Hi there! I hope it's ok to ask this here.
I've been wanting to crochet an almost floor length cardigan, so I would need a lot of yarn.
The pattern said they used a Level 4/Worsted weight yarn and had a gauge of 8 stitches and 6 rows on 4"x4". Now, I can't really find out what equals as worsted weight yarn here in Europe, and the ones I found all feel too thin to achieve that gauge. I've been to a local store where they recommended some cotton yarn and wool to me that should be equal to worsted weight. Now the thing is, they are quite expensive and I still can't get close to that gauge, meaning I would need even more. However, what I found of WW yarn, they all seem to be acrylic and honestly not much cheaper.
So I'm currently a little stumped, am I looking for the wrong things or do I have to face the fact that this cardigan would cost me about 180€ of yarn?
Google tells me that "#4 Worsted" yarn weight in America equals "Aran" weight in the UK and Europe. Is that helpful?
Also, cotton feels really nice, but it's not going to have the same kind of drape that wool or even acrylic might have, or what I would want in a cardigan. (But you're not me, so...) I've had good luck with superwash wool from Knitpicks. I've made a cardigan and a sweater with it. I spent about $100 US on a booty length cardigan amount of yarn (knit, not crochet, if it matters), so your price quote for floor length seems about comparable.
If you're in the UK, knitpicks.com will ship to you. Doesn't look like they go to Europe though. :(
I hope any of that helps some. Good luck on your cardigan adventure!
Google is wrong. Aran is a thicker yarn on average. Worsted is between DK and Aran.
Here’s just the top of the yarn menu from Canada’s largest wool independent store. Wool-Tyme. As we get EU, and UK yarn as well as US, the full range is represented.
Suggest that the OP look through their sizes to see what UK yarns fall under ‘worsted.’
https://wool-tyme.com/collections/yarn
This is a great store, thank you for sharing! And seems like they might also ship to my place (tho probably at horrendous shipping rates, I'll have to check on that hahah) Either way it's good to get an overview of available yarns, so really thanks a lot!
Another helpful resource, although very much oriented to knitters and what’s available in the USA only, is https://yarnsub.com/.
If the pattern calls for a specific yarn, and they have it listed (even discontinued yarns), this site can give good guidance on what yarn could be substituted.
Thank you so much! Yea unfortunately they don't ship to my place : ( that's like my main problem, I can't seem to get the recommended yarns here. But from what y'all tell me the wool price is about what I have to expect for this project! (and the aran yarn I found isn't much cheaper really)
Tho I have to admit, I have decided to go for a different cardigan now, one that doesn't need as much material 😅 I've used up the wool skein I had to see how much I can make with it, and it turns out I would probably need more like over ~210€ worth of yarn (damn that nice looking floor length hahah). I want to get back to it later tho, when I'm more confident in my crocheting knowledge and have a bit of money on the side!
Thank you for your good luck wishes! When I finish one of the cardigans, I'm happy to share here!