Having received my IK Fall edition, I like several patterns but they work out expensive in the yarns chosen. For example: Sienna Cardigan (http://www.interweave.com/knit/interweave_knits/Galleries/bonus/fall_2006/sienna1.asp) uses 9 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted which equates to £91 in real money. Can anyone suggest a cheaper alternative or even let me know the easiest way to find a substitute as I never seem to be able to put the right "keywords" into Google to get the result I want.
I'm also confused by the grammage to metreage in the magazine (100yds [92m]/100g) because if you compare it to one of the alpaca yarns available in the UK (http://www.ukalpaca.com/)(A 100g ball is approximately 265 metres) then I would only need 3 balls at 100g by my reckoning. :help:

What I tend to do when looking for substitute yarns is make a note of the things you probably do already: fibre content, weight (DK etc), required gauge, and then browse around the usual shops (Get Knitted, McA etc) until I find something suitable.

I also tend to have a look at Yarndex, though it can be annoying because being an American site, it does tend to be heavy with mostly US yarns.

As for the meterage/weight issue, are you sure you're comparing exactly the same types of yarn? That's a huge difference in the length of yarn you get for 100g if they're both worsted weight with a comparable gauge.

I'll have a look and see if I can find an alternative. I'm still looking for an alternative for someone on another thread, so don't hold your breath :lol: .

When I'm choosing a substitute I check the needle size first. 0.5mm won't really make a difference. Then check the stitches on the tension square. American yarns use 4 inches and European 10cm to the tension square. It's the same thing.

If the stitches are the same check the rows. If they're not the same that's ok;if your pattern tells you to "continue straight until pattern measures..." just work to that length. (If it's a row by row pattern, though I doubt it from the picture, the rows must be the same. Unless it's a scarf.)

Fibre content is not that important, you can swap wool, or a wool mix for alpaca;though the texture will be different it'll still look nice. Just don't substitute cotton for wool and all will be fine. (You can do this if you crochet though.)

Hope this helps, makes sense, and is not telling you stuff you already know!

...Fibre content is not that important, you can swap wool, or a wool mix for alpaca;though the texture will be different it'll still look nice. Just don't substitute cotton for wool and all will be fine. (You can do this if you crochet though.) ...
I disagree with that to a certain extent. Fibre content can make a significant difference to the drape of the finished fabric. The addition of cotton to give a wool/cotton mix, for example, will give the resulting fabric a little more stiffness and a little less flexibility. You also might get a different coziness, for want of a better word, if you substitute a wool mix for alpaca.

Oh, I'm not saying the finish will be the same, just that if you find another yarn you like in the right tension range and the fibre content isn't an exact match, you will still end up with a nice finished item. :thumbsup:

I forgot to say earlier grammage and meterage are not equivalent. Always go by the meterage. Multiply the metres per ball in the recommended yarn by the number of balls needed; this gives you the total length of yarn you need. Then divide the answer by the metres per ball in the substitute yarn and round up to the next whole number; that'll give you the number of balls you need.

Thanks knitbird that's what I did. I've ordered some Debbie Bliss Maya to work the pattern, no alpaca but still wool. Hope the finished item is ok.

Oh, I'm not saying the finish will be the same, just that if you find another yarn you like in the right tension range and the fibre content isn't an exact match, you will still end up with a nice finished item. :thumbsup: ...
I agree :) . It's just that as you're buying the yarn with a pattern in mind, and you have a specific idea of what you want the finished item to look like (ie hopefully exactly how it looks in the photo), if the fibre content is off, you might end up with a bit of a surprise on your hands. For example, that drapey bit you like so much in the picture might end up more sticky out than floaty, and the lovely sheen might be absent or significantly reduced if you substitute a cheaper wool for merino.

Well, as I said I had gone for the Debbie Bliss Maya instead of the Blue Sky Alpaca. It doesn't have the same softness that an alpaca mix would have but I have managed to get the right guage so I cast on (http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i217/turra21/Sienna-1.jpg)this morning. I hope the collar will sit ok when I get to it.

Edit: The colour is more of a pale duck egg blue than the grey it looks in the photo.

I really like the look of the Maya, especially the way it varies in thickness along the length. Duck egg blue is one of my favourite colours at the minute (especially with a milk chocolate brown), so I'm looking forward to seeing how Sienna comes along :) .

Hecate, Have you used Maya before? or are you very observant and saw the varying thickness in the picture:suspect: That's right it does range from thick to thin but that seems to give it character in the knitting. I finished the back yesterday and am quite pleased with it, I can start the fronts this week time allowing!

Hecate, Have you used Maya before? or are you very observant and saw the varying thickness in the picture:suspect: That's right it does range from thick to thin but that seems to give it character in the knitting. I finished the back yesterday and am quite pleased with it, I can start the fronts this week time allowing!
No, I haven't used it before, but I did a search to see if I could find the duck egg blue shade. That took me to the Debbie Bliss official site (http://www.debbieblissonline.com/yarn/maya.htm), where there are some really good closeups of the yarn.

The shade number is 13, if that helps!

The shade number is 13, if that helps!
Ah, I thought it might be that one when I saw it on the Get Knitted site. It's a lovely colour. Very like the shade of Cashmerino Aran I used for the first pair of Fetchings.