I received a question from Vanessa, who asked if I could recommend other yarns for knitting Sweetgum Duncan. When I knit, I almost always substitute the recommended yarn for something more economical. The Queensland Soft Wave cotton I used was purchased at WEBS for pretty cheap, making the sweater cost no more than $30. That being said, if you live in another country, or prefer to shop locally, you'll probably need to find a suitable replacement. While I don't have any particular brands I will recommend, since I have not worked extensively with anything similar, I can give you some ideas of how to look.
Queensland Soft Wave is 100% cotton, DK/8 ply, and has a bit of a wavy texture. I chose this because I wanted to work in a natural warm weather fiber that had had a bit of texture. It would be completely acceptable to use a smoother yarn--this would give you better stitch definition, and a slightly different overall appearance.
One great way to find yarns to substitute is to use Ravelry's yarn browser. You can click on your desired fibers (in this case perhaps cotton, bamboo, hemp and linen), your desired weight (DK/8ply) and then see what you find. You should be able to see from the picture (or in person) if the yarn is textured or more smoothly plied. You can click on the image above for a better view of Soft Wave's texture.
3 comments:
Thank you so much for this Meghan,
I did see the wool available at Webs, but if i buy from the States, then I get hammered with the tax when it arrives here in the U.K. And the Queensland yarn isn't available here in the U.K. I must admit, I do like to support my local yarn shop, so when I went there for my knitting group meet last night, I had a look to see what they had. I'm thinking of going for the Patons Diploma Gold in DK. It doesn't have the texture of the Queensland, it's smooth, but I'm hoping it will do the job nicely. What do you think of my choice of substitute?
Thanks again for tackling this question.
Vanessa x
1824 cotton has the same texture but it is a lot pricier.
I love this sweater! If I knew how to knit this would be a definite to-do for me. I've featured it on my blog :)
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