Yarn substitute pt. 1

Last year, I wanted to make a sweater, yeah, don't ask me what came over me. But I wanted to make this awesome looking sweater. So I spent the money and bought the pattern. Once I got to study the pattern, I realize (and sorta expected) that they will pimp their own yarn.

The issue is a skein cost $28, and they need at least 3 skeins. So then you started to do the math. I can go to Ann Taylor and buy a sweater for $10 on clearance (that really happened), or get a sweater about $40 at Banana Republic or some online sites. Versus $84 to buy the yarn, don't mind the shipping and what nots. You still have to spend the time to make the pieces and put it together. This is truly a labor of love.

So, I decided that I need to substitute yarn, except I don't really know how. After much research, here's what I found and want to share w/ you.

1, Find out the gauge ~ Personally, when I crochet, I don't mind too much about the gauge. To me, working on amigurumis it's very natural that if you want something thick and chunky, use thick and chunky yarn. If you want to make something tiny, then use thin yarn or crochet thread.

When it comes to knitting a garment, guage matters. The type of yarn, your tension, and all that effects the gauge. Generally speaking, your yarn should say what type of gauge it yields. That is, knitting per inch (usually in stocknette stitch). So on the yarn label, it should state, X amount of stitches per inch; given that you use the recommended needle size.

More on subbing yarn, Friday!