Yarn substitute finder
Describe the yarn your pattern calls for, from its ball band or a listing, and see the closest yarns we have in stock: what they share with it, the one thing to watch, and how many skeins to buy.
What makes a yarn a substitute
It has to knit to the same gauge, so the weight is not negotiable. Past that, two yarns stand in for each other when the fiber is the same (drape, warmth and whether it felts all follow the fiber) and when a skein holds about the same yards per gram. A 100 g skein of 210 yards and one of 220 are the same yarn in a pattern's eyes; a 100 g skein of 120 yards with the same weight label is not. The substitution guide has the whole check.
Where to find the numbers
Yards and grams are on every ball band and in every pattern's materials list. If the yarn is discontinued, its page on Ravelry or the maker's old listing still has them, and the discontinued yarn guide names our stand-ins for the ones people ask about most. If the pattern's yarn is one we stock, pick it from the list and the form fills itself in.
Superwash matters
A pattern written for a machine-washable yarn, knit in an untreated wool, is a sweater that felts in its first wash. Each match says when it differs from the pattern's yarn on this. The superwash guide covers what else changes: superwash grows when wet and does not felt for a steek.
Swatch before you commit
A match here is a yarn worth swatching, not a guarantee. Knit a swatch, wash it and measure it against the pattern with the gauge calculator. Every match is a yarn in stock today, and an unused skein comes back within 30 days.
The guides behind the numbers
- GuideLooking for a discontinued yarn? What to knit insteadSubstitutes in stock for yarns that are no longer made or that we no longer carry — Crystal Palace, Debbie Bliss, Spud & Chloe, Karabella, Classic Elite, Cleckheaton Country 8 ply, Misti Alpaca, Reynolds and Tahki Donegal Tweed — matched by weight, fiber and feel.
- GuideNoro Silk Garden vs KureyonSilk Garden and Kureyon are Noro's two original worsted-weight striping yarns, in the same 50 g ball at the same gauge. One is silk and kid mohair, one is all wool. How they differ in feel, color, felting and care, how many balls a project takes, and which to buy.
- GuideHow to substitute yarn in a patternHow to pick a yarn a pattern was not written for — matching gauge, yards per gram, fibre and construction — with the arithmetic for recalculating the number of skeins.
More tools
- Yardage estimator — How many yards a sweater, blanket, hat, scarf, cowl, mittens, socks, shawl or baby cardigan takes at each yarn weight, and how many skeins that is.
- Gauge calculator — Your stitches and rows per inch from a swatch, how many needle sizes to move to hit a pattern's gauge, and the cast-on for any width at your gauge.
- Needle and hook size converter — US, millimeter and old UK knitting needle sizes, crochet hook letters and steel hook numbers, with a lookup that takes a size written any way.
- Yarn held together calculator — What weight two or three strands held together knit like, the needle to start on, and the yarn in stock for each strand.
- One-skein project finder — Pick a hat, cowl, mitts, socks or shawl and see the yarns in stock where a single skein makes it.