Hi there! I hope it’s ok to ask this here. I’ve been wanting to crochet an almost floor length cardigan, so I would need a lot of yarn. The pattern said they used a Level 4/Worsted weight yarn and had a gauge of 8 stitches and 6 rows on 4"x4". Now, I can’t really find out what equals as worsted weight yarn here in Europe, and the ones I found all feel too thin to achieve that gauge. I’ve been to a local store where they recommended some cotton yarn and wool to me that should be equal to worsted weight. Now the thing is, they are quite expensive and I still can’t get close to that gauge, meaning I would need even more. However, what I found of WW yarn, they all seem to be acrylic and honestly not much cheaper.
So I’m currently a little stumped, am I looking for the wrong things or do I have to face the fact that this cardigan would cost me about 180€ of yarn?
A worsted is a bit finer than an Aran, heavier than a DK.
Knitting with worsted normally gives 20 stitches per 10 cm/4in in stocking stitch. Aran would give 18, DK 22.
With crochet, the hook size and stitch type will make a huge difference. If you use the stated hook with a worsted instead of an Aran weight you’ll have a more open fabric. That may be what you want, especially with a cotton.
Best advice to give is to do a sample of at least 15 by 15 cm / 6 x 6 inches. That will give you a benchmark of the stitch size, the amount of yarn used and the stiffness or drape of the fabric you’re creating.
Thank you so much for your help! May I ask, do you see any way to achieve the patterns gauge with 8sts x 6rows on 4"x4" with 6mm hook? It says with front loop stitches, does that actually make a huge difference? I did make a test patch, but had double the gauge size (16sts x 12rows). Now, it looks nice this way, but after using up a whole skein to estimate the needed yarn, I realized it would actually be more than ~210€ worth of it, which just seems so much to me 😅 but that’s why I’m asking, I have actually no idea how much is usually needed.