substitution chart?

[escomyluv]

Does anyone know of some kind of substitution chart where you can see what yarns can be used in place of other yarns? You know, so you don't have to buy the really expensive yarn if you don't have to or if all you have is Walmart to buy from without going out of town. Since I'm new to knitting, I still don't understand the yarn that good.

[Mirl56]

www.yarndex.com should help you.

You can look up the yarn specifications you are supopsed to use, then compare with other yars in similar weight groups.

[fibrenut]

Hiya luv,
You can go here to this site hun, www.yarndex.com and then look for the yarn you are wanting to sub. There it will tell you the weight of the yarn and the gauge or tension, which are very important when you are subbin yarns. Then you can find other similar yarns with the same weight as the one you want to replace.
There are generally 9 weights of yarn, carry-along (very, very light weight, also a lot of novelty yarns fall into this category), lace weight, fingering or sock weight, sport weight, dk or doubleknitting weight, worsted weight (most popular), chunky, and then bulky.
There are some that fall in between or are novelty type yarns. But most yarns can be put into those groups I just mentioned.
The yarndex page will help you find suitable yarns for your projects. You'll want to look for stitches per inch to match up on the same size needles.
And whether or not you want texture or not. (slubs, boucle, thick n thin, fuzzy, etc....)
Hope that helps ya hun.

[Plantgoddess+]

If you also want to see what yarn other people have substituted in a pattern join Ravelry. If it's a pattern available for free or for purchase odds are someone will have entered it on Ravelry. You can look at the pictures they post of the finished object and get an idea what your project may look like.