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 Woolshed Naturally New Zealand Merino DK/8ply

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

closest first

sport · 276 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • nothing we can measure would feel different
dk · 250 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • thicker: 250 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 9% difference in yardage needed
dk · 250 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • thicker: 250 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 9% difference in yardage needed
sport · 274 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • hand wash only, where the original is machine washable
dk · 256 m/100g · 50g · 60% Merino, 40% Brushtail Possum
  • much fuzzier, with more halo
  • less springy -- it will grow and not bounce back
sport · 300 m/100g · 75g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 300 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 9% difference in yardage needed
  • sold in 75g put-ups, not 50g -- check how many balls the pattern needs
dk · 230 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • thicker: 230 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 17% difference in yardage needed
sport · 300 m/100g · 100g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 300 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 9% difference in yardage needed
  • sold in 100g put-ups, not 50g -- check how many balls the pattern needs
dk · 250 m/100g · 50g · 100% Wool
  • thicker: 250 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 9% difference in yardage needed
  • less soft next to skin
fingering · 340 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 340 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 23% difference in yardage needed
fingering · 340 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 340 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 23% difference in yardage needed
fingering · 340 m/100g · 50g · 100% Merino
  • thinner: 340 m/100g against 276 -- expect a 23% 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.