Wool Question

How-to Questions
1

Hello everyone…

I’m looking at a pull over unisex pattern and found that it wanted Fishermans wool 100%… (Course it does that’s thier brand)

now my question is … with WOTA be a good substitute.

The sts per inch I think come out to 1 or 2 more than the pattern says… if I did my math right… but it’s all down to the swatch of course :slight_smile:

Just curious… and if anyone knows of a WOOL blend that would be about the same that would be rocking… :slight_smile:

This is the wool I was looking at: http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/yarn_display.aspx?itemid=5420103

I’m sure you KP gals know it…

2

Fisherman’s wool is the same as Aran wool, I believe. It’s a bit heavier. If you adjust your needles for gauge, though, WOTA could work fine.

3

Yeah that’s what I thought… seemed to look the same, I think it’s a bit cheaper… I havne’t priced the fishermans wool yet…

And I figure it’s all gauge :slight_smile: But it’s pretty close so I thought that if I guaged down it would probably work a bit… :slight_smile: we’ll see how it goes…

4

Okay… so here help me on my math…

Fisherman Wool is 16 sts/4 inches (about 4sts per inch) at 475yd a skien

Now WOTA is about 110yd a skien at 4.5 sts / inch (which is pretty close) so I’m going to assume that to get the amount needed, Lion says 4 balls of fisherman, that I would need to get 16 balls of WOTA… is that correct?

Which is still a hefty sum, about 6 bucks cheaper than Fisherman…

Is there something that is a wool blend that might be cheaper to try? Does anyone have a suggestion on a blend. Only reason I ask is this is my first sweater and spending that much to make a lump would be a bad idea… :slight_smile: But I like the colors of the WOTA yarn… :slight_smile:

Thanks for all the help

5

I have made numerous sweaters from Plymouth Encore, a few that were cabled for the boys. I have to say that they look good, and wash and dry great.

The Encore, at retail goes for about $5 for 220 yards, though you can probably find it for less with some on-line shopping, especially if you buy a bag of it.

The gauge is listed as 4 st per inch.

Looking at this, though WOTA is still cheaper.

6

I’m wondering if I should try to do it via acrylic first to see how well I do… and if I do okay… do the next one in wool… :slight_smile: I personally don’t mind the acrylics… but that’s me

7

Of the acrylics I’ve used, I’ve always been very pleased with Encore. It’s 75/25 acrylic to wool. It’s soft, comes in a multitude of colors and as I said is exceptionally washable. I’ve even made two Fair Isles out to the dk weight and love them!

8

Thanks Ingrid… I’ll check that out… I appreciate all the help :slight_smile:

9

How about Lion Wool-Ease? That’s a washable wool/acrylic blend.

10

I’ve used both–I think Encore is softer.

11

I just got a circular from Joann and they’re having a sale on Woolease, which will bring the price down. You might want to check it out and see if it’s on sale in your neck of the woods!

Mary

12

Thanks Mary… I’ll check it out : ) Our Joann is pretty small… they do more fabric than fiber … but we’ll see what we got…