YARN SUBSTITUTION: THE LITTLE CHUNKY ONE
Sometimes you find a stunning pattern but you either don't have the right yarn for it or you want to use something else. Thats where our Yarn Sub Series comes in! We'll be exploring the different yarn combinations you can use to substitute within our own pattern range.
In this blog we'll be exploring The Little Chunky One yarn sub options for our Chunky patterns.
WHAT DO I NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHEN SUBSTITUTING YARNS?
So there are a few point to consider when substituting yarn. Let's break them down:
- The yarn weight - We would recommend sticking as close to the yarn weight as possible
- Always do a gauge swatch, this is even more important when substituting yarn as you may need to change the size of the tools you're using.
- The fibre, this can affect the drape of the garment and how easy it is to care for it.
- Then how much of the subbed yarn you'll need
Once you know how it opens a world of possibilities!
YARN WEIGHT - LETS DISCUSS...
Most yarns will have a yarn weight name; double knit, chunky, 4-ply etc. (these can have different names depending on where you are in the world). So your first stop is to look at substituting a like for like yarn, for example if the pattern calls for a super chunky yarn, then do not try to substitute with a 4-ply yarn.
Making sure to stick within the yarn weight categories, there can still be variances - Not all Chunky Yarns are created equally! So a good way to measure this more accurately is the meterage per 100g.
For example The Little Chunky One has a meterage of 150m per 100g.
You can also check the gauge that is detailed on the yarn band to see if there is a match with the patterns recommended yarn. However we would always recommend doing a gauge swatch in your own knitting or crochet tension before diving straight into the pattern.
For more info on gauge and tension read our blog post here.
Another thing to seriously consider is the fibre of the recommended yarn. Because this can affect how the garment drapes, fits and the practicality of it too. For example a cotton yarn will likely have more drape than an acrylic yarn.
HOW TO CALCULATE THE QUANTITY...
In an ideal world you would use the meterage of the pattern to calculate how much yarn you need. However the reality is that most patterns don't detail this and will usually state either grams or number of balls you need.
The first thing to work out is how many balls the patterns states you need and how much these yarn balls weigh. Then look at how many metres long the recommended yarn is.
Once you have this information you can work out the meterage of yarn you need to complete your project.
Then divide the total number of metres by the metres per ball of your new yarn. This will tell you how many balls you need.
SO THE LITTLE CHUNKY ONE...
We've done the work so you don't have to (apart from that pesky gauge swatch) but here are some examples of yarns that perfectly substitute for The Little Chunky Oneusing our own Chunky patterns.
Firstly let's look at the facts, the recommended yarn for our Chunky patterns is a chunky weight yarn, with 150 metres per 100g. So we want to stick as close to that as possible .
But we also want to be a little bit experimental, so what if we wanted to use a DK weight yarn? Well we would need to use multiple strands to equate to a Chunky yarn.
IT'S GIVING AUTUMN...
How about 2 strands of DK yarn instead of one strand of Chunky?
We tested our own brand 'The DK One' held double as a substitute for our 'The Little Chunky One' yarn and it worked so well (with some adjustments). To work out the meterage we took 290 metres and divided it by 2, this gave us 145 metres, which is 5 metres less than our The Little Chunky One. So we knew an adjustment would be required.
To calculate your yarn quantity, take the metres required for your size or pattern, then divide this by the meterage of the DK yarn you wish to use. If you want to use 2 multiple colours like we have suggested then you will need to divide again by 2 and round up to the nearest whole number.
Recommendations for trying this would be to size up (if you don't want to block), or to block the piece to allow the fibres to relax and meet the required measurements.
🧶Colours: Ecru and Cream.
The Sophie Sweater Vest - The DK One held double
