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Where the Buffalo Roam Shawl Knitting Pattern: Yarn Recommendations

Fallen in love with the Where the Buffalo Roam Shawl knitting pattern but have no idea what yarn to use? Continue reading for color recommendations using Big Sky Yarn Co yarn (the yarn that I used), for affordable yarn recommendations, and for a list of resources to search for other yarns that will work for the pattern!


A fun and repetitive knit, the Where the Buffalo Roam Shawl pattern is a warm, cozy DK weight shawl perfect for fall and winter. The pattern includes three alternate design options for variety in size and color combinations.



I designed this shawl using Explorer Knits & Fibers' Rockies DK yarn in the Tawny colorway, to represent the deep brown of the buffalo, and Aspens in Fall, a lovely creamy-gray yarn with speckles of golds and browns: the perfect yarn to represent the plains. Where the Buffalo Roam looks great in most solid, tonal, and slightly variegated yarns.


Note: All yarn images are from the credited websites.


I used Explorer Knits & Fibers Rockies DK in Tawny and Aspens in Fall.


Explorer Knits & Fibers Colors


There are so many amazing options in the Explorer Knits & Fibers colorways. You may wish to have two colors with high contrast (like my sample), or you may wish to have colors that have similar values. Here are a handful of color combinations that I have put together, including 2-color options and 3-color options (for the 3-color alternate design).


Each of these colorways can be found on their Colorways page here.


Altostratus + Sweater Weather

Christmas at Hogwart's + Titanium

Roma + Fir

Unbreakable Vow + Forest


For the following, you may use the 3-color combination, or you may pair any two colors from the combination for a 2-color combination. They all work so well together!


Mulled Wine + Turning Leaves + Titanium


Sweater Weather + Mulled Wine + Fir

Mulled Wine + Doppio in Florence + Fir

Redwoods + Sequoia National Park + Fir

Fresca + Limoncello + Fir



Alternative Yarns List


Can't afford hand-dyed yarn? I completely understand! That is A-OK! Here I've selected a list of more affordable DK weight yarns that would also work well with this design! (Note: I am not affiliated with any of the links -- I am just providing this list for your reference.)


I've provided a few bits of information on each yarn for your own comparison. All prices shown are USD and do not account for shipping costs. The list is ordered from least expensive to most expensive per gram. For the sake of comparison, I've written everything in terms of 100 grams.


The yarn that I used was: 100% Wool; 274 yards/100 grams


100% Acrylic; 259 yards/100 grams; $4.29/100 grams


100% Acrylic; 273 yards/100 grams; $4.50/100 grams


50% Acrylic, 50% Nylon; 231 yards/100 grams; $8/100 grams


50% Alpaca, 30% Silk, 20% Tencel; 241 yards/100 grams; $10/100 grams


100% Wool; 246 yards/100 grams; $12/100 grams


100% Wool; 250 yards/100 grams; $13/100 grams


55% Wool, 25% Alpaca, 20% Tweed; 246 yards/100 grams; $14/100 grams


100% Wool; 230 yards/100 grams; $14/100 grams


70% Wool, 30% Silk; 246 yards/100 grams; $16/100 grams


85% Wool, 15% Cashmere; 246 yards/100 grams; $20/100 grams


To perform your own search for affordable yarns, here are a couple places to start:



Have you made a yarn selection for your Where the Buffalo Roam Shawl colors? If so, what have you chosen? Ali and I would love to hear about it in the comments below, on Instagram (be sure to tag @snickerdoodleknits and @explorerknits), and on Ravelry (link your yarn and pattern on your project page)!


Learn more about the Where the Buffalo Roam Shawl knitting pattern here.

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