A New Sweater and a Conundrum
Let in never be said that I am too hasty in the use of my stash yarn. I bought Jenna's Rogue pattern in early 2004 like many people in the knitting blogiverse, but didn't really have the right yarn in my stash for it. In October of 2004 I found yarn at ThreadBear in Lansing that I both liked and felt was in the right price range. I brought it home with the best of intentions -- it was October, after all, and a perfect time for contemplating a new sweater -- and promptly buried it, lured by several other projects that have turned out to be wardrobe staples, including Cerys,Butterfly and the Fitzgerald sweater I knit for John. So at least Rogue wasn't ignored for regrettable projects.
Now it's two years later, and I am once again thinking about making a new sweater. I want a warm outerwear sweater that can go shopping with me or hang out in a bar. Something that's comfortable and casual but does not resemble a formless sweatshirt. And that's when I remembered Rogue. And the stash of yarn I already had set aside for it. Perfect, no?
The more I spin my own yarn, the more I appreciate a good tweedy wool. This yarn from Bartlett Yarns of Maine is a 2-ply yarn that reads purplish-blue from a distance, but when you get up close to it, shows off some prominent red and turquoise highlights. Knit up it reads out an almost denimy color.
Now that I've done some spinning and know more about yarn construction and what types of yarn do best in which kinds of projects, I probably wouldn't select a 2 ply for a sweater that was going to feature cables. But this yarn is surprisingly lofty for something that feels relatively scratchy right out of the skein. And it gets much better after it gets a bath. Certainly not against the skin soft, but it's at least as soft as Kureyon or softer, and it lacks the VM that I usually am constantly picking out of Kureyon or Silk Garden. Definitely fine for the outerwear garment that I want Rogue to be. And lofty enough that I think it will still make cables stand out pretty well.
So what's my problem?
Gauge.
Rogue's gauge is 4.5 stitches/inch and 6 rows/inch. When I started knitting on 5.0 mm needles (US 8) it became clear that I was getting 4 stitches/inch or less, so I switched to 4.5 mm (US 7) needles. Before a good soak, I got about 4.3 stitches/inch and 6.3 rows/inch. Not perfect, but I liked the fabric density.
And then I washed my swatch. I've learned from experience not to trust a swatch that hasn't had a bath. And I checked my gauge again...
4.2 stitches/inch and 6.8 rows per inch. Sigh.*
Going down another needle size would probably get me closer to stitch gauge I needed, but it would get me farther away from the row gauge I needed. Going up a needle size gets me better row gauge, but doesn't improve the stitch gauge situation. And I still like the fabric density on the 4.5 mm needles.
If you think .2 stitches/inch can't possibly make any difference... well, Rogue at 4.5 stitches per inch is 35.5" in the smallest size. Rogue at 4.2 sitches/inch is 38" around. As it turns out, this is probably not a bad thing for me. Rogue's smallest size at guage is a little too fitted for me (I've got a 34" bustline measurement), but the medium at gauge (39") is a little too loose. But since most of the pattern is written out using numbers of rows instead of actual measurements, it means that I'm going to have to do some refactoring before I can get started. And I haven't even done my in-the-round gauge swatch yet.
And I was so hoping that I could start this project quickly and without having to use my calculator. Clearly some delayed gratification is going to be required in order to ensure a succesful outcome. Good thing I bought that extra skein of yarn...
* Right now Claudia is probably thinking to herself, something like: "See, I told you, swatches lie... don't make the mistake of thinking that the gauge of that swatch will bear any resemblence to the gauge the yarn will knit up with when you get to the sweater. Some sacrifices to the knitting gods are going to be necessary, especially since you have no hope of finding more yarn in the same dyelot as you bought two years ago." Only she would have expressed this in a much wittier way than I.
It's lovely yarn Theresa...try swatching in the round, my gauge is always tighter that way!
I'm finally getting back to this pattern after a long time, too, and I'm really enjoying it. The math to adjust the row count on the body won't be bad (said by someone who, so far, has been lucky enough to be spot-on gauge). There are 3 to 5 repeats of a set of 6 rows in the middle of the body and it will be simple to add/remove repeats as necessary. The math works out well (at least for the medium sizes) because you need four repeats and after two you are exactly halfway up to the armpit. If you knit to this point, it should be straightforward to adjust the body length as necessary.
I feel your pain... I just swatched some Debbie Bliss merino DK on SIZE 2 needles and am getting a very nice 22 stitches and 28 rows per 4" (that's after a nice bath and block). The gauge on the ball band is 22 stitches and 30 rows per 4" on SIZE 6 needles. What? I really like the feel of the knitted swatch. But, of course, none of the patterns I really want to make have a gauge that's even close. Sigh.
I swatched for Rogue in exactly the same yarn (more of a true purple colour) and couldn't get gauge either. At the time I didn't have the ambition to fiddle with the math to make it work, so it just got set aside
Break out the calculator, baybeee. And the circular needles. It will be worth all the math and the effort, in the end.
Oh, just thinking about it gives me a headache!
Calculator will do it. And frequent checks as you start the pieces. Michelle sounds wise....
I'm feeling your pain! I always have to use a calculator for other people's patterns, so you have my sympathy.
I am the queen of not getting gauge with commercial yarn. I'm always havingto retool and rework patterns. That's why Brambleberry took me so long to knit. I had to completely rework it to get it to fit me with the gauge I got!
I knit Rogue for the knitting Olympics. The math for a bigger yarn isn't too bad. I used Cascade Pastaza at 4 sts/inch. By following the stitch numbers for the size smaller & the lengths for my size I came up with a sweater that fits pretty good (especially since it's a hoodie & has ease built in anyways). The only thing that was slightly tricky was the hood & I just had to cut out the last set of cables. To be honest I practicaly live in the thing. I have high intentions of spinning enough 3 ply CVM to knit a second one...
At least you know when your finished, that it'll be something you love because you took the time in the beginning to figure it all out. I tend to jump in with two feet and then regret that later, I'mt ryin gto learn from those mistakes and be more thoughtful in the process.
It's worth it. Love the color you selected for it.
Mwa-ha-ha. I had to go down to size 5's for Rogue, and I had to use bamboo in the round and metal for my flat swatch to make it work. It was worth it, though. Keep plugging on the swatch...
Rogue is a pretty heavy sweater. Mine has definitely grown in length over time. I wouldn't compensate too much for the shorter row gauge.
You are a much more patient person than I. :)
Ah, knitting math. My new best friend..... (grin)
Well I suspect you're much better at math than my sister so odds are good you'll come up with a good solution.
That yarn is gorgeous, it'll look stunning on you. Start crunching those numbers.
Make the small size. Start with a sleeve as written and see what happens.
This, of course, is the patented Claudia Unscientific Approach. Antithetical in all respects to the Keyboard Biologist approach.
;-)
ultram er