So let’s say you’ve picked out your next knitting project. It’s just what you’re looking for and you’re excited to get started. You love the yarn it’s shown in only to then find out it’s been discontinued – argh! What to do now? I have 4 main resources/methods that I highly recommend. Curious what they are? Let’s dive in!

In the examples below I’ll be looking for a substitute for the yarn Berroco Chai (a DK, linen/silk blend) – this is the yarn I used in my Cruel Summer cardi a few years ago but just recently discovered it was discontinued.

Method #1: Utilize this lessor known feature of Ravelry

These are a couple of lesser known features in Ravelry that I have found to be super helpful in this kind of circumstance and it’s what I utilized often when working at a local yarn shop for many years. It’s a multi-step process but super easy to navigate. So if you use Ravelry, check out my 5 steps below (including screenshots).

Step 1: Find the info page for the yarn that has been discontinued. And then on that page click the “Pattern Ideas” tab:

Step 2: On this “Pattern Ideas” tab, you’ll find the most popular patterns that have used that particular yarn.

As you can see in the screenshot below, the top 4 patterns on this page for Berroco Chai are: “Patti”, “Bonnie”, “Cruel Summer” (my design!), and “Anker’s Summer Shirt”.

Step 3: Click on the pattern name of one of these top patterns and you’ll be brought to the main info page for that particular pattern. Click on the “Yarn Ideas” tab.

Below I did just that for my pattern, Cruel Summer.

Step 4: On this tab, it displays the top yarns used for this pattern. The discontinued yarn will likely be among the options, but then look – there are lots of other yarns listed as well!

These are the other yarns other knitters have used to make this design, so it can be a good indicator of yarn substitution options for Chai.

Step 5: Look to see how many projects utilize some of the other yarns. Start to make a list of these possible other yarn options.

Often I pay the most attention to yarns that have at least 2-3 projects associated with it. You can then click on the “used x times” hyperlink (which you can see in the above screenshot) to view these projects. This helps to give you an idea of what the project actually looked like in this yarn substitute and you can compare that to how the original looked in the discontinued yarn, as you can see in the screenshot below.

My conclusion from this Ravelry search…

In this example, after looking at a bunch of the most popular patterns that had been knit using the discontinued Chai yarn, I narrowed down my yarn substitution option list to these yarns, all based on the info I gathered from doing these searches:

• Juniper Moon Farm Zoey
• Berroco Remix Light
• Sandnes Garn Line
• Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool

This method is great for seeing existing yarn options and how they look actually knit up. However, the one downside is that it likely won’t show you new yarn options. So for example, Berroco Chai just got discontinued but they did come out with another linen blend yarn, Berroco Vernazza, that could be a good option to consider. This is where methods #2 & #3 comes into play (so keep reading below!).

Method #2: Utilize yarnsub.com

If you’re not on Ravelry or you’re just not finding enough “yarn idea” options from a Ravelry search, then try out the website: https://yarnsub.com/. Let me guide you through how I could find yarn substitutions for Berroco Chai through this site.

Step 1: Type in your discontinued yarn name in the search box and then click the search icon:

Step 2: The next screen will confirm the yarn – just click on the yarn name hyperlink:

Step 3: You’ll then land on the yarn info page for your discontinued yarn:

In the top portion it will just give some facts about your yarn. And then under there you have the option to filter the yarn substitution results by fiber type. The default is that all options are selected. If you don’t want to make any changes to that, you’ll just keep scrolling.

Step 4: If you keep scrolling, the yarn substitution results will appear in a list:

The neat thing this site will do is provide a list of similarities and differences compared to the original, discontinued yarn.

As you can see, the top results provided by yarnsub.com are different than the top results in Ravelry. They suggest these yarns as their top 3:

• Knit One Crochet Too Soie et Lin (which I have knit with before and highly recommend for Cruel Summer!).
• Estelle Yarns Silk Harmony
• Valley Yarns Hawley

So sometimes it can be good to utilize both websites because you’ll just increase your knowledge base about potential similar yarns that could be good options for your project. The downside to yarnsub is that you can’t see finished projects of the pattern you want to make using those yarns like you can in Ravelry. But it’s still a great option nonetheless and I love it’s similarities/differences functionality (something you can’t get with Ravelry).

Method #3: Shop at your LYS (local yarn shop)

Last but not least, your local yarn shop is a great resource because not only do they understand their yarns really well, they’ve also helped tons of customers match up patterns and yarns and so their first-hand experience is so valuable. They also likely have many samples knit up in different yarns that allow you to physically see and touch your yarn substitution options – there is no better way to pick a yarn than this!

In addition, they will be “in the know” about all the new yarns that have just come out for the season. Sometimes when a company discontinues a particular yarn line they release a new one that may be similar. New yarns will take some time to populate in projects on Ravelry so method #1 may not show these new yarn options. So this is why checking with your local yarn shop can be very beneficial in this circumstance.

Method #4: If it’s my design, check my tips page link or email me!

If you are making any of my designs, you have a couple of other options you can try when it comes to substituting discontinued yarn. First, most of my designs have a “tips page” associated with it. The pattern PDF will provide the link to this tips page. And for most of my designs, I provide yarn substitution ideas on this tips page. So it’s a great option to check out if you need other yarn ideas.

Alternatively, you can always email me for yarn ideas if it’s one of my designs. Just fill out my contact form to get in touch!

I hope learning about these 3 different options for how to substitute yarn if it’s been discontinued as been helpful. Whether it’s done virtually or in-person, finding a suitable replacement yarn is very possible and in the end you may be even happier with the replacement yarn than you would have with the original!