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 Life in Loops Gradient Yarn Box 4ply

weight
cobweb
thickness
2400 m per 100 g
put-up
100 g
fibre
100% Cotton
in Australia
listed by 1 Australian shop we track
Heads up. label says fingering (4 ply), metreage says cobweb (2400.0 m/100g) We have gone with the measurement, because metreage is measured and a ply number is a word on a label. Check the band.

closest first

cobweb · 2240 m/100g · 25g · 53% Viscose, 47% Polyester
  • drapier, hanging softer
  • shinier
  • sold in 25g put-ups, not 100g -- check how many balls the pattern needs
cobweb · 2240 m/100g · 100g · 100% Wool
  • warmer
  • springier
  • stiffer, holding its shape more
cobweb · 2240 m/100g · 20g · 70% Merino, 30% Silk
  • warmer
  • springier
  • shinier
  • softer next to skin
  • sold in 20g put-ups, not 100g -- check how many balls the pattern needs
sport · 300 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 300 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 88% difference in yardage needed
dk · 200 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 200 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 92% difference in yardage needed
worsted · 170 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 170 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 93% difference in yardage needed
lace · 1080 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 1080 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 55% difference in yardage needed
fingering · 422 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 422 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 82% difference in yardage needed
dk · 210 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 210 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 91% difference in yardage needed
sport · 265 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 265 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 89% difference in yardage needed
sport · 265 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 265 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 89% difference in yardage needed
sport · 265 m/100g · 100g · 100% Cotton
  • thicker: 265 m/100g against 2400 -- expect a 89% 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.