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(inspiring tones)

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- Let's say there's a
pattern you found in a book

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for a sweater that you really wanna make.

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Only problem is the yarn
that you're supposed

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to use is 50% angora
and 50% wool, and angora

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makes you really itchy.

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Can you use different
yarn to make the sweater

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or can you use some of the yarn

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that you have already in your stash

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to knit a nice sweater with?

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The answer is, "Of course,
you just gotta follow

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"a couple of rules."

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The first thing to look
for if you're gonna replace

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yarn is to try and
replace a yarn that's wool

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with something else that's
wool or even wool-like

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and yarn that's cotton with something

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that's cotton or cotton-like.

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So if we went to the yarn store together

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and you came over and said,
"Oh, I really like this yarn.

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"Can I make that sweater with this yarn?"

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I would say, "No, that's not a good idea."

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This is cotton yarn and that
sweater is wool and angora.

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And the problem is if you
make it with this yarn

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it might get really saggy.

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Cotton doesn't hold its shape that well.

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It may stretch out and it's gonna be a lot

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heavier and it's not gonna work.

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So you put that one away.

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Next thing to look at is to try to replace

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the yarn that you're
using with another one

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that's of approximately the same gauge.

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Well, this yarn is worsted and I know that

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because I see that it calls for size seven

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and eight knitting
needles, and that's about

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the size of knitting needle that you use

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with worsted weight.

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When you're first
starting out you probably

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won't realize that.

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In that case, just look
the yarn up online.

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On the website for the
yarn or someplace else

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online it will tell you what the weight

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of the yarn is, if it's fingering weight,

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if it's worsted weight.

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And so then you can know that you're on

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the lookout for worsted weight.

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But like I said one of
my tricks is to look

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just at the size of the
needle that the materials

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in the pattern call for and that gives you

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a sense of the yarn.

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So back to the yarn store.

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You come running over and you say,

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"Okay, okay, here's wool.

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"This one's 100% wool, no cotton.

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"Can we use this yarn?

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"And it's worsted weight.

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"Can we use this yarn instead
of the yarn in the pattern?"

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Well, I'd say, "Yeah, it is
wool," and I'd look at it.

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The recommended needle
size for this yarn is nine.

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So that means maybe it's
a little bit heavier

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but the dead giveaway is this.

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On a size nine I'm
supposed to get 16 stitches

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to the inch for four inches and this wants

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me to get 20 stitches to four inches.

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And that's in ribbing, which
is already a compressed thing.

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So I'll never be able to
do that with this yarn

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or if I do and make go
on really small needles

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this fabric is gonna be
so tight that the sweater

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would just be able to stand up on its own.

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So this one's out.

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For the same reason this
one, which is really

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soft and a beautiful yarn and not as heavy

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as the other one, this one is too light.

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The recommended needle size for this yarn

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is three, which is already way smaller

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than the needle that the
pattern is calling for.

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So that already gives
me clue that the gauge

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of this yarn, the weight of this yarn,

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is way lighter than that.

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But I can also see that it says using size

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three needles I should
be getting 25 stitches

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to four inches and that's
just not gonna work

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with this gauge.

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So I'd say, "No, put that one aside.

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"You'll never get the right gauge."

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So then you come over with this one

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and you say, "Okay, it's
wool and it's worsted

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"weight and I think the
gauge is sort of right."

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And sure enough this
yarn says it would get 17

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stitches on size eights.

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You need to get 20
stitches on size sevens.

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You might have to go
down a needle size or two

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but that small of a
difference isn't gonna really

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be noticeable on the fabric.

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You wanna replace it with this yarn

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and so I say, "Yes, let's do it."

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So you replace it with this yarn.

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Now, the pattern, let's say
you're doing a size small.

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The pattern calls for seven
skeins of the original yarn.

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So do I have to get seven skeins of this

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or is seven skeins gonna be enough?

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Do I need more, do I need less?

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In order to figure that out you gotta do

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a pretty simple calculation.

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Now, that original yarn
was 123 yards per skein

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and the pattern told
me to get seven skeins.

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So if I use my calculator
and I multiply 123

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by seven, I get 861.

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So really this pattern
needs 861 yards of yarn.

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It's not so important
how many balls it is.

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It's just important that there's at least

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861 yards of yarn available
for me to make this pattern.

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Now, let's look at the replacement yarn.

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This yarn has 183 yards of yarn in it.

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So if I need 861 for the
project and each ball

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of this yarn has 183, I
have to divide 861 by 183.

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861 divided by 183 is 4.7.

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Well, they don't sell 0.7,
7/10 of a ball of yarn

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so I'm just gonna get five
balls of this new yarn.

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The original pattern called for seven

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but I only need to buy five.

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So now I have the right amount of yarn

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and the right, you know, approximately

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right width, the right fiber.

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I can try to use it in this pattern.

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Now, you found a yarn
that will probably work

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in the pattern.

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It has the right gauge, it
has the right fiber makeup.

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There's one last thing that
you should probably do though.

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And that's to knit up a gauge swatch

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with this yarn, getting the gauge

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that the pattern calls for and then seeing

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if you like that fabric.

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Does it drape well enough, is it too stiff

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because sometimes using different yarn,

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even if its the same
fiber and the same gauge,

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can still give you unexpected results.

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Luckily most yarn stores will take back

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any yarn that you don't need.

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So you can either buy
all of it or just buy one

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and test it out and then buy the rest.

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But this way you can use
whatever yarn you want.