A. Yes, there are. Last week I mentioned two important pieces of information found on a yarn label: yarn weight and gauge. Both will tell you if another yarn may be a candidate for a substitute.
The weight of yarn is often indicated by an icon or international symbol of a skein of yarn with a number inside. That number indicates the weight. The symbols appearing at right are from the Craft Yarn Council's Standards and Guidelines for yarn weight. More information is available online at www. yarnstandards.com along with the downloadable symbols.
Should your yarn and the yarn indicated on the pattern have the same symbol, you are in luck. Both yarns are pretty much the same weight. If one of the yarns does not have the same symbol or none at all, you will need to compare the gauges.
Gauge is shown as a small square with the number of stitches per inch and the number of rows per inch -- examples are also at right. Two similar weights of yarn should work up with the same gauge when knit on the same size needles. Now you can compare the two choices and decide if it's possible to make that substitution. I would also recommend doing the math on the yardage required. One yarn might have more or less yardage than the other, therefore it will change the number of skeins needed.
Other important label information I have not covered includes needle size. Needle or hook size is noted with the gauge information. This is the recommended needle size and may not be the size you will use to match the gauge. Start there and work a swatch. If your work is too tight, use a larger needle or hook. If the work is too loose, use a smaller needle or hook.
It is important that you block your gauge swatch first. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether you have measured the correct number of rows and stitches when the yarn is uneven and a pattern stitch is puckered or slightly biased. When the swatch is properly blocked, you can tell if your gauge is right.
The new fancy yarns are sometimes hard to see when knitted up. Lily Chin tapes those swatches to a window and lets the light shine through the stitches. Voila! Now measure the rows and stitches easily. I recently knitted a sweater of nylon tape yarn. My gauge was fine, and I finished the sweater only to have it pull vertically when it was worn. This changed the whole sweater and made the armholes really, really long. I hadn't accounted for the weight of the yarn when I worked up the swatch. Chin hangs a fishing weight on the swatch with a safety pin. Let it hang just as it would when worn. You should now have the correct vertical gauge.
Helpful how-to book
A great book to have on hand is "Maran Illustrated Knitting and Crocheting" ( Maran Illustrated, $24.99). It isn't written in the usual knitterly style and is filled with easy-to-follow directions and wonderfully clear, full-color illustrations. The technical consultant is Joanne Yordanou, a professional designer whose work has appeared in many magazines and in production for Patons Yarns. The patterns are up-to-date and run the gamut from an introduction to knitting or crocheting through reading a pattern to finishing a garment.
Catherine Hollingsworth, interior designer, artist and professional knitter, has lived in Alaska for 17 years. A past president of Knitters of the North, she currently designs knitwear patterns for publication. To reach her, e-mail kmccoy@adn.com; put "knitting" in the subject line.
KNITTING FOR SOLDIERS: Better hurry to finish knitting or crocheting your holiday gifts. The Military Families Initiative reception will be 4:30 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, call Diane in the mayor's office, 343-7105.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.