The Papa
yarn substitutes · what to use when you cannot get the one the pattern says

This is a starting point, not a promise.Knit a swatch before you commit the whole sweater.

Substitutes for Fiddlesticks Peppin 14ply

weight
chunky
thickness
97 m per 100 g
put-up
100 g
fibre
100% Merino
in Australia
listed by 1 Australian shop we track

closest first

chunky · 98 m/100g · 100g · 100% Wool
  • less soft next to skin
chunky · 100 m/100g · 200g · 50% Merino, 50% Wool
  • sold in 200g put-ups, not 100g -- check how many balls the pattern needs
chunky · 96 m/100g · 125g · 50% Merino, 50% Wool
  • hand wash only, where the original is machine washable
  • sold in 125g put-ups, not 100g -- check how many balls the pattern needs
chunky · 110 m/100g · 100g · 75% Acrylic, 25% Nylon
  • thinner: 110 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 13% difference in yardage needed
  • cooler
  • less springy -- it will grow and not bounce back
  • more hard-wearing
  • less soft next to skin
aran · 120 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 120 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 24% difference in yardage needed
  • hand wash only, where the original is machine washable
chunky · 80 m/100g · 100g · 100% Acrylic
  • thicker: 80 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 18% difference in yardage needed
  • cooler
  • less springy -- it will grow and not bounce back
  • less soft next to skin
chunky · 100 m/100g · 100g · 82% Alpaca, 18% Cotton
  • much fuzzier, with more halo
  • less springy -- it will grow and not bounce back
  • drapier, hanging softer
  • shinier
  • hand wash only, where the original is machine washable
dk · 200 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 200 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 106% difference in yardage needed
dk · 200 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 200 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 106% difference in yardage needed
dk · 192 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 192 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 98% difference in yardage needed
dk · 192 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 192 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 98% difference in yardage needed
dk · 225 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 225 m/100g against 97 -- expect a 132% difference in yardage needed

how this was worked out

Thickness comes from metreage per 100 g, which is a measurement. Fibre behaviour - warmth, halo, springiness, drape - is scored per fibre and blended by proportion, so a merino and a Bluefaced Leicester read as near neighbours while a merino and a cotton do not, even at the same gauge. Where a record is thin, the match is discounted rather than quietly flattered, and the gap is named above.

Yardage is always rounded up. If we ever sell you the yarn and the number is short, the extra skein is on us, from your dye lot.