March 11, 2004
A Pair of Fronts
The Front of LoTech
I feel like I finally have some momentum going with LoTech. With the addition of the right front, I now have the back, both fronts, and one sleeve finished. Only one more sleeve, a hood and two pockets remain. I'll cast on for the last sleeve tomorrow night at our KIP. I would have tonight, but couldn't remember where I'd put my 4.0 mm needle, and was too lazy to go find it And I wanted to swatch this:
Calmer NightSky Swatches
I really do love Calmer. It's almost hard to believe that it is a cotton yarn. It is incredibly soft and has a lot of elasticity. I did my first Calmer swatch at the last KIP and the gauge wasn't quite on target for the 5.0 mm needles called for. So I stepped down to 4.5 mm needles.
Can anyone tell the difference? Just looking at the photo, I can't (the one on the left was knit with the 4.5 mm needles). So now I've knit two swatches on two different sized needles and I more or less get 20 stitches/4 inches instead of 21 stitches/4 inches (my row gauge is fine). Ugh! First the All Seasons Cotton, now the Calmer. Suggestions anyone? Should I try going down yet another needle size? Or should I just not worry about it because Audrey is mostly ribbing and that extra 1/2 inch of stitches (in the width of the garment) will just get sucked into the ribbing? Hmmm... decisions... decisions... Good thing I still have a wonking big sleeve to knit for LoTech.
P.S. Tonight is the Wicker Park KIP. Come meet up with us at Letizia's between 7 and 9 pm!
I would think that half an inch will get sucked into the rib. If you are between sizes I'd go with the smaller size and only block every so slighty if at all
as claudia says, you don't know until you swatch it, so do another swatch on a smaller needle and then see what happens with that. i've often found that you have to go down a serious number of needle sizes to actually get less stitches. i just swatched w/ my rowan denim and had to go to a 4 from a 6 just to get down from 21 to 20. so i feel your pain. but i think it's worth it. plus then you will have that fabric to compare also and can really see.
Someone is in my head. ;-)
I *would* actually do one more swatch to see if going down one needle size produces the stitch gauge called for AND a suitable fabric. If you end up still liking the fabric at 20 sts/in. best, I wouldn't necessarily count on the ribbing pulling in. If it were me, I'd subtract a few stitches from the Audrey size you were planning in order to compensate for the less stitches per inch.
I've been in the same dilemma. When I went down to size 4mm's, the fabric was way too dense. I'd go with the 4.5mm's. But isn't Calmer F-A-B no matter what the needle size?
I'm soooooo looking forward to this knitalong. Oui, oui! Vrooooooooooooom. [Takes off on scooter with scarf flapping in the wind.]
Yes! I can definitely see that the one on the left is smaller - quite clearly.
Looks smarter and sharper, too
I'd stick with the 4.5s :)
L