I have cast on for the cardigan,- I decided against the mitered corner and decided to knit from side to side. The right front was cast on last night and by the end of knit and chat I had a portion done, but I am concerned. My gauge on my swatch was 17 sts/10cm before washing after washing 16.25 sts/10 cm. (Noro Silk Garden blooms a lot). Why I am concerned - the front is currently 5 cm longer then I have designed. Now this in itself is not a fatal flaw but I am concerned for three reasons:
- Will I have enough yarn - an extra 5 cm along the entire bottom is a lot of extra fabric and this is a discontinued colour
- How far out is the rest of my design shaping - my calculations are not out - just that I thin the gauge swatch has lied
- Is this going to stretch more and be even longer
- since that will give me a good idea if I will have enough (I should have 2/3 of the right front done - if not I will have to rip)
- I will be able to see if the shaping is somewhat correct when I hold it up to myself.
- I can hang it from the shoulders for a few days and then measure it with the entire weight of the front. This is one place where gauge swatches lie, there is not enough mass to fully give the information on how the weight is going to affect the garment.
On a further design note, I am doing a seed stitch border as I knit along the bottom of the cardigan. I am thinking of doing all the edgings in seed stitch and was wondering about the front "button" bands (I will probably not be adding any fasteners - I like the open look). How does the stitch gauge change with seed stitch compared to stockinette? I know they both have the same row gauge (why I am knitting the bottom as I go along). But the stitch gauge is different - can I get away with switching to 1 needle size smaller - or will it be more complicated. I am not sure if I just want to knit and see do to the blooming issue.
Just a side note - I love The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters - A Knit to Fit Workshop
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1 comment:
I'd help with the name, but I need to see it. Yet again with the complaining that there are no pictures (when I barely update my blog).
It is a self-evident truth that gauge swatches lie. Sad to see another sucked into the illicit world of swatches (I myself am a recovering victim). I like your plan of knitting to the bitter end of 1 ball and following that by many bits of math. Good luck, may the calculator be with you!
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