Some people like Smiley's on line yarn. I have not used them.

3-11-07
I use Herrschners (www.herrschners.com)
and Mary Maxim (www.marymaxim.com)
They will send a free catalog for asking.
Been using these two for quite awhile without any problems.
They have yarn and supplies for knitting & crocheting.
Hope this helps.

For good yarn prices and big selection try WEBS
>http://yarn.com/For learning to adjust patterns, read the books by
Elizabeth Zimmermann and/or Barbara Walker (Knitting from
the Top) You'll never be a slave to a pattern again, unless
you want to be. : )

For inexpensive yarn, try Knitpicks.com and elann.com. Webs has great closeouts and their regularly priced yarn is discounted if you buy more than $60. If you don't mind raglan sleeves, those may be easier to adjust than set-in sleeves. Check out Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. Her method is based on Eliz. Zimmerman's but may be easier to understand. Also, the sweaters are knitted in the round if you don't like seaming.

Hi Nancy,

I use Joanns.com for all my yarn purchases.

Sherri

Nancy I can help on sizing your patterns...
Linda C

Thanks Linda C. I have ordered two books that have been sugested and they may be all I need. If I need to talk to a "real" person I will contact you. For now, I am working on a plus size pattern to get back into knitting and see if the measurements the pattern uses are realistic. Having this forum has been a great help for me to get up the courage to start up again.
Nancy

Sizing patterns up or down is very simple. Look at the pattern as written; determine how many stitches there are in between each size given. Then add that to make your size.

As an example: Size Small - start with 6 stitches
Size Medium - start with 9 stitches
Size Large - start with 12 stitches

The difference between each size is 3 stitches. If you need to go up one size from Large, add 3 to the 12. If you need to go up 2 sizes from the Large, add 6 stitches.

Obviously, I've used very simple numbers. But the concept is what counts.

Yarnlover, did you adjust for a different depth in the armhole?
Nancy

Same rule holds true. If a small armhole is 8 inches and a large is 10 inches, then you're adding 1 inch per size. I haven't checked, but I think the average armhole goes up by a 1/2 inch per size. Just check your pattern.

It's just a matter of breaking things down into prime numbers.

Many, many thanks, yarnlover. (And Nancy for asking the question.)
I have adjusted garment sizes for some time, but have never used any arithmetic for it. As you can imagine, my "by guess and by gosh" changes have only occasionally worked.

If I combine your suggestions with knitting up swatches ... oh my ... the possibilities are endless!