6 wt instead of 4 wt ?

[barbarainlaf]

Hi   I have an afghan pattern that calls for holding four strands of 4 wt yarn together.  I know that you can use multiple strands to get a bulkier weight, but is the reverse also true?  The yarn I want to use is a 6 wt.  Also, the pattern calls for 5 skeins of each of the four colors.  Would 5 skeins of the 6 wt be enough (if I can use it) or would I need to convert the yardage ?   Thanks!!!!

[redrosesdz]

Welcome to Crochetville!

 

You can hold 2 or 3 strands of 6 wt together to get close to the thickness of 4 strands of 4 wt.  You may need to adjust your hook size, although I'm assuming it's a huge hook already.  Does the afghan come with a gauge?  If yes, you can calculate how much yarn you'll need.  Make the swatch for the gauge (slightly larger than needed, because edges aren't good for measuring.)  Measure the middle stitches across and the middle rows.  Adjust your hook size until your stitch count matches the gauge. 

 

Next, weigh the swatch on a kitchen or postal scale.  This will tell you how much yarn you used for the swatch.  From there you can calculate how much yarn you'll need for the whole project.

 

Note: It's easier to just use the same weight yarn as the pattern.  Then you can get the amount suggested.

[Granny Square]

^ Right.  Don't go by ounces or skeins, go by yards.  5 weight yarn skeins may look the same size as a 4 weight skein, but have much less yardage.  You will probably find it less expensive to follow the pattern and use a 4 weight yarn.

 

An arbitrary example, picking 1 brand of yarn to compare (Bernat, at Joanns online @ regular price...was going to use Red Heart but their bulky yarns weren't something you'd make a blanket out of)

(6 wt) Big Ball, $9.99, 10 oz = 220 yards, so $0.45 per yard

(4wt) Super Value $4.99, 7 oz = 335 yards, so $0.149 per yard

 

1 yard of 4 strands of 4 weight = $0.149 x 4 = $.0596

1 yard of 2 strands of 4 weight = $0.45 x 2 = $.09

 

I was not picking out the most disparate pricing I could find, just looking to find 2 presumably comparable blanket-looking yarn, same brand at both weights.