wool vs. cotton in patterns

[Holli]

disclaimer reminder: I am not the knitter.. Liam is learning to be but I am the chatty one.. I'm also obsessed with yarn and pattern research :D (gals, be jealous.. my husband begs me to buy yarn!)

We are trying to branch out now.. when we see patterns and the yarn recommendations for them, how do we know if we can swap wool for cotton. Like for this super cute dress?

http://www.knitwitts.com/detail.asp?Cat_ID=171&Prod_ID=1647

Holli

[CraftyMommaOf2]

I'm not sure :) I was just wondering why you want it to be wool? Do we have a nosy smilie?? :LOL

[knittingnana]

:wowza Holi, sure you can. The only thing is washing the wool dress. Hand washing for sure. I have never made a dress from wool. Only cotton or acrylic. You could use a superwash wool instead. Good Luck and let us know what you decide.
:knit :wool

[FabriConnection]

You can interchange any yarn as long as it's the right guage.......as long as the fiber works with the pattern it doesn't really matter :D

[Holli]

LOL.. the only good reason is because I have some really lovely super soft merino from Canada and I kind of have this idea of a soaker and dress matching set. :) Okay, so I just have to worry about the gauge.. okay.. now I know.. poor Jess you're getting all my yarn questions tonight! Thank you!!

Holli

[Susan_WW]

I absolutely love that dress :love Now I just need to find a few extra hours each day to knit one LOL!

[littleturtlemama]

You can interchange any yarn as long as it's the right guage.......as long as the fiber works with the pattern it doesn't really matter

As much as I love Jess, I have to seriouslydisagree with this, LOL! Designers write patterns for specific yarns, and each fibers acts very differnly. For example, cotton will stretch like the dickens if it's not knit at a super tight gauge. So, say you see a sweater pattern that you LOVe. it's designed for worsted cotton, at a gauge of 5 stitches per inch on size 6's. You decide to sub a wool. You knit that worsted wool at 5 stitches on size 6's and it will be thick, not have much give, and be H-O-T. All fibers cannot be subbed equally. Also, you really need to pay attention to whether the pattern (this is expecially impt. in cotton) allows for shrinkage in the wash.

I mean, intheory, you *can* sub any yarn if it will get gauge, but you won't always be pleased with teh finished product becuase it may look substantially different from the picture you liked. Really, the only way to knoe for sure when you can sub is to DO A GAUGE SWATCH ;) If you swatch and you like the way a wool works up at teh pattern's gauge (even if the pattern calls for cotton) and you can get the gauge, the go for it. But you can't just assume that all yarns are created equal as long as they get the right stitch count. The finished feel of the fabric (after washing, cause I now y'all wash you gauge swatched, RIGHT?!?!) is the biggest factor in deciding substitution viability :)

[Perogi]

Holli - do tell what the super soft Canadian merino is please! :pink

[Holli]

Uh oh.. Theresa is starting to go over my head.. must make Liam read this thread now.. knitter talk.. LOL he'll understand it though!

I got this yarn from Kristina at BaaBaaSheeShee.. It's the yarn she uses for her soakers. Is she around here? It is just amazing. I actually have sooo much yarn heading our way so I get to compare it to all kinds so stay tuned for a better comparison to all the other ones out there...

Holli