Generic yarn substitution site?

How-to Questions
1

Hi all,

I love many of the patterns out there, but usually the suggested yarn’s price is a little (ok, a lot) over my budget. I don’t necessarily have to stick with the mass-market yarns (although, of course, that would be the preferred option); I am ok with “mid-priced” yarns, for example, 150 yds. worsted at no more than $8-$9 per ball/skein/hank…yet still a bit pricey for me.

I know that to [U]properly [/U]substitute yarn, one must match, as closely as possible, the yarn weight, (0-6) fiber content (wool, acrylic, rayon, mohair, metallic, component etc.), texture (plied, single, woven, roving etc.) and gauge. Yardage and ball/skein/hank weight are universally available, so I don’t need to add those to my initial search.

I usually go to Yarndex for [U]all [/U]these parameters, which can be sorted. The problem is that Yarndex only lists the (mostly) higher-end yarns.

Does anyone know of any other site that provides [U]all [/U]of the above criteria, and also has in it’s database the mass-market products? The yarn companies themselves usually only provide yarn weight and fiber content. Thanks in advance,
Andie

2

One of Ravelry’s features is an extensive database. You can find a pattern and see the yarns people have used to knit the same pattern, some of them lower cost ones. But otherwise, I’ve never run across one.

3

Wow, I’ve used Ravelry before, but didn’t know about that particular feature. Thanks so much! :knitting:

4

Yep, on the pattern page, click on the Yarn Ideas button. Or you can look in the projects to see how a particular yarn looks in the pattern.