I have been wanting to knit Coccoon from rowan classic landscape. I require 24 balls of RYC alapca soft (http://www.getknitted.com/acatalog/copy_of_Spring_Summer_2006.html#aRY_2fAS_2fAW06). Unfortubnately its going to cost me £119to knit, and I really can't justify the cost. I do have options, like purchasing a few balls every couple of weeks, and asking the yarn store to hold back enough balls from the same dye lot. But ultimately I need a substitute yarn.

The pattern requires you knit on 6mm needles for the main part, and swith to 5mm for the border.
I'm not very clever when it comes to substitue yarns, so I would really apperciate some help if you dont mind?
I'm looking for some other yarns, but not getting very far. Here re the details for alpaca. 50% alpaca 50% cotton, 55m/50g ball, 12sts and 17 rows to 10cm
Dont know if this (http://www.mcadirect.com/shop/product_info.php/cPath/21_33_41/products_id/116) would be any good?
I'm really stuck!

I'll look into it and see what I can find.

When you're trying to find a substitute yarn, the main things to consider are:

- the fibre content and mix
- the specified tension of the pattern and the yarn.

The first factor will affect the look and feel of the knitted fabric - it's drape, flexibility, thickness, warmth etc. You can get away with some variation (for example slightly different percentages of each type of fibre in the mix), but if you go too far away from that specified in the pattern, the resulting garment might not have the look and feel that the designer intended.

The tension is very important. The RYC is 12sts and 17 rows to 10cm, while the Patons Washed Haze Aran is 19sts and 25 rows to 10cm; it's a lot thinner yarn, so it probably wouldn't work for Cocoon. The important tension figure is that specified not on the yarn ball band, but in the pattern itself (which might be slightly different from what it says on the yarn due to the use of different needle sizes etc).

The first thing to check in your substitute yarn is that its tension matches (or nearly matches) the tension of the pattern. You can get away with a wee bit of variation, as you might be able to use a slightly different diameter needle to achieve the pattern tension. Unfortunately, it does involve some experimentation with knitting up tension squares with different needles, which is time-consuming and rather tedious.

Right, I've done some initial searching. I can't find anything at all with the specified fibre content (50:50 alpaca:cotton) at an appropriate tension. So, I've done a search for yarn of similar tension, though not necessarily the same fibre content.

I've found Elle Monet (http://www.art-of-craft.co.uk/acatalog/elle_Knitting_Yarns.html). It looks very similar to the RYC alpaca/cotton, though it's entirely acrylic and is probably a little more of a boucle texture.

Can I suggest that if you like the look of it, and the colours (which seem to be variagated and not plain), you buy one ball of it as well as one ball of the RYC. You could knit up a largeish tension square of each to see how they compare.

There appears to be an offer on the Elle Monet both here (http://www.angelyarns.com/elle/knit.php/yarn/705) and here (http://www.cpu-enterprises.com/elle/yarn/others-monet-x.htm).

Remember though that this might not be ideal, and you certainly won't get the warmth associated with alpaca. I can't stress enough that whatever yarn you choose to substitute, you should think about buying a test ball to see how it compares with the original.

I'll keep looking to see if I can find anything better :) .

OOh thank you for your help. I'll have a good look at those.
The pattern tension is the same, 12 st, 17 rows on 6mm.
Edit: I've decided to use the alpaca. I've emailled McA, and my local LYS, to see if either one will be willing to but the bulk aside for me, so I can purchase it bit by bit.

Don't know if this will help you, I'm new to this forum, so if anyone's already told you, I'm sorry, but most Rowan, Jaeger and RYC yarns in the same weight will substitue exactly for each other. Jaeger's the cheapest, and Cole bros will order in any that they don't stock in store. If you do go with the substitute, make sure you check your yardage, or you can end up with the wrong amount of yarn v,easily.

Hope this is helpful. :)

I've already checked the tensions and the Alpaca is one of the few that dont knit to the same tension as the rest.

Thakfully, the lovely people at MCA have said they offer a facility where they will put all your yarn aside for you to purchase as and when you can, so I will be doing this.

I do get 10% off at Get Knitted, but even with this, the postage added on top will make it more cost effective to use MCA as they have free postage on purchases over £5.