debbie bliss yarn substitutions

[airedale]

hello

I want to knit childrens jumpers using db patterns and the wool is baby cashmerino and merino aran, too expensive for me (2children and 1 baby) any recommendations for cheaper wools. By the way, I never do a tension square. thanks.

if you never do a tension square you'll find it hard to successfully substitute things that need to fit (i.e. not blankets).

with adult clothing the fibre content as well as the gauge matters as it contributes to drape etc., but tbh with kids stuff i think it's mostly too small to matter. obv depends what you're happy to work with - i knit/crochet purely for pleasure so i use yarns which feel good to work with with for me means natural fibres.

Knit a tension square and save the cost of a wasted jumper! I never understand why people don't knit tension squares and then complain something doesn't fit, for the sake of half an hour.

Anyway... there is no substitute for baby cashmerino, it's a unique size of yarn. 4 ply is thinner, double knitting is thicker. If you want to substitute you will need to do horrific maths or take a chance on a size bigger or smaller.

From experience it does wash and wear beautifully though, so maybe worth a teeny investment?

All Debbie's Aran yarns on the other hand, are standard weight and should interchange with "normal" Aran yarn, if you peer closely at the ball band you should see a little diagram saying 5mm needles and 18sts to 10cm, then you are onto a good thing.

Just thinking, you may get away with a very fine/soft Baby double knitting such as Sirdar Snuggly DK, knitted on 3.25mm needles, to sub for Baby Cashmerino. Er.. you would need to do a tension square!

its worth shopping around for db yarns, you can sometimes get a bargain on ebay.

db yarns are lovely to use, and worth the investment, I think. if you make the item for your eldest, with a bit of care you can recycle it for the younger children...

you can always unravel the square if you're worried about wastage.

Dear all

I usually use the correct wool and dbs yarns are nice as you say but i was looking to save a little. I should do a tension square iknow, but i have been lucky so far ! This is my first "go" on mumsnet andI really appreciate your speedy help.

I've given up doing tension squares because the pattern isn't tailored to the child. In fact I find Debbie Bliss stuff too short and wide for DS so knit the next size up in length. So far so good! Don't have time/patience to knit adults sizes.

DB yarns are lovely (especially the colours) but any decent shop or department selling yarns will be able to suggest some alternatives.

Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino is expensive but it is lovely to knit with and washes and wears really well.

I can't think of a substitute that isn't just as expensive although I did strike lucky with some cotton yarn in Lidl once.

Agree that it is worth it as anything you knit will be good enough for several children (the Baby Cashmerino, that is, the Aran is too loosely spun and it bobbles).

Tension square essential if substituting yarn IMO, not so relevant if you tend to knit true to gauge and are using the correct yarn.

I have been using Merino DK which is certainly as soft and have used a smaller pair of needles to cover the tension side of it and it has worked well for me. It has worked out at just under £2 cheaper per ball.

You can often get some Debbie Bliss yarn reasonably on ebay. It is always more expensive, but she's tricksy like that, not using a substitutable yarn (is that even a word?!).

I just pop Baby Cashmerino in the search box and change the list to be sorted by lowest Price and P&P first.

But you will save even more by knitting a dreaded tension square and adjusting needle sizes. TBH I don't usually bother with them either, and if I do I'm so lazy that I spend ages sitting there working out a way to make it less work. 'So, if 22 stitches make 4 inches, what would 1 inch be...?'

And I agree with bluechampagne - Debbie Bliss sizes are always too short!

I have had some Baby cashmerino relatively cheaply from hejhog - free delivery over £24 too. It's my new favourite place for yarn and pattern books.

Delivery tends to be rather slow (my last couple of orders have taken over a week to arrive), but v good value and packed beautifully. They do a good variety of posh and cheaper stuff - Artesano to King Cole.

I do sometimes look at the pattern on Ravelry and look at the tab yarn ideas, you can see the alternative yarns other's have used for this pattern in particular. Sometimes this backfires and people have used more pricey yarns, but it's sometimes a good gauge as to what knits up well.

I had some good priced debbie bliss from black sheep a few months ago.