Suggestions to replace wool roving in a knit project?

Fiber & Textile Discussion and Questions
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A parent at my son’s game today asked me a question about yarn since I always have my crochet. She took a class to make a blanket using merino roving and 45mm circular needles.

She plans to give the blanket to her mum as she thinks the dogs and/or kids will wreck the roving stitches. She’d like to make some more using the needles and pattern, but obviously doesn’t want to use the roving. (Aside from the durability, it’s around $80/kg and the blanket used 4kg.)

I suggested she find a super bulky or even jumbo yarn and double it up if she really wants to use those needles. Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

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Hmm… Cutting strips of a fleece blanket might work?

They will. That blanket will be damaged if someone looks at ot funny.

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Those huge roving blankets look really neat, but they are not durable at all, plus they would be a royal pain to wash!

You’re better off doubling other bulky yarns - somethings that is going to hold together with
normal use.

Here’s a decent article on the subject:
Don't Knit That Chunky Roving Blanket on Pinterest - The Woolery.

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Bernat Blanket BIG is affordable and makes a really nice blanket.

I am sure if she googles super, super chunky she could find suitable and durable yarns. A lot of online stores also have some good choices as these chunky blankets are popular. I definitely think using roving would be a mistake…the fibers just won’t hold up and starts looking dirty as they seem to collect dust and dirt easily.

They have tubular yarns that is used for arm knitting that seems like it would be fun to try!

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Something like this would give her a chunky blanket without the nightmare of using roving.

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@Annchen thanks for that suggestion, she may want a low outlay version to start

@Harlan I think she would die if I showed her that article! I can only imagine how much it cost her to attend the workshop. It is very interesting though.

@AIMR thanks for that link, I had thought of Bernat Blanket, but I didn’t know they had a jumbo version.

@tendstowardschaos thanks also for that link. I found some of that stuff, but this looks a bit cheaper. I will have to tell her to do some research on the length of roving used (they referred to it in weight only in the workshop) so she would know how much to order.

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I really appreciate wool experts taking the time to both show and explain why it’s a bad idea. They could just as easily have shut up about it and sold the roving.

My favourite was the 4 minute with a puppy swatch version… :laughing:

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@Annchen I agree! I was looking at the website for the course this woman took for any info on length of ‘yarn’ and noticed the disclaimer of ‘blanket in photo used only in styled photo shoots’ as it is draped over two adults in the couch and a dog lies sweetly on the floor below.

Thankyou all for the advice. I passed it on and she was very grateful.

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