Any Suggestions?

Not sure if this is the best place for this question or not. I’m sure no one has ever done this before - bought yarn with no specific pattern in mind - souvenir yarn. I thought I had bought compatible weights, but no, of course not but they match nicely in colour. I have three skeins of green Berroco Vintage (acrylic/wool/nylon) 100 grams each, 218 yards 5 st per inch on 4.5 mm and one skein of cream SweetGeorgia (merino, cashmere/nylon) 400 yards, 115 grams, 8 st per inch on 2.25 mm. Any suggestions on what to make with either of these choices besides a scarf or hat? I’m assuming I can’t use them together although that was the plan. The plan was also to knit a sweater (yes, I know now that is not nearly enough - I usually make socks). I had plans of doing a search on R but never did get around to it. I’m not sure how to search the free patterns by yarn type. Thanks in advance.

Just due to the differences in fiber content and texture, I wouldn’t use the two yarns together except maybe in an accessory. Of course, it’s your yarn and you can choose to combine it in any way you choose. If you want to use them together, you could work one of those scarves or wraps where uou stripe a heavier yarn with a lighter yarn using the same needle size to create denser or lacier stripes. Alternatively, and you’d probably want to swatch, you could hold the SweetGeorgia doubled and it would be close in weight to the Berroco. OR you could hold one strand of each together and make something. Just keep in mind that you’d need to care for any of these combinations the way you’d treat the SG yarn.

Depending on your size, you might be able to get a short-sleeved sweater out of the Berroco, but you’d need to be fairly small or knit something lacy to make the yarn go farther. You might be able to get a vest out of it - again that would depend on size. Did you try looking at the Berroco site to see what patterns they’ve use the Vintage for? That might be a starting point for ideas.

I’m guessing that neither one is suitable for a charity item like a prayer shawl - Berroco says machine wash in cold water and lay flat to dry. The other is superwash merino but says hand wash and lay flat to dry. Your suggestion of scoping out the Berroco website is a good starting point.

@annekepoot Honestly, I’d use the Berroco for a prayer shawl without a thought. If you can machine wash in cold water, that particular blend should be fine in a warm water wash also. A toss in a warm dryer shouldn’t shrink or felt the yarn, but it might pill some. I’m guessing that’s the reason they say to dry flat. You could always wash a swatch and see what happens. ETA: If the yarn does happen to shrink some, you could use that information to knit a shawl and then pre-wash it down. It will only felt so much before it stops.

I’ve knit prayer shawls with most fibers. Mostly I use superwash wool or cotton or linen so that items can be washed more easily. I can’t use anything with acrylic content at all because I have a serious allergic reaction to the fibers (and I’d rather be able to breathe).

ETA: OH…and about buying yarn with no project in mind…LOL!..that’s about all I do anymore. I figure I can always find a pattern. The times I’ve bought yarn for a particular pattern it’s usually long enough before I get around to using it that I no longer want to make that item.

I have machine washed and sometimes dried my Berroco socks in a similar blend and had no issues except a bit of pilling, but I would expect that with most socks when machine washed frequently. I also wear my socks A LOT, especially in winter and in my big boots and my Berroco socks are still holding strong 2 years later after all that abuse :stuck_out_tongue:

Depending on your location, you could do a nice chunky cowl/scarf. You likely have enough yardage for a prayer shawl as well. As someone else suggested, you could use the sweet georgia doubled and it would be fairly close in weight. you could use the cream as a nice edge on a shawl and add in some stripes or colour work to the body.
You can knit a hat and mittens to match. If you know anyone having a baby you can knit a teeny baby sweater. Especially if you havn’t knit yourself a sweater and you want to learn the techniques for a raglan or yolk sweater, this can help you grasp the technique so you’re ready to commit to knitting one for you :slight_smile: I have yet to jump on a sweater for myself but I have knit about 5 sweaters and cardigans for my daughter :stuck_out_tongue:

I looked at a prayer shawl pattern that calls for 3 skeins of a similar yarn - the pattern is one where you can end sooner if needed. Sounds like both you and knitterlady13 think that this yarn might be OK for that. I sometimes wonder at times if those washing instructions are more finicky than needed just to cover the manufacturer’s bases and they can actually be handled a bit more roughly.

I wouldn’t use them for a prayer shawl unless you know the recipient (and often we don’t know) and if you can tell them laundering instructions. Many prayers shawls that we knit go to facilities like nursing homes that launder with hot temps and harsh detergents for hygienic reasons.

I would likely give it to someone I know but thanks for the heads up - I knit baby hats for maternity ward and everything has to be acrylic.

I just posted a free pattern over in the group for free knitting & crochet patterns: Shawl Linus - also posted a site that is about inserting lace into shawl pattern with 5 free lace patterns. If you are wanting to use the yarns together, maybe you could use the Vintage for the body and the Sweet Georgia for the lace (either single or doubled as gauge wouldn’t really matter - only the overall size of the insert would matter) Just a thought!

@BZYktr Thank you for the suggestions - I’ll certainly take a look at them.