Cheap wool?

lambanana

I think the main reason Debbie Abrahams loves Rowan is because she works for them or has done in the past and continues to be affiliated with them.

In theory you can use any wool as a substitute as long as you knit a tension square to check that it comes out the same size (the pattern will tell you what your tension should be in number of stitches and rows over a 4"/10cm square) and as it's a blanket as long as your squares aren't massively smaller than the pattern states it isn't really a problem anyway.

I have that book and if I remember correctly a lot of the patterns use wool cotton which is a double knitting weight wool/yarn, any other double knit which is knit to the same tension should work. There have a lot of nice yarn on www.modernknitting.co.uk and it's a very good service. If you want your blanket to be a wool or cotton blend like those Debbie Abrahams knits (as most of the Rowan yarns she recommends are cotton or a cotton/wool blend) I can recommend yarns by Cygnet and King Cole which come in a wide range of lovely colours. If you want it to be really easy to care for and aren't fussed for natural fibres then a cheaper option would be Stylecraft Special DK which is 100% acrylic and comes in an unbelievably wide range of colours and is very affordable.

Good luck with your knitting!

Penelope_Penguin

Rowan yarn is the most wonderful stuff to work with, and continues to be my favourite I also like King Cole, though some of the colurs make me wince

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the existing thread to give you more ideas.

Rachel021967

I want to knit my dad a scarf for Christmas but the cost of the yarn is prohibitive. Please could somebody recommend any places where I can buy cheap wool?

Rachel

hardpressed

Wilkinsons or QD, charity shops, have you tried ebay? I recently bought a job lot of cones of machine knitting wool for a fiver, it's very fine so I've put 2 or more strands together and knitted several scarves and hats.

Rachel021967

Thanks hardpressed. A fiver for a job lot of cones is a bargain. I'll give ebay a try.

Rachel

THIRZAH

It's worth asking in charity shops as they sometimes keep wool in the back.

I got some Sirdar wool half price in Hobbycraft recently and their basic acrylic DK isn't too expensive.

PipneyJane

The sales Black Sheep Wools are very good, often more than 50% of the original price and premium brands. They attend all the knitting shows, too. They're my favourite place to shop on-line for yarn.

If you live near a Lidl, keep an eye out for their yarns, too. They don't sell yarn all the time but, when they do, it is frequently pure wool and very good quality for the price. Last month, they were selling chunky-weight pure wool in packs of 4 x 50g balls for £4.99. It is really nice (I'm knitting a jumper in it) Their sock yarn compares favourably with Regia and Opal and usually comes in packs of 4 balls for around £3.

OrkneyStar

E-bay can be good, also Kemps wool is highly recommended (not by me but others).

michellegarnham

Another good website to Abakhan.co.uk
They have large packs of unusual wool at reasonable prices. The only thing i would say is that the postage can be quite expensive, so buy in bulk and make it worth it. I recently got 20kg (!) of yarn for about £55, which will keep me going for ages. Enjoy!

sketchingkari

deramores.com are good, I brought some Dk from them for £1.49 for 100g, it knitted up lovely, sorry it wont let me post a link