Please give your opinion on inexpensive yarn for a sweater...

[jnbmom]

I found a pattern for a sweater in a library book. It's a simple pattern that I'm sure I can handle. But I don't want to pay a fortune for yarn. The pattern calls for Karabella Boise (50% cashmere/50% merino) but I really don't care what the content is. In fact, I'd love to be able to machine wash if possible. Just don't want something itchy (which I know is subjective).

I know so little about yarn. I am happy to shop online but have no idea what brand or content to look for. Can you help me?

[suzeeq]

Plymouth Encore and Lion Woolease are acrylic/wool blends that are washable and fairly soft, as well as inexpensive. However, I note that the Boise is a dk weight so they may be a little thick. James Brett marble is a heavier dk, acrylic and semi striping. Look also at knitpicks.com for their dk weight, I think there's a superwash in them.

[Jan in CA]

Plymouth Encore comes in a DK weight and it machine washes beautifully, but I should note that I find it itchy.

I knit a sweater with James C Brett Marble and it comes in DK. It's soft and machine washable and the colors are very pretty!

I'm now knitting a sweater in Berroco Vintage and it seems much softer even though it's actually more wool. It also machine washes well, but it's worsted weight.

[jnbmom]

Thank you so much for your help. I'll look into all of these options. Can't wait to start!