Yarn definitions

[DFEgypt]

Dear All,
I am new here and happy to have found you!
I live in Egypt, am a relatively competent knitter, but have to rely on free downloadable patterns for the kind of thing I want to knit. I can get a limited selection of yarns, needles etc, but with the yarns of course I can never get exactly the right one.

My latest project is an afghan/lap throw which calls for "worsted weight acrylic yarn". There is nothing in the shops here that says "worsted" on the label, and as the pattern gauge is with 2 strands of yarn held together I am at a bit of a loss where to start!

Any suggestions on what might work instead of "worsted"? The sample project on the pattern was knitted with Red Heart Classic (100% acrylic) from Coats and Clark on 9mm needles. I would be happy to use something other than acrylic as well.

TIA

[GrumpyGramma]

Hi, and welcome to KH.

This isn't a technically correct answer, but I would start by looking at the gauge given in the pattern and see what I have or is available for purchase that would give me the same number of stitches over the inches or centimeter specified. Worsted weight yarn is pretty thick and worked as a single strand gives 4-5 stitches per inch. Here's a Yarn Comparison Chart that might be helpful.