Right gauge, wrong yarn?

[Picknit]

Hi,
I have a pattern for a sweater I love ( It is on the cover of Hollywood Knits Style by Suss Cousins, the one with the zippers)
It is in Suss Bomull a 4ply cotton, gauge: 16 stitches = 4 " on 6mm needles,
My problem is I can't get that yarn in Australia, I have found a 5ply acrylic cotton mix and I have done a swatch and it came out the right size. But it looks loose and open weave surely this can't be a wrong subsitute.

PLEASE HELP !!

[brittyknits]

Here's what I'm thinking may be the issue: I went on Amazon and took a look at the cover of the book as an enlarged image. It does look like a fairly tight fabric. At 4 sts per inch on 6mm needles, that means it's a fairly substantial yarn, almost an Aran weight. So what may be going on is that "ply" is different in the US. Worsted weight is often refered to as 4-ply in America, where as that is a very thin yarn in the UK, and I would imagine maybe also in Oz. Can you find a cotton or cotton mix which is closer to a worsted weight or Aran weight?

[suzeeq]

You'd want a thicker yarn; the guage for that yarn - http://sussdesigns.com/knittingSite/....php?prodID=28 - would put it at about 8 ply in your system. Or maybe 10 - we'd call it worsted weight. The 4 ply referred to in the pattern isn't the same as your 4 ply.

[Picknit]

OOPS didn't know about the ply thing, Would it work out if I used two strands of this yarn together and try out different needle sizes?
The yarn I was going to use is Sullivans Cotone but it doesn't say how many yards per ball?

[suzeeq]

It may work out doubled, you'll just have to try it out and see how it looks.

[ozhulagal]

I'm in Australia too and would suggest using Bendigo's 10 ply cotton. A great Aussie product at a good price
http://www.bendigowoollenmills.com.au/