Expert: susan wills - 10/28/2009

Question
I have a lovely pattern I just bought from ebay. However it uses 2 strands of Daydream [cleckheaton].  It uses 7 mm needles. Can you tell me what ply to buy please.

Answer
To sub another yarn you need to know the weight(thickness) classification of this yarn. I googled around and couldn't find the information, so I'm thinking it's probably a discontinued yarn. Hopefully the gauge is given in the pattern (how many stitches per inch) Do you have that information?
Another clue is the suggested 7 mm needle. That would be US 10 3/4 or the closest commonly found us needle 10 1/2. So that would suggest a bulky wt. at 3 1/2 sts. per inch. You wouldn't have to use the double stand unless you'd like to sub a thinner yarn and double it also. Look for a worsted wt. yarn if you'd like to double it. Then do a gauge swatch and whatever needle size it takes for you to get the gauge given in the pattern.