Many people freak out if they don't have the exact yarn that a pattern calls for. Many others just go full steam ahead with a yarn that's kinda the same size.
I decided to create two 18 month size sweaters: one following my own One Seam Sweater for a gauge of 15x30=4" on 5.5mm needles originally created with James C. Brett Marble Chunky, and the other following a free Yarnspirations pattern for a discontinued yarn, Bernat Mosaic, with a gauge of 16x32=4" on 5mm needles. If you are familiar with how knitting gauges work, you can get both of these gauges from the same yarn because the bigger needle has more ease, meaning the fabric relaxes enough to have fewer stitches in the same space.
The yarn I chose for both projects was Cascade Yarns Anthem Rondo, a long striping aran weight yarn which is actually smaller than the Marble Chunky and smoother than the Mosaic, which was a thick thin yarn.
So, how did they turn out? Well, I design according to the Craft Yarn Council guidelines with the recommended amount of ease so the sleeves of my One Seam Sweater look extra long in the rainbow (#07 Prep) colour because they aren't super deep at the armhole. The sweater based on the Bernat pattern (#04 Open Seas) (I say 'based on' because I knit the sleeves sideways, a trick you can do with garter stitch without changing the size of the garment piece) look more proportionate when laying flat but the sleeves are closer to 3/4 length sleeves than full length like my OSS. Guess what? They both came out to pattern gauge!
The bonus is that there was enough yarn left over from my OSS, that I was able to whip up a matching hat with about 2m to spare. The Side to Side sweater had only 5m to spare. If I actually sewed the seams together as recommended, there would have been less than that!
written by Lori, satisfied TCL owner, who is happy with the way both sweaters turned out.
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