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Yarn substitution question

I am thinking of making a pattern from the book Knit 2 Together by Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark. It's a cool-looking doctor bag style purse and the stitch is a herringbone. The pattern uses Manos del Uruguay yarn, which I simply cannot afford at $12.50 per skein because it calls for 7 skeins. From what I can gather, Manos del Uruguay yarn calls for being knitted with

9 needles to get a gauge of 4 sts per inch. So this is a heavy worsted or chunky yarn, right? Furthermore, the knitting pattern also indicates that two strands are held together throughout the project, and they knit on 11 needles to get a gauge of 4 stitches per inch. (16 sts and 28 rows = 4"). Do you suppose that I could substitute a worsted weight yarn and just hold 2 or 3 strands of it together instead? I already have some nice worsted wool in my stash. I always get so confused when it comes to substituting yarns. I know it's not just a matter of getting the same gauge, but also the same texture or hand of the knitted fabric for the finished project to be successful.

Any suggestions or advice would be welcome! :-)

lisa waiting to win the lottery so I can fill my house with expensive yarn and fabric...

Reply to
Karlisa
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You'll need to swatch, especially if the bag is fulled after knitting. Make the swatch, measure it, full it, measure it again, then remath the pattern if necessary.

If it isn't fulled do whatever you have to do to produce fabric suitable for the project - gauge for bags isn't critical, as you may imagine ;D

Reply to
WoolyGooly

By all means you can substitute whatever gets you the sts/inch needed. You can use two strands of worsted, or even one of bulky to get the gauge.

sue

Reply to
suzee

Lisa,

I do not have any personal experience with Manos but I have heard that the yarn sold by eBay seller 100purewool is a good substitute. I have bought several skeins from this company and it is so soft and comes in great colors. It is shipped from Uraguay so you may have to wait a little longer than normal to get it but when it arrives you get a very cool-looking foreign stamp-covered little log in your mailbox!

Here is the website:

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Reply to
Laura J

Reply to
fiberlicious

The online store handpaintedyarn.com has the Malabrigo clone, as does an ebay shop -

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Reply to
suzee

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