, that it’s important to look at the end results. Not every project turns out well, and it’s worth checking not just that a certain yarn was used, but whether it was used successfully.

With a little forethought, your yarn substitution adventures can result in lovely projects made from yarn that suits your taste and needs. I’d love to hear about your successes!