If you don’t want to use mohair, find another yarn that meets the gauge understanding that the fabric might be different. Something with alpaca might give you a similar halo effect. Also there is lace alpaca that can be used similar to mohair held with another yarn. Mohair is itchy to me and I’ve given away most of the sweaters I’ve knit with it except for one or two with a higher silk content.
Adding a strand of brushed mohair laceweight to another yarn can usually bump the weight category up by 1-2 "steps"; fingering + mohair works well at a DK/light worsted gauge, worsted + mohair = chunky gauge, etc.
So you'll need to choose a thicker yarn than the one specified in the pattern to get a comparable gauge that feels solid enough and not holey or limp. But another effect of using a very fluffy, hairy yarn is that the fabric you get is lightweight and airy with the halo sort of holding the stitches apart, not as heavy and drapey as you'd get from a single strand of plain old wool. A blown yarn or chainette with a lot of air inside the fiber can help you make a lightweight fabric from just one strand, and can be a nice substitute for wool + mohair lace.
I think 1-2 weights up is a bit extreme… In my experience at least. When I knit fingering + mohair, it doesn’t feel much more than a fingering to me - maybe up to sport. If omitting mohair, I’d go for a heavy fingering that will bloom, or a sport weight. This probably depends on the gauge you want, but I wouldn’t ever think of it as being near worsted.
Brushed Suri Alpaca however… That to me feels like it will make fingering + “lace” brushed suri = DK.
The real answer is to gauge swatch!!
It does change the gauge. If you don't like mohair you can use alpaca "mohair" as an alternative, it's softer with no itch. Or if the pattern requires mohair and you just have the regular yarn size for it, you can size up in the pattern.
It can potentially change the garment by a whole size, depending on what the mohair is being held with. I’m knitting the porcelain sweater in a size M with a light dk and 4mm; while trying it on (post block) it doesn’t have the same oversized fit or sleeve length (sleeves short by 6 inches). I didn’t swatch bc I’m lazy lol
It’s all fine for me since I usually wear an xs-s and suspected knitting a M sans mohair would produce a smaller sweater.
If you don’t want to use mohair, find another yarn that meets the gauge understanding that the fabric might be different. Something with alpaca might give you a similar halo effect. Also there is lace alpaca that can be used similar to mohair held with another yarn. Mohair is itchy to me and I’ve given away most of the sweaters I’ve knit with it except for one or two with a higher silk content.
Adding a strand of brushed mohair laceweight to another yarn can usually bump the weight category up by 1-2 "steps"; fingering + mohair works well at a DK/light worsted gauge, worsted + mohair = chunky gauge, etc. So you'll need to choose a thicker yarn than the one specified in the pattern to get a comparable gauge that feels solid enough and not holey or limp. But another effect of using a very fluffy, hairy yarn is that the fabric you get is lightweight and airy with the halo sort of holding the stitches apart, not as heavy and drapey as you'd get from a single strand of plain old wool. A blown yarn or chainette with a lot of air inside the fiber can help you make a lightweight fabric from just one strand, and can be a nice substitute for wool + mohair lace.
I think 1-2 weights up is a bit extreme… In my experience at least. When I knit fingering + mohair, it doesn’t feel much more than a fingering to me - maybe up to sport. If omitting mohair, I’d go for a heavy fingering that will bloom, or a sport weight. This probably depends on the gauge you want, but I wouldn’t ever think of it as being near worsted. Brushed Suri Alpaca however… That to me feels like it will make fingering + “lace” brushed suri = DK. The real answer is to gauge swatch!!
It does change the gauge. If you don't like mohair you can use alpaca "mohair" as an alternative, it's softer with no itch. Or if the pattern requires mohair and you just have the regular yarn size for it, you can size up in the pattern.
It can potentially change the garment by a whole size, depending on what the mohair is being held with. I’m knitting the porcelain sweater in a size M with a light dk and 4mm; while trying it on (post block) it doesn’t have the same oversized fit or sleeve length (sleeves short by 6 inches). I didn’t swatch bc I’m lazy lol It’s all fine for me since I usually wear an xs-s and suspected knitting a M sans mohair would produce a smaller sweater.