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Yarn weight pattern questions


catwoman

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It depends on what you're making and how much of a weight difference there is. Generally, you want to use a weight as close to the pattern recommendation as possible. For wearables that need to fit, yarn weight and gauge are more important than for other things.

But, even within a weight class there's a variety of thickness. For example, I made a ww afghan. I then made a 2nd identical afghan using ww of a different brand. The 2nd brand was thinner. I used the same size hook. The 2nd afghan came out much smaller.

To get a gauge, make a swatch ~5" square, using the yarn, pattern and hook you intend to use for the project. Measure the middle 4" in both directions and count the rows and stitches (or pattern repeats) to get your gauge. Go down a hook size, if you want it smaller or up a hook size, if you want it bigger. 

ETA: I forgot to add that stitch complexity makes a difference. Bulky and super bulky yarn look better with simple stitches. 

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Also, if you refer to a chart like this https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/weight.html    You can get an idea of the differences in stitch gauge for different weights.  This is just a guideline, as yarns fall along these ranges, the ranges overlap, and personal gauge may differ.  

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I strongly recommend saving the 'wrong' yarn size that you have for another project, and buying the correct size. There's only so much you can do by changing your hook size either way before the fabric appearance suffers.  Plus, you need to consider that the yardage required will be different.  I recently made a shawl in fingering weight, where the pattern called for sport, and needed nearly 3x more yardage--eek.

If the yarn that you have is smaller, you might try doubling it.  But, a doubled yarn doesn't 'act' like a single strand of a bigger yarn, it might not work as well appearance or drape-wise.

Sometimes I don't quite hit gauge when doing a wearable (but come close), but do the math on the number of stitches for the sizes up or down from "mine", and get a perfect fit for me by following size x on the pattern instead of y.  Or, do the math on "my" size and figure I'm still in the size range so know it will be OK (sizes are often in increments of 4").  Even if you're making something that doesn't have to fit, do the math - maybe that blanket would be OK if it were a little smaller or a little bigger for example.

Re: doing the math--I typically pay more attention to stitch width than height,  because usually you can add/subtract rows to get that to come out right, depending on what you're making.  Let's say the pattern gauge is 16 stitches in 4" (.25" per stitch), and you have 18 stitches in 4"  (.222" per stitch).  The baby blanket you are making is 160 stitches across, so is 40" if you hit gauge.  It's 35.55" if you use your gauge.  Maybe that's OK, or maybe you might consider making a  border around it, or another column of motifs, or whatever...or not.  If it's a wearable, and the next size up is 176 stitches (44" at gauge), it would give you 39.1" at your gauge...you might decide this would be an acceptable fit (only 1" smaller than the size you were aiming for).

 

 

 

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