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I'm a beginner and want to crochet a cardigan - stumped on what yarn to use and the expenses that come with it (feddit.de)

submitted 6 months ago by mourningcrows@feddit.de to c/crochet@lemmy.ca

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Hi there! I hope it's ok to ask this here. I've been wanting to crochet an almost floor length cardigan, so I would need a lot of yarn. The pattern said they used a Level 4/Worsted weight yarn and had a gauge of 8 stitches and 6 rows on 4"x4". Now, I can't really find out what equals as worsted weight yarn here in Europe, and the ones I found all feel too thin to achieve that gauge. I've been to a local store where they recommended some cotton yarn and wool to me that should be equal to worsted weight. Now the thing is, they are quite expensive and I still can't get close to that gauge, meaning I would need even more. However, what I found of WW yarn, they all seem to be acrylic and honestly not much cheaper.

So I'm currently a little stumped, am I looking for the wrong things or do I have to face the fact that this cardigan would cost me about 180€ of yarn?

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[–] Lemmine@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for your question. Sure it is okay to ask here, this community needs more active members.

As for your question: I also haven't got a clue about worsted weight yarn as I am from Europe myself. So what I do is look for a similar gauge and buy whatever I like. Works out fine most of the time.

Yarn is expensive in large amounts and wool even more so. So 180€ seems normal-ish for this amount of wool. I am sure you could do cheaper than that but not too much. I would consider making the cardigan from cotton yarn, which is still gonna be expensive but probably less than 180€

Hope I could help!

[–] mourningcrows@feddit.de 1 points 6 months ago

Thank you, this is extremely helpful! I've never made a piece of clothing before, so I have a hard time telling how much it would cost. Even just knowing that this is generally about how much I have to spend is worth a lot! I was looking at cotton before actually, but neither online nor at the store I could really find colors I liked. And since they weren't a lot cheaper, I thought I might as well pay a little more and get a color I really like.

Only the gauge has me really confused. From what I've looked up, I feel like 8sts x 6rows is very little for 10x10cm, with the wool I got for testing I would need twice as much.

[–] TheFlopster@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Google tells me that "#4 Worsted" yarn weight in America equals "Aran" weight in the UK and Europe. Is that helpful?

Also, cotton feels really nice, but it's not going to have the same kind of drape that wool or even acrylic might have, or what I would want in a cardigan. (But you're not me, so...) I've had good luck with superwash wool from Knitpicks. I've made a cardigan and a sweater with it. I spent about $100 US on a booty length cardigan amount of yarn (knit, not crochet, if it matters), so your price quote for floor length seems about comparable.

If you're in the UK, knitpicks.com will ship to you. Doesn't look like they go to Europe though. :(

I hope any of that helps some. Good luck on your cardigan adventure!

[–] StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Google is wrong. Aran is a thicker yarn on average. Worsted is between DK and Aran.

Here’s just the top of the yarn menu from Canada’s largest wool independent store. Wool-Tyme. As we get EU, and UK yarn as well as US, the full range is represented.

Suggest that the OP look through their sizes to see what UK yarns fall under ‘worsted.’

https://wool-tyme.com/collections/yarn

[–] mourningcrows@feddit.de 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

This is a great store, thank you for sharing! And seems like they might also ship to my place (tho probably at horrendous shipping rates, I'll have to check on that hahah) Either way it's good to get an overview of available yarns, so really thanks a lot!

[–] StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website 1 points 6 months ago

Another helpful resource, although very much oriented to knitters and what’s available in the USA only, is https://yarnsub.com/.

If the pattern calls for a specific yarn, and they have it listed (even discontinued yarns), this site can give good guidance on what yarn could be substituted.

[–] mourningcrows@feddit.de 1 points 6 months ago

Thank you so much! Yea unfortunately they don't ship to my place : ( that's like my main problem, I can't seem to get the recommended yarns here. But from what y'all tell me the wool price is about what I have to expect for this project! (and the aran yarn I found isn't much cheaper really)

Tho I have to admit, I have decided to go for a different cardigan now, one that doesn't need as much material 😅 I've used up the wool skein I had to see how much I can make with it, and it turns out I would probably need more like over ~210€ worth of yarn (damn that nice looking floor length hahah). I want to get back to it later tho, when I'm more confident in my crocheting knowledge and have a bit of money on the side!

Thank you for your good luck wishes! When I finish one of the cardigans, I'm happy to share here!

[–] StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

A worsted is a bit finer than an Aran, heavier than a DK.

Knitting with worsted normally gives 20 stitches per 10 cm/4in in stocking stitch. Aran would give 18, DK 22.

With crochet, the hook size and stitch type will make a huge difference. If you use the stated hook with a worsted instead of an Aran weight you’ll have a more open fabric. That may be what you want, especially with a cotton.

Best advice to give is to do a sample of at least 15 by 15 cm / 6 x 6 inches. That will give you a benchmark of the stitch size, the amount of yarn used and the stiffness or drape of the fabric you’re creating.

[–] mourningcrows@feddit.de 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Thank you so much for your help! May I ask, do you see any way to achieve the patterns gauge with 8sts x 6rows on 4"x4" with 6mm hook? It says with front loop stitches, does that actually make a huge difference? I did make a test patch, but had double the gauge size (16sts x 12rows). Now, it looks nice this way, but after using up a whole skein to estimate the needed yarn, I realized it would actually be more than ~210€ worth of it, which just seems so much to me 😅 but that's why I'm asking, I have actually no idea how much is usually needed.

[–] StillPaisleyCat@startrek.website 3 points 6 months ago

Yes, front side of the stiches only will make a significant difference, and a looser fabric.

But it’s also true that as we become more seasoned at crochet our tension will change. If you’re too tight or too loose, definitely do another test swatch with a different hook-size.

Last, while the measurements are for a 4x4” swatch, you really have to have a bigger square to get a true measurement of the tension. The edges do affect things. That’s why, I always go for a 6x6” swatch and measure inside of that.

[–] Nisaea@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 6 months ago

Just wanted to add, don't hesitate to use more than 1 thread of yarn at once. It's really easy to triple your working yarn as you go by pulling big loops from each other. Look it up on YouTube, it's really hard to explain with words but that technique is genius.