Find the perfect yarn alternative (real example)

Hello, fellow knitter 🌿

A few weeks back, I got an email that I think you can relate to:

"I love the Mellow Mood top, but I can't find Drops Belle or Sandnes Garn Line where I live. Can I use something else?"

The short answer is yes.

But the better answer is this: once you know what to look for, you can choose the right alternative for any project.

Yarn substitution used to make me nervous too.
- What if the fabric turns out completely different?
- What if I order yarn from abroad, spend a lot of money… and it just doesn’t work?

But after a few experiments, a few mistakes, and many swatches, I developed a simple routine. And today, I want to share it with you, my adventurous beginner 🙂

 

Step 1: Compare the weight-to-length ratio

This is always the safest place to start.

Forget labels like “DK” or “4 ply” for a moment. They’re just general categories, and every brand defines them a little differently.

If you remember my Esenote "They Said It's Aran Weight Yarn," you know exactly what I mean.

Instead, turn the skein around and look at two simple numbers: grams and meters. Or ounces and yards. That’s it. Then compare them.

Here’s a real example. I have 4 cotton linen yarns on my desk right now that would all work for the Mellow Mood Top, and also for the Vivien Top or Summer Soul Top.

Meters per gram

Drops Belle
50g = 120m → 2.4 m per gram

Sandnes Garn Line
50g = 110m → 2.2 m per gram

Hobbii Friends Cotton Silk
50g = 120m → 2.4 m per gram

Rico Luxury Organic Cotton Silk DK
50g = 120m → 2.4 m per gram

And even Svarta Fåret Cecilia, which I’ve used many times and love, is
50g = 110m → 2.2 m per gram

See? All of them have almost the same meters per gram, and that means they’ll behave very similarly and give you the same gauge. When the ratio is close, the thickness is close. It really is that simple.

My tip: walk into your local yarn store, tell them the yarn recommended in the pattern and its weight-to-length ratio, and they’ll immediately know what to show you.

The only real exception is fiber content. If the fibers are very different, the final fabric can feel and behave differently too. But we’ll talk about that in Step 3.

 

Step 2: Double-check with the label gauge (but don't stress over small differences).

Once you’ve found a yarn with a similar weight-to-length ratio, take a quick look at the gauge printed on the label. Think of it as a small reality check.

But here’s something important: label gauges are only approximate.

All of these yarns give me about 20 stitches per 10 cm in stockinette on 4 mm needles when I knit them. But look at what the labels say:

• Drops Belle: 21 sts on 4 mm
• Sandnes Garn Line: 20 sts on 4 mm
• Hobbii Friends Cotton Silk: 21 sts on 4 mm
• Rico Luxury Organic Cotton Silk DK: 22 sts on 3.5–4 mm
• Svarta Fåret Cecilia: 21 sts on 4 mm

You see 20, 21, even 22 stitches. But in my hands, they all come out to about 20.

That’s completely normal. Every knitter has slightly different tension, and every brand measures a little differently too.

So treat the label gauge as a guide, not as the final truth. If your substitute yarn is within 1–2 stitches of the original recommendation, you’re almost certainly in the right area.

And your swatch, which we’ll talk about in a moment, will give you the real answer.

Step 3: Match the fiber character

The weight-to-length ratio tells you how thick the yarn is.
The label gauge gives you a rough confirmation.

But the fiber content tells you how the finished piece will actually feel, behave, and look. And that matters a lot, especially for a summer top that sits directly on your skin.

The Mellow Mood Top was designed for cotton and cotton-blend yarns. All 4 yarns on my desk share that cotton base, which means they’ll give a similar result: clear stitch definition, cool comfort, and a relaxed drape.

Whenever possible, I recommend staying close to the fiber content suggested in the pattern. At the very least, try to substitute plant fibers with plant fibers, and animal fibers with animal fibers.

Why? Because fibers behave differently.

Cotton-based yarns are heavier than wool and tend to stretch under their own weight, especially in larger sizes. I always take that into account when grading my patterns. If you switch to wool, the garment may end up fitting differently, looking different, and draping differently too.

If you’d like to dive deeper into this topic, I wrote more about it in my Esenote "Essential tips for plant-based yarn substitutions".

 

Step 4: Use Ravelry as your secret weapon

Before I buy even one skein, I always go to Ravelry and search for the yarn I’m considering. Then I look at finished projects made with it, especially ones knitted at a similar gauge.

What am I looking for?

• How does the fabric look in real life?
• Are the stitches crisp or slightly fuzzy?
• Does the drape feel relaxed or structured?

Real project photos from other knitters tell you much more than any product description ever will. You see the yarn in different lighting, on different bodies, in different colors. That’s incredibly helpful.

And if you’d like a shortcut, you can also check my free DK Weight Yarn Guide on my website. I’ve gathered more than 20 yarn options that work beautifully for DK weight patterns, so you don’t have to start from zero.

 

Step 5: Swatch. (I know, I know.)

I’ll keep this short because you already know what I’m going to say. But when you’re using a substitute yarn, swatching becomes even more important.

Some yarns, especially cotton and linen, can change quite a bit after that first wash. And you want to see that before you’ve knitted an entire top.

If your gauge is off, take a look at my Gauge Problem Solver. It will help you decide whether to change your needle size or adjust the pattern size instead.

And if you’re just 1–2 stitches off, this Esenote will be helpful:
"Can I just knit a bigger size instead?"

 

So, to sum it all up:

• Compare meters per gram. This is your fastest and most reliable shortcut.
• Glance at the label gauge. Use it as a check, not as the final truth. Expect 1–2 stitches of variation.
• Match the fiber character. Cotton for cotton. Wool for wool.
• Swatch. To confirm that everything works in your hands.

A quick example to put it all together

You want to knit the Mellow Mood Top
Gauge: 20 sts
Needles: 4 mm (US 6)
Original yarns: Belle or Line (53% Cotton, 33% Viscose, 14% Linen, 110-120 m per 50 g.)

But you have Schachenmayr Catania in your stash (100% cotton, 125 m per 50 g.)

Let’s run through the steps:

1. Weight-to-length ratio
   125 m per 50 g.
   Belle has 120 m per 50 g ✔️
2. Label gauge
   Catania says 26 stitches.
   Recommended needles: 2.5–3.5 mm.
   It’s classified as sport weight.
   That’s quite a bit tighter than the 20 stitches we need ✖️
3. Fiber content
   100% cotton.
   Similar drape and crisp feel to Belle. ✔️
4. Ravelry check
   Most finished projects show 24–26 stitches per 10 cm.
   So this yarn will work best in patterns that call for a tighter gauge and smaller needles.✖️
5. Swatch
   Knit a swatch on 4 mm (US 6) needles as recommended in the pattern.
   Wash it. Block it. Measure it.
   Check two things:
   – Do you reach 20 stitches?
   – Does the fabric feel too loose? Most likely, this yarn will not give you 20 stitches without becoming too airy. ✖️

That doesn’t mean Catania is a bad yarn. It just means it’s better suited for a different pattern. Even with a similar weight-to-length ratio, its structure makes it knit up thinner, and the label details clearly confirm that.

This is exactly why we don’t stop at Step 1. The weight-to-length ratio is your strongest starting point, and the other steps help you double-check your choice.

 

🔎 With all this in mind, you can also explore websites like Yarnsub. For example, here’s their page for Drops Belle. It’s a very useful resource for discovering possible substitutes.

 

❤️ I hope this Esenote was useful and inspiring.

Warm regards,

Julia Piro

Knitwear Designer & Esenotes Curator

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