Adapting Sweater Patterns for Small-Batch Yarn

One of the great joys of visiting fiber festivals and local farms is treating yourself to a sweater’s worth of beautifully sheepy yarn, especially from a conservation breed. There’s something delightful about making a sweater from sheep you’ve actually met. However, it can be a little challenging to find a pattern that works perfectly with your small-batch yarn.

One of the challenges—and beauties—of working with farm yarns is that they’re not quite the same as commercial yarns. The twist and weight of small-batch yarns are often less standardized than the larger-scale, familiar yarns you might find in an LYS, so using patterns written for a specific yarn can cause some challenges. You could write your own pattern from scratch, but why reinvent the wheel? Using some basic math, you can convert almost any pattern to work with yarn from your local fibershed.

Let's look at two beautiful designs, the Wee Cardi and then the Sheep Station Cardigan, to break down the process into steps.

Getting to Know Your Yarn: Why Swatching Matters

The first step for any project is swatching. The yarn probably won’t have a recommended gauge, so try a few different needle sizes and see which fabric you like best. Keep in mind that different kinds of sheep will produce very different yarns. For example, yarn made from longwool sheep such as Lincoln or Wensleydale tends to have