How these were chosen
A substitute has to knit to the pattern's gauge first, then match the fiber well enough to drape and wash the same way, and only then look alike. The substitution guide has the method; what follows is the method applied to the yarns people ask us for most. The old yarns are described from the labels we kept and from memory, so check the pattern's gauge against the substitute's page before you buy, and swatch.
Crystal Palace Yarns
Crystal Palace stopped making yarn; we still carry their bamboo needles and hooks. Mini Mochi, the single-ply fingering with the long color gradient, is closest in spirit to Schoppel's Zauberball Crazy (plied, with nylon, so it wears better in socks) or to Edition 3 at DK for anything softer. Panda Silk, the bamboo-merino-silk sock yarn, maps to HiKoo CoBaSi, a cotton-bamboo-silk sock yarn with elastic nylon. Merino 5 and Mochi Plus, their superwash merino sport and worsted, are covered by Ewe Ewe's Ewe So Sporty and by Malabrigo Rios.
Debbie Bliss
The yarn range was wound down and is no longer produced. Baby Cashmerino — a soft, machine-washable merino blend at a sport-to-DK gauge — is the one everyone asks for. HiKoo Simplicity is the nearest thing in stock: a superwash merino blended with acrylic and nylon, machine washable, in the same baby-friendly palette, at 5 stitches to the inch. Ewe So Sporty is the all-merino alternative. Cashmerino Aran maps to Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash or Malabrigo Rios; Rialto DK, the extrafine superwash merino, to Schoppel Edition 3 or Malabrigo Arroyo.
Spud & Chloe
The easiest one: Spud & Chloe was Blue Sky Fibers' sister label, and Sweater — 55% superwash wool, 45% organic cotton, worsted, machine washable — is sold today as Blue Sky Fibers Sweater. Same yarn, same mill, many of the same colors. Fine, the superwash wool and silk sock yarn, maps to Zitron Feinheit or Dream in Color Jilly; Outer, the bulky wool-cotton, to Blue Sky Woolstok North for warmth or Juniper Moon Bud for the cotton hand.
Karabella
Aurora 8, the machine-washable extrafine merino worsted, is well served by Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash (the closest in hand and price) or Dream in Color Classy for a hand-dyed look. Karabella's cashmere blends — Margrite, Boise — map to Juniper Moon Saxony and Malabrigo Caprino, or to Lang Cashmere Light for a smaller, lighter skein.
Classic Elite
Classic Elite closed in 2018; we still have some of their pattern books. Liberty Wool, the washable wool worsted in solids and prints, maps to Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash. Fresco, the wool-alpaca-angora sport, to Plymouth Hearthstone (merino and alpaca, sport) or Quaker Hill. Firefly, the viscose-linen sport for summer, to Araucania Prisma. Lush, the angora-wool, has no angora equivalent in stock; Blue Sky Brushed Suri gives the halo.
Cleckheaton Country 8 ply
An Australian machine-washable wool at DK weight ("8 ply" is DK — the ply guide explains the names) in 50 g balls. Schoppel Edition 3 is the match: 50 g, DK, superwash merino, machine washable. Schoppel Ambiente at sport weight and Ewe So Sporty are the alternatives, and West Yorkshire Spinners Pure DK if the washability does not matter.
Misti Alpaca
Chunky Baby Alpaca has a direct replacement in Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande: 100% baby alpaca, chunky, 110 yards to 100 g, the same gauge. Misti Alpaca Worsted maps to Plymouth Baby Alpaca Worsted or Juniper Moon Herriot, both 100% baby alpaca at worsted weight. The alpaca guide covers the differences between them.
Reynolds
Reynolds was the importer, so Reynolds Lopi is Álafoss Lopi under its own name — the same Icelandic yarn, still made. Candide, the plain wool worsted, maps to Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted or Plymouth Homestead. We still stock Reynolds rosewood needles.
Tahki Donegal Tweed
Donegal tweed is still spun in Donegal: Studio Donegal Soft Donegal is a merino tweed at aran-to-worsted weight, softer than the old Tahki, and The Fibre Co Arranmore Light is the DK tweed with cashmere and silk. The Donegal tweed guide compares them.
Something not listed
Write to us with the yarn's name and the pattern's gauge and we will say what we would use. The pattern's yardage and the substitute's yards per skein go into the calculator on every yarn page, and the answer comes back in skeins.