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There are several types of strings which can be used as sympathetic strings. Since you're not playing on the sympathetic string you'll probably not have to change them often. There are sympathetic strings especially made for Harding fiddles (Pirastro is one brand that sell those) and they are possible to use even on other types of fiddles with sympathetic strings. I have tried these but unfortunately they were too short for those pegholes which are closest to the scroll on my double-decker. Another problem is that they are all of the same dimension. The tension of lowest sympathetic strings is then somewhat too low which makes the pegs a little unstable and sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity.
Per-Olof Moll and Per Hardestam are using strings for electric guitars. Those are sold with different dimension and you're able to choose different dimension depending on the string tuning. Another advantage is that they are a lot cheaper than strings for harding fiddles. The guitar strings has a ball end instead of a hook but you can easily remove the ball with a pair of pliers.