Yarn Substitutions

I ran across this website by accident and knew I had to share it. Maybe you already know about it and I am the one who's been in the dark about it! But this is fantastic and I'm so excited to find it!

Art Yarns
Beaded Silk
$64 -Hank

How many times have you had a pattern you are dying to make, but are so disappointed when you find out the yarn has been discontinued? Or maybe that yarn is too expensive for you, which is often the case, and you just need to find a less expensive yarn that you can afford. There are thousands of yarns out there and sometimes you don't know where to even begin looking for a yarn that is comparable.

Malabrigo Rasta
$22 - Hank

Since I am a designer and have been since 2005, of course
some of the yarns I've used or suggested yarns are discontinued and are no place to be found on this planet. People write and ask me once in a while if I know of a yarn they can substitute for one of my patterns. Most of the time I don't have a problem finding a good substitute for them, since it's part of my job to be familiar with yarns.  But if they ask if a particular yarn they want to use is a good substitute and it's a yarn I'm not familiar with, this can be difficult and very frustrating.

WIP Yarn-$26

 I found this website by accident and wanted to make sure I share it with you. I am amazed at all the work that was put into this. I was looking up a Yarn Bee yarn from Hobby Lobby that has gorgeous colors and since that particular yarn was discontinued, this website, called YarnSub (link below) came up in that search. I did not even know that yarn had been discontinued.

There were yarns that said 99% match, down to 90% match, but they suggested at least 20 different yarns! I am so impressed! What a great tool to have. Click on the link below. I hope this is helpful! Note: Scroll down below the website link for a little more info.

Yarn Substitution
Website

My Cap Sleeve Top, which is my most popular design/pattern of all time from my book, Crochet That Fits, calls for a dk weight yarn and I suspected it may be discontinued, so I just now looked it up on that website.

Nashua Grand
Opera
Discontinued

The yarn I chose for that is gorgeous and I first saw it at TNNA in Columbus, when it was brand new. This yarn, Nashua Handknits Grand Opera, is just too beautiful, but the book doesn't show how truly beautiful it is, because there's a tiny metallic thread running through it. By the way, I give yarn substitutions in that book since I know everyone can't afford a high end yarn from a local yarn shop.
Indeed, I found out it is discontinued and several yarn substitutions came up, but it also says this:
"We're only showing yarns that contain metallic thread.  If you like, you can widen the search to include yarns without metallic thread."

So see, they've got you covered no matter what! I am so impressed!