Knitting patterns for generic wool.

A long time ago when I was still knitting for my children, I found somewhere a list of currently available brands of wool and which ply they matched or were nearest to. A spot of Googling may turn up a contemporary version.

Good thinking Elegran. Another way is to get crafty Nanapug, they are. Read the ball wrapper and see if you can find the tension it knits to, or pick up and read a pattern that uses the same yarn to find the information you need. Failing that, most Double Knit yarns need size 8s and size 10s, most 3 ply yarns need 10s and 11s or 12s, so the number of stitches required to produce a square of 2" or 4" will help you to work it out. They don't tell you the ply so you have to buy the yarn specified, they hope.

Of course if it does not knit up to the size square specified then you just change the needle size, one size up if too small, or one size down if too large, as needed to get the tension specified. It takes time but it is worth it to have a professional looking garment at the end of all your hours of work.

It also helps to buy an extra ball of yarn because if you need to use a smaller needle it may take more yarn to knit it up. Just remember to read every word of the pattern and make a note of any changes needed to achieve the result you want before you start to knit.

Sorry if this is more information than you needed but I can only guess at how much you already know.

That's helpful to me, Cyril but I must admit I don't do tension squares. Am I the only one?

I don't either in the normal way but with an unknown yarn would need to make sure of how it knits. Be brave and have a go if you really like the look and feel of the yarn.

nanapug, I don't know if you use Freecycle, but sometimes people offer leftover yarns. You could submit a 'wanted' request for these and then re-offer the ones you don't want to use.

Thank you all, especially Cyril for the helpful suggestions. Must admit I have only recently started doing tension squares (since I went on an amazing day course at John Lewis) and find I always need to reduce my needle size. Wondered why all my stuff knitted up large!! I will go for it though and make more effort, then perhaps I can use up some of the beautiful wool I inherited from my Aunt too.