Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
Sometimes I wonder if this is my slogan when it comes to designing. Lets face it, many, if not most of us are on a budget, for some of us that budget is very tight. Like accidentally casting on with a needle 3 sizes too small tight.
This is something I've mentioned before, that all of my design are out of leftovers or reclaimed yarn so far. I cannot afford to go out and buy new yarn for a design when I have some on hand that will do. My design budget is pretty much zero. But this isn't a please pity me post at all.
For the design I'm currently knitting on the make it do or do without part of the saying is at work. You see, I'm knitting in this wonderfully woolly yarn, the color is lovely and the yarn has a good amount of lanolin in it. Knitting with it almost feels like a spa day for my hands, they come out so soft afterwards (obviously no need for pity here). The only downside is that, when I put those final touches on the pattern, under yarn it will say: mystery. That isn't good, right?! Of course I won't leave you hanging like that. I'll figure out the meters per grams and suggest one or two yarns that are similar, but frankly there is no way of knowing what yarn this is.
The mystery yarn
The story of the mystery yarn is a gnarled one, I'll try to keep it straight. Someone bought this yarn at some point, knowing what it was and probably intending to do something with it. Then at some point later in time the yarn was donated without any labels to a group. They knit blankets for a charity, Mother Theresa, I think. Anyways, they are not allowed to knit with wool and this most certainly is a wonderful wool yarn, so a lady schleppt it and a bunch of other yarn to a knit group my mum attends. She, that is my mum, got the yarn for 5dkk a cake, that is less than $1. Then it sat in my mum's stash for a while and one day she gave it to me. Our stashes mingle a lot and yarn sometimes go back a forth a number of times before being knit by one of us. So that is the story of how I got my hands on the mystery yarn.
Concerns
It was a great concern to me, if I should knit up this pattern in a yarn no one will be able to get. It's not as professional as I would like it to be. But here is the thing: make it do or do without. I had this idea of a feminine vest that I was eager to design and I had this yarn on hand, free of cost. You do the math on that one.
My next concern was that I wouldn't have enough yarn. My first two attempts at this pattern weren't promising. However that all changed when I decided to sit down and actually do the math and grade the entire pattern, before I cast on for the 3rd time. I'm currently at the waist and still haven't used up all the yarn I frogged from my last attempt.
What do you think?
I spent a long time debating the yarn for this pattern before casting on and I continue to struggle with it. But in a situation of "it's this or nothing, baby" I decided this was better than not being able to do the design at all. That said, I really want to hear what you think.
Is it okay for a budding designer to use obscure yarns? Does the specific yarn used and mentioned in the pattern matter a lot to you? Would you want to buy a pattern like this?
Seems perfectly acceptable to me! As long as you have some suggestions for other yarns that can be used and the numbers are ok, I don't see why not. It's better to design this way than to not design at all.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear, Tahnee. Thank you for your input. :)
DeleteI'd say use the yarn you have.
ReplyDeleteI have the same issue when I design things occasionally. I will use what i have in stock and often that means it will be an obscure yarn that isn't always the most wonderful quality or it may be a mystery too. While I would love to design with beautiful designer yarns, I can't always spend that kind if money.
I think it looks more professional to be able to say we used a well-known quality yarn, it may not be necessary. When I knit from patterns, I rarely (i.e. only once so far) used the yarn recommended in the instructions. At times I just can't get the yarn because I'd have to import it, and then there are times I can't afford a specific yarn. So from my experience it may not be so important to use a specifically named yarn when designing. As you said, it is more important to have information about yardage, weight and gauge.
Nadia, I completely agree that it is way more professional. At the same time I'm glad to know I'm not the only one having to design with whatever is within reach.
DeleteIt wouldn't worry me as I rarely ever use the suggested yarn for a project - for similar reasons as you have here - I rarely buy yarn from yarn stores and usually find it in charity shops or people kindly give me their de-stash. As long as I had some idea of weight/length/thickness of yarn I'd be happy. I imagine other people might not be so happy but you often see on Ravelry that people find alternative yarns.
ReplyDeleteRachel, you are right. I've been looking at a lot of patterns and it seems to me that people's yarn choice varies a great deal from pattern to pattern. Frankly many yarns I have available here in DK (from brick and motar stores) wouldn't be readily available elsewhere.
DeleteI think a lot of sales of patterns are driven by people searching on Ravelry for a pattern for a given yarn, so you would lose that method of sale. It would probably put off people who aren't really confident about yarn substitution. I am confident but I would want to know how the yarn was spun, what the fibre was, gauge of yarn when using the recommended needle AND gauge of yarn for the project. I would also like recommended yarn substitutions. It would also help if you had several people testing the project and using known yarns that you could list on your pattern page as recommended yarn.
ReplyDeleteGood point. This is why I'll do my best to find one or two suitable substitutions to recommend and I promise I'll have people test knit it (as always). Your point is exactly what I've been considering. Thank you for the input :)
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