Need help substituting yarn
 

Hello everyone...If you read my post in the "General" thread then you know I have recieved some vintage knitting manuals! I have had a chance to look through some of them and I have found a cabled coat that I ABSOLUTLEY have to make! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
My problem of course is that the yarn used (Unger Cozy) is no longer available since the pattern is from 1975 (it's ALMOST as old as I am.:teehee: ) The gauge for this yarn is 4st and 6 rows = 1" on size 9 needles. I am guessing this is a SUPER BULKY (6) yarn. I have researched on Lionbrand.com and have decided that I do NOT want to use Jiffy Thick and Quick. But i did find that Pound of Love has a gauge of 4.75st and 6 rows =1" on size 8 needles. My QUESTION: do you think that if I use a size 9 needles with the Pound of Love yarn that i would get the right gauge? Thanks in advance for any advice and answers!

No it's not super bulky, that's only 4 sts per inch on size 9s, not 2½ per inch on size 11s. It's a heavy worsted/aran weight. I think the pound of love should work out about right.

Pound of love should work, but I wouldn't just go with the 9s-- I'd swatch and make sure whatever you end up using gets the right gauge, no matter what sizre needle it takes to get there. The other thing is that without seeing the pattern, a cabled coat in worsted weight is going to be a fairly good sized project. Meaning, you want to be sure you really like the result after all that work. Pound of love is not the highest quality yarn. There are some other worsteds out there (just make sure it's a number 4) that have a better feel to them that you might want to check out.

yarn subs
 

Sandy,
After I posted I thought about that (the quality of yarn). I just happen to have a few skeins of the pound of love on the shelf, it must have been on sale! LOL What would you suggest for yarn? I am on a budget so I have to watch what I spend!

Go ahead and use that yarn, but it's a good idea to see if you can match the gauge on 8s, 9s, whatever it takes.

I'm not sure if suzeeq had a reason for suggesting doing that, but I personally wouldn't. Here's the thing-- the original yarn got 16 sts = 4". The usual worsted (such as Pound of Love) are a little finer than that. They are supposed to give you 18 - 20 sts per 4". That will change the drape of the fabric. There are 2 which are not too expensive ones and are intended to get 15 sts = 4", so much closer to the original idea for your pattern. They are
1. Patons' Shetland Chunky and Shetland Chunky Tweed (wool/acrylic blend)
2. Bernat Natural Blends Alpaca (alpaca/acrylic)

I said to try it out and see how the gauge turns out. She's already got that yarn, might as well see how it does over the pattern stitch; may turn out just fine.

Would the yarns you suggest get the gauge on size 9s, or be too stiff? Those are really thick for that size needle. The original yarn is an aran weight, not a bulky one and I think the pound o love just might work great.

Hmmmm. . .well, first of all, I mixed up Caron's One Pound with Lionbrand's Pound of Love. The LB is much nicer than Caron's. My bad. I was concerned that the quality of yarn wouldn't be a match for all the work a cabled coat would take, in addition to the gauge issue. But still-- when I looked up "4" yarns, they were suggesting anywhere from 17 - 20 sts per 4 inches. But when I looked at "5" yarns, some of them were 15 sts per inch, closer to the original Unger Cozy, which was 16 sts per inch. I didn't find anything not-too-expensive which was exactly the recommended 16.

I would definitely take your (suzeeq) suggestion of trying the P of L and seeing if you (lovemyknitting) like it, but if not, try those others. My one other suggestion would be to make a pretty big swatch, and also to try a fairly good sized swatch with the actual cable patterns. You want to see how the fabric drapes.

thank you and GOOD news
 

Sandy & Suzeeq,
Thank you BOTH for all your suggestions. :muah: I decided to do a swatch with the Pound of Love yarn on size 9 needles to see how it was going to come out. I did a swatch 12" long by 19"wide because the directions in the pattern said to do a swatch gauge that big....it was A LOT of work but I am glad I did it. The swatch came out to be 4.25 stitches to one inch which is ALMOST perfect since the original gauge was 4 st=1in. For now I am going to go with this yarn. BUT.......I just found out I am getting quite a bit of money back from my taxes...so yarn shops here I come! I am planning on buying LOTS of knitting supplies! An early valentines, mother's day, and birthday present to myself! LOL :woot: Again thank you both it is much appreciated! :hug:

Wait, that's too much difference which is not 'almost perfect'. A ¼ st per inch over 20 inches is a difference of 5" So you need to use a larger needle, or make a bigger size.