I saw this "Stash Busting Afghan" (http://web.archive.org/web/20051222161048/http://www.charitablecrafters.org/Tesselating+Fish.htm) and thought it was a great idea.

http://web.archive.org/web/20051222161048/http://www.charitablecrafters.org/fish1.jpg

It reminds me of a quilt, which begs the question.........can different yarns be used in such an afghan? In quilting we are supposed to stick to the same fabric throughout (usually 100% cotton, or blends, or silk, etc.) simply because they wear out at different rates, and if you don't in a few years, your silks might all be worn while your cottons are hanging tough.

So, in such an afghan, do you HAVE to stick to the same type of yarn too? I know weight should be the same, otherwise, one fish might not fit in its place, but what about yarn content?

Just curious, and wanted to share the pattern.

I think different yarns can be used to create a neat textural afghan. The main consideration especially in a pattern like that I would think would be yarn gauge and weight. Plus you need to consider the washability of the yarn. One of my knitting buddies just told me someone had washed her grandmother's afghan not knowing that it was wool.. :wall: It felted. Just a thought.

I would also consider adding a backing (cloth) like in quilting to give the more delicate fish some support. then maybe use a bit of the embroidery floss tie technique to connect the two layers.

Schaefer yarn puts together some very beautiful Afghan kits that incorporate a wide variety of yarns. I saw one made up in my LYS and have collected the yarn I need to make one but have not yet started. They use a Feather and Fan pattern or a ripple pattern and the different fibers work quite nicely together.

I would be concerned with the fish pattern however, it appears that the fish need to fit together fairly precisely in this pattern and you might have difficulty doing that with different weights. If your weights are the same but the yarn different I think it would work.

I have also thought about make a patchwork square afghan with different fibers. You could make squares using th estandard dishcloth pattern and just make each square the same size, the fiber would determine the number of rows and stitches.

I have about 7 different "types" of Schaeer yarn just waiting for the PERFECT design!!!

I would just make sure that you wash it by hand and in cold water if you use different kinds of yarn. The combination of eyelash, wool, silky, boucle and whatever else you put in there will make it a textural feast!