Is it possible to swap wool in a pattern?

[Kayzr]

My Mum has asked if there is anything in particular I want her to knit for DD1 who is due in June. I have found a gorgeous coat in a Debbie Bliss book. It is absolutely gorgeous.

But it needs 9 balls of Debbie Bliss Bella which is about £5-£6 a ball so works out at about £50 and as much as I love the coat its a lot of money.

So is it possible to swap wool? If it is does anyone know what we could use instead?

Thank you!

you can....just make sure you use the same type, DK etc and check the bit that says how many stitches and rows etc to 10cm or whatever it is

Not sure exactly what could be a good substitute for the Debbie Bliss you mention, but I am sure there will be a cheaper version!

Sirdar baby bamboo has the same meterage as Debbie bliss bella (95m per 50g) and costs £3.27 a ball, it's not the same fibre mixture (it's bamboo/wool rather than cotton/silk/cashmere) but could be a possible substitute.

Also check ebay or similar where you might get the same wool for a cheaper price than your regular wool shop...

What yarn does the coat use, OP?

I'm not all that good with knitting. Is the yarn the wool? If so its Debbie Bliss Bella.

Sorry, missed that in your OP. 9 balls seems like an awful lot for a baby's coat - that's about the amount you'd use for an adult cardigan! It is stripey (or something else that 'wastes' a lot of yarn?) Can you link to the pattern?

Rico baby cotton is only around £2.20/ball (and has MORE yardage!) It's a 50% cotton/50% acrylic mix, knits on 4mm needles and tension is very similar.

Smock Coat I can't find the pattern online but this is the coat. It says 8 on there but the book says 9.

Also the book says the wool is Debbie bliss bella and that says to use cotton cashmere. I am confused.

Sometimes designers 'recycle' their patterns, first putting them in a book and then in a magazine. In the gap between, a yarn may have been discontinued, so they show it in an alternative yarn and republish the pattern. It's not unusual for a garment to be knitted up in more than one yarn over time.

I can see why the coat uses lots of yarn now.

Your mum can substitute yarn. She does needs to make sure the tension of the subsituted yarn matches the one in the pattern. (If your mum's an experienced knitter, she'll know what this means, even if you don't!)

Yes she's very experienced. She's always knitting something or other. So she'll understand.

It's a gorgeous coat!

Not this coat dress then? Apologies if that link takes you behind a login- it's Ravelry, and people put up their projects with the yarn they are using- can be very helpful. Basically when substituting yarns you need to find something that is knitted on the same size needles, and more or less the same length per ball.

Probably this one actually

If you sign up to Ravelry (facebook for knitters), npot only will they have umpteen yarns suggestions for your project but also feedback from other knitters as to how well the yarn swap worked and if any pattern adjustment was needed to improve it.

i always swap for cheaper yarn or yarn that is in stock in my local knitting shop because I get impatient.

I will have a look on there. My local knitting shop is useless. I have no idea how they make any money as you can only buy wool there if you buy the pattern there. I am learning to knit and only wanted a few balls to practice with but I couldn't get any.

Well you'll find Ravelry a big help I'm sure. It also recommends some good online stores. Hulu is great for wool. My local knitting shop, Nest also does online sales.

Also, if you find your nearest Stich N Bitch session, they usually do free knitting practise at their meet ups. The London one is particularly good for this.

Kayzr - do the actually refuse to sell the wool if you come in with your own pattern? That's bonkers!

You can easily swap as long as its the same weight yarn-dk four ply etc. Ask the person in the shop to work out the "yardage" for you. Or-number of balls required by pattern x length of yarn per ball (which is printed in the paper band around the ball of yarn) = yardage. Then divide the yardage for the wool it says to use in the pattern by the length of wool per ball of the yarn you want to use. Sounds complicated but someone in the shop will usually do it for you.

The only other thing is that the texture of the two yarns needs to be roughly the same, otherwise the way the garment hangs will be different. Again ask in the shop. Hth. I bet it duplicates another answer but I wanted to see if I could explain it properly!!

Oeufman I haven't tried that. I went to just buy some wool and needles to practice with and she said I had to buy a pattern, I couldn't just buy any old wool as then people who actually needed it for a pattern wouldn't be able to get what they needed.

Good grief-I've been into loads of wool shops in my time and never come across that! Completely mad!

I can't imagine they make much money but its been there for years so they must do well out of it.