Ideas for DK weight yarn that won't break my bank

hartleystudio · 05-12-2009, 01:28 PM

Hi! I'm wanting to knit this:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/libr...-cropped-cardi

but I'm realizing that all the yarns I like to work with will be too much money for me to chance on a garment. I have knit a few,...let's call them sweaters, in the past and they have been miserable failures. Now, I'm a better knitter now and know the importance of gauge and needle size now but there's really no guarantee. I don't want to sink $100+ on a sweater that might be horrible once it's done. That being said, I don't want to waste my time on a yucky cheap yarn either.

SO,...What affordable yarns in DK weight are out there? I'm looking to spend about $50 on this. I need about 1300 yards. What would work well for this pattern? I'm sick of socks and scarves and want a challenge for the summer. I really like natural fibers but they don't have to be 100%.

Thanks for your help!!

Lucy78green · 05-12-2009, 06:49 PM

I would go for a blend, not as nasty as 100% acrylic and still has wool in it, should wash ok and feel good, but wont break the bank. I don't know what yarns are available near you though, but you can look at the yarn ideas page on the Ravelry pattern page and it tells you what other people used.

imrachel · 05-12-2009, 07:06 PM

100% acrylic is not always "nasty", and some of us can't wear anything but! But you might be happy with Encore DK, which is 75% acrylic and 25% wool, washable, of course, and usually found for less than $4 per 150 yd skein.

cftwo · 05-12-2009, 07:51 PM

If you want a cotton, Wildflower DK is nice and reasonably priced. It has some pretty colors, too. http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=346

I haven't used Brown Sheep's cotton yarn, but it looks affordable, too: http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=595

I've also been intrigued by Lion's cotton bamboo yarn: http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/yar...rnPage=1694608

Ingrid · 05-12-2009, 08:37 PM

You could also check out Plymouth Encore dk--a nice acrylic/wool blend in tons of colors.

ArtLady1981 · 05-13-2009, 07:27 PM

IMHO, Elann.com has the some of the best prices for yarn!

You can always find a quality, affordable yarn at Elann.
Many brands, weights, colors, etc!

They also run 50% sales on top of that! And full bag sales, too!

hartleystudio · 05-14-2009, 01:32 AM

Thanks all! I will look into all these suggestions. There are tons of DK yarns on Ravelry but I got really tired of looking them all up, only to find that they were over my budget for this project.

I'll let you know what I turn up, just to see if anyone has any thoughts about it!

Vertigo1414 · 05-15-2009, 04:21 AM

i was just on elann.com and i found a dk weight yarn for under $2 a skein! it's 100% cotton and has a ton of colors. i ordered 3 balls myself

yay for yarn shopping

candicane · 05-15-2009, 04:54 AM

Ohhh that is cute! I just added it to my queue. I have some Knitting Fever Angora Extra that I might swatch for it.

If you don't mind mail order, check out littleknits.com. They are based in seattle and have excellent prices, quality yarns and great customer service. I am lucky enough to be able to call them my LYS. Tell them Candice sent you.

I am sure they have some DK for you!

hartleystudio · 05-15-2009, 01:24 PM

I thought about cotton but I'm afraid it won't work for this pattern. I don't think it's stretchy enough. I don't know. What do ya'll think? I'm super bad at choosing yarn for garments. All of my choices have been abysmal failures. Do you think this sweater will work with cotton yarn? I *really* wanted to use Malabrigo wool/silk blend but that's super over budget. If I knit it once and it makes me look like a supermodel THEN we knit it with the $$$$$ yarn!!