Thursday, March 22, 2007

Rusted Root Rocks & Yarns for Sahara

I actually knitted Rusted Root last month, right after Wicked b/c I was so taken with the ease of the Zephyr patterns & I love it - details on my blog, in the FO album & here. I have plans to make another one for my mother soon, hopefully for mother's day this year, but I need to get a move on.

I do want to knit Sahara, but for reasons I think we all know at this point and b/c it's insanely expensive, I won't use Tilli Thomas.

It does say on the pattern that any worsted weight yarn will do, and when you buy the pattern it gives you specific options, knitpicks andean silk, karabella aurora 8, cascade pima silk, lion cashmere blend, berocco softtwist & then berocco laser fx and berocco mirror fx as carry alongs for the accented edging.

I'm not interested in andean silk at this point in the year, so I'm thinking either cascade pima silk, misti alpaca pima cotton silk or knitpicks mainline. I'm concerned about the draping effect, does anybody have any experience with any of these yarns? Any other subsitutions that will work well?

Woohoo! Let's get our knit on!!

13 comments:

Jenny said...

I was thinking about Classic Elite Premiere. I love the drape and the feel of it.

chacha / Jen said...

For Sahara, take a look at the subs that people have used for their Simple Knitted Bodices. SKB calls for those same exact Tilli Tomas yarns, and when we did the KAL here in September, most people found subs rather than shelling out $$$$ for the "official" yarn. The two sweaters have a similar shape, so any yarn that worked well for SKB should also work for Sahara.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this...I'm just curious about any yarns with cotton in them. Will they shrink in the wash (if machine washable) or should I just handwash, to be safe? I'm interested in seeing what subs we come up with.

Karen said...

I bought my pattern and was just coming here to ask about yarn substituions as well! Keep the ideas coming.

Now I just have to finish up a couple of other WIP's before we start...

Stitchy Witch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stefanie said...

I bought Berrocco Ultra Silk as a substitute. From everything I've read online, I think this will have the nice drape of silk without being as expensive.

Rachael said...

I found cascade pima tencel on various sites from 4.80 -5.00 a skein & the reviews I found said it has wonderful drape, so I'll probably try that.

pantoufle said...

I'm thinking about Valley Yarns Goshen. It's new, so I haven't heard much about it. But, at $4 a ball, it almost can't be beat.

Nicole said...

Um, this pattern is showing me how little I know about knitting. I bought a cotton - it says 50% cotton and 50% Dralon - not a clue what that means .... Its a pretty colour though!! Draping??? :( I hope this looks alright when I'm finished.

Dee said...

Any opinions on KnitPicks Shine Worsted? I'm thinking that a cotton would be nice for a short-sleeve summer Sahara.

Hattie said...

I have the pima silk to use and I know it will be just as nice, it's gorgeous yarn and not too expensive!

Kelly said...

I got Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece to make Sahara with. Its 80% cotton 20% merino. The woman at the store said it would work well. Its so soft, I think I'm going to work my swatch tonight.

Michelle B said...

I love hearing about all the subs! I odered the Goshen from Webs and I'm anxious for it to arrive so I can swatch! The content is very similar to the casscade Pima Tencel and I liked the purple so I thought I'd try it!