Debbie Bliss Jumper, having some trouble...

[april_cocaine]

I  bought a lovely Debbie Bliss book  (the family collection) yesterday, and plan to make one of the simple sweaters, with a shawl type collar. But I'm having some trouble.

First up, the measurements seem wrong. To fit me (36inch bust) I would need to make it up in the 4-6 years pattern. Yup, I said 4 to 6 years. This seems all wrong. Can anyone put me straight?

Second, I don't have the money to spend on Rowan Chunky (which I can't actually find anywhere anyway), so does anyone know any substitutions in the UK?

any help is greatly apprecited!

[lupinbunny]

sure you're not confusing inches and cm measurements somehow? that'd be the only way i could think of (short of a misprint) that such a drastic difference in size would occur.

[NewLeodensian]

The Debbie Bliss patterns are always huge when it comes to the chest measurements, I have seen it discussed online before!  I don't have that particular book, but I know in the book "New Baby Knits" that the chest measurement for one cardigan for a 3 year old is 31.5 inches.  I remember reading in an interview with Debbie Bliss in a magazine somewhere (maybe an old Interweave Knits) that she designs everything to fit like a sweatshirt. 

[april_cocaine]

that's ok then, I was a little worried that I'd end up with a random sized jumper.

I still need a good substitution yarn though....

[bryonyramsden]

I can vouch for the sizes being big in DB patterns.  I made the ribby cardi from the cashmere collection booklet and it was terrible - really big and shapeless   Not to say that your chosen pattern won't work out, particularly if you are making a child's size (I made the one for my bust measurement).

What gauge is Rowan Chunky?  I can't find any references to it on the Rowan website, even in the discontinued yarns section.  If you can give us the gauge from the pattern book, it should be quite easy to find a nice UK sub yarn (I am a Brit knitter too, and I have lots of good cheap sources for you )

[NewLeodensian]

Is it Rowanspun Chunky (142 yds/100g) that it required for the pattern?  If so, I think the gauge is 12sts x 16 rows on 8 mm needles (from the sub suggested on the Rowan site, which is Scottish Tweed Chunky).  Texere (www.texere.co.uk) has quite a few different yarns if you go through the pages, and the mill is great to visit if you are up near Bradford.  If not, I would maybe just try some of the Twilleys or Wendy wools to see what you can find...

Hope this helps!

[april_cocaine]

It simply says "rowan chunky". nothing about tweed or anything :\

 the gauge is 14 st, 20 rows to 4inches, using 6.5mm needles.
 I would be ok with substituting it with stuff from my local yarns hop, but they mostly sell acrylic DK, and novelty yarn. I'd like an online place if possible.

so would it be best to just ignore the sizes,a nd just go with the measurments?

[soozeq]

so would it be best to just ignore the sizes,a nd just go with the measurments?

That would probably work the best.

sue

[bryonyramsden]

Ok, so if it is 14 sts, you should definitely give these yarns consideration (I've got these ones from yarndex.com, a very handy site where you can search by weight or gauge of yarn ):

Rowan Cork (which is discontinued, but you might be able to find some cheap on Ebay)
Wendy/Peter Pan Chunky with Wool or Classics Courtelle Chunky
Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky (not the cheapest of yarns, but you can probably get a good deal on one of the discontinued colours on Ebay.  If you are making a small size tho, it might be worth investing in because of how lovely it is)
Sirdar Click Chunky (I have some of this, and it is very cheap and cheerful, and lovely for the price)
Sirdar Bonus Chunky (DIRT cheap - £1.10 for 100g)
Sirdar Denim Chunky (more expensive, but washes well, lasts a long time, and has a nice tweedy texture)

As already suggested, Texere are excellent and you can buy online from them (they have a gorgeous chunky alpaca blend for £8.00 a 400g cone, but I'd email and check whether you'd be able to get gauge.  They also do excellent undyed pure wool cones in a chunky weight - I've used their 4 ply lambswool cones and it is lovely and soft).  Ebay is always a goodie if you are willing to put up a fight and there are quite a few good sites with sale sections worth checking.

http://www.cpu-enterprises.com/ is good for cheaper brands with wool content like the Sirdar stuff, and she sells them pretty cheap compared to some shops anyway (postage is only 2 quid ).

Get Knitted have loads of sales yarns, and they have one that might be ok - GGH Samoa for £1.49 a ball.  It is normally 16sts, but if you go up a needle it might work.

http://www.celticove.com/acatalog/Jaeger_Stock_Clearance.html have Jaeger extra fine merino chunky on 3 for 2 which might be rather lovely and if you look at the 'other' in the sale section, there is a lovely Filati yarn called Funky for not much money.

You might also be interested to know that http://secure.elann.com/frames.asp ship to the UK, and they are fabby at doing bargains (incidentally they have DB merino chunky for $3.98, and at the current exchange rate that is pretty much 2 quid a ball.  Remember that you'll have extra postage tho).

Lastly, http://scandinavianknittingdesign.com/html/wool_yarns.html#alaska might be of use to you - Alaska knits up at 17sts, but Drops have patterns with it at 14sts, and it is really good value for 100% wool too.  All the Garnstudio yarns are fab by the way   And SKD are really quick and cheap (their alpaca 4ply is really really gorgeous).

Hope you find something you like out of this lot, and that I haven't just given you a load of links you already knew about!

Bryony

[april_cocaine]

Bryony, you are offically the most helpful person ever.

You deserve many many cookies thanks for your help, I'll check out all the links and stuffs, and hopefully you'll see a jumper in a few weeks!