Most Picot, Yarn Choices, & Yardages

So you just purchased The Most Picot Shawl or any pattern and now it’s time to pick the yarn. Do you use the yarn the designer used? Or do you substitute? Ultimately that’s up to you. If you are newer to following patterns or really want the accessory or garment to be exactly like what you see then I’d recommend getting the yarn the designer used. You’re most likely to get the same exact outcome as the designer if you use the same yarn the designer used and get the same gauge.

If you are open to outcome, you just want to use something in your stash, or you want different color choices that aren’t availble in the sample yarn used then there are a two core things to consider when subsituting yarns: yarn weight and similar fiber content. Ideally you still want to get the same yarn weight so you make the same kind of fabric the designer intended. If you used sport weight yarn to make the shawl and tried to get the same gauge your fabric is likely to be stiff. (You can make the shawl in a heavier yarn you just want to do things a little differently and I’ll cover that next week!)

Knit Picks Gloss Fingering 70% Merino, 30% Silk - Plume

The Knit Picks Gloss Fingering called for in the pattern is 70% Merino (not superwash) and 30% Silk. So I’d look for a yarn that has similar percentages of wool and silk. Knit Picks Gloss had a little nap to it and more of a matt finish. I think that is in part because it’s blended with silk and the it’s not a superwash wool. However, you don’t have to use a wool and silk wool blend in if you don’t want to. Most of my testers used wool blend yarns that didn’t include any silk. They all made shawls approximately the same size.

If do decide to use a different fiber content your outcome might be diffferent. One of my testers made The Most Picot Shawl with an acrylic yarn and their was about 6” smaller in wingspan than all others. I think the acyrlic yarn doesn’t have the same blocking properties as wool. If you wanted the shawl to be larger you might need more yarn and to do more pattern repeats. If you are using a wool acrylic blend it might not block as large as well.

I was curious myself how a different yarn might work up especially for the small version of the shawl. I wanted to compare yardage needs and the fabric outcome. So made up a sample using Malabrigo Ultimate Sock which is a blend of superwash merino and nylon and a typical hand dyed fingering weight yarn that you can find at a local yarn store. It’s a little smoother and more reflective compared to the matte finish of Knit Picks Gloss.

Malabrigo Ultimate Sock - 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon - 136 Sabiduria

Although both of these yarns are fingering weight, you can see the Ulitmate Sock is thinner. The two yarn samples on the left Knit Picks Gloss and the yarn sample on the right is Ultimate Sock.

The two yarn samples on the left Knit Picks Gloss and the Yarn sample on the right is Ultimate Sock. I think the swatch made with Ultimate sock is slighly smaller because the yarn is thinner.

I made both swatches with the G/4.00mm hook recomended for the pattern. The swatch is measured unblocked. You can see the Ulimate swatch sample, laying on top of the Gloss sample, is slightly smaller. The row gauge was the same but the stitch gauge was only off by one stitch 24 sts in 4inches (10 cm) instead of 23 sts in 4inches (10 cm) that the pattern calls for. I think this worked up a little smaller because this yarn is thinner than the Knit Picks Gloss.

I could have gone up a hook size and more likely got gauge for the pattern. After blocking I figured, I’d only lose a little in size and I was okay with that. The Ultimate Sock shawl was slightly smaller than than the orignal Knit Picks Gloss which is 46” wide and 21 inches center to tip. The yarn usages was a little better as well. I was able to make the small version of the shawl with one skein including the yarn swatch and had 6 grams leftover.

In the pattern I still recommend you have additional yarn just in case espcially for the smaller shawl. When you include the gauge swatch into the process especially if you use the Knit Picks Gloss it leaves you playing a little yarn chicken. You can also look for fingering weight yarns that have skeins that include 460 yards (420 meters) or more.

Most of my sample makers making the small shawl in wool yarn similar to Ultimate Sock used similar ammounts as I did. One tester completed 5 repeats the pattern and the wingspan of their small shawl was 43” wide. That could ensure you don’t need extra yarn and most likley only one skein one skein of most 3.5 oz/100gram skeins of fingering weight yarn.

You could also finish the last repeat of both the small or large shawl with a different color. One of my testers did this for the large shawl and I love how it turned out!

An additional thing to consider is yarn color. I love how the stitch definition of the pattern really pops with a solid color like the Knit Picks Gloss or a handyed tonal yarn like Ultimate Sock. However yarn that has a little bit of speckles in it also kind of fun. I’ve started another Picot Shawl using La Bien Aimee Cashmerino that I purchased at Unwind Fiber Arts in Lee Summit, Ks.

I love how the little speckles land on the picot stiches randomly though the shawl. It has 474 yards so the perfect amount to make a small Picot Shawl. Although I’m tempted to get another skein maybe a different color so I can make a large shawl. Because I sure do love a large cozy shawl. I wish you could feel how soft and squishy this yarn is!

You can see this lovely blue shawl made, also made by one of my testers, with Cabin Boy Knits Superwash Polwarth using color way Kawartha Lakes in person at Unwind Fber Arts !

After taking in all this information in where do you land on the yarn choices? Are you a little bit of a risk taker and trust you will have enlough yarn? Do you prefer to have enough yarn? Do you like to use the yarn recommended in the pattern?