Yeah, I know, it's just a swatch. But when you're knitting on small needles with small yarn, getting a good swatch is a milestone.
The desired tension for Lotus is 7.5 stitches/inch and about 9.5 rows/row. After I got my hands on a pair of 2.75 mm needles, I cast on and promptly discovered that I didn't need them after all: too big. So I switched to 2.5 mm needles. Still no dice. Finally, I hit my target (sort of) on 2.25 mm needles. Wooo boy. I'm going to knit an entire sweater on needles I would normally use for socks.
For the record (mostly my own) I got the following results from swatching:
2.75 mm needles: 7 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch
2.50 mm needles: 7.2 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch
2.25 mm needles: 7.5 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch
I never really got the ideal row gauge, but, since the shaping in this garment is mild, I should be fine just knitting to the desired lengths.
After ripping out the work from the 2.75 mm needles, when it became clear that the 2.5 mm needles wouldn't be quite right either, I just knit a seed stitch band in the middle and then started with the 2.25 mm needles. Probably not the best idea given the distortion of the swatch at the middle, but I think I was still, ultimately able to get a fair measurement.
The swatch didn't change at all after a warm soak. I let it dry flat on a counter top instead of hanging because it's unlikely that I will wash this sweater and let it hang dry and I felt that the weight of the wet swatch drying would probably distort the fabric too much.
The swatch has lovely stitch definition and is soft and smooth on the front and the back. It has a nice, drapey, but not too loose quality about it that I think will make for a nice sweater. On the reverse stockinette side, you can see any hint of unevenness in my tension, but nothing really shows up on the right side, so the wrong side doesn't bother me at all.
Overall the yarn was nice to knit with -- I found I could knit and read at the same time, so it's not hard to knit successfully just by touch. However, this stuff does want to split, so I found it necessary to pay attention to edge stitches or stitches that were tight to make sure that I didn't split the plies -- which would definitely be visible in the fabric.
Of course, casting on has commenced, so in the not too distant future I'll be able to see how "honest" my swatch really was with me.
The desired tension for Lotus is 7.5 stitches/inch and about 9.5 rows/row. After I got my hands on a pair of 2.75 mm needles, I cast on and promptly discovered that I didn't need them after all: too big. So I switched to 2.5 mm needles. Still no dice. Finally, I hit my target (sort of) on 2.25 mm needles. Wooo boy. I'm going to knit an entire sweater on needles I would normally use for socks.
For the record (mostly my own) I got the following results from swatching:
2.75 mm needles: 7 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch
2.50 mm needles: 7.2 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch
2.25 mm needles: 7.5 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch
I never really got the ideal row gauge, but, since the shaping in this garment is mild, I should be fine just knitting to the desired lengths.
After ripping out the work from the 2.75 mm needles, when it became clear that the 2.5 mm needles wouldn't be quite right either, I just knit a seed stitch band in the middle and then started with the 2.25 mm needles. Probably not the best idea given the distortion of the swatch at the middle, but I think I was still, ultimately able to get a fair measurement.
The swatch didn't change at all after a warm soak. I let it dry flat on a counter top instead of hanging because it's unlikely that I will wash this sweater and let it hang dry and I felt that the weight of the wet swatch drying would probably distort the fabric too much.
The swatch has lovely stitch definition and is soft and smooth on the front and the back. It has a nice, drapey, but not too loose quality about it that I think will make for a nice sweater. On the reverse stockinette side, you can see any hint of unevenness in my tension, but nothing really shows up on the right side, so the wrong side doesn't bother me at all.
Overall the yarn was nice to knit with -- I found I could knit and read at the same time, so it's not hard to knit successfully just by touch. However, this stuff does want to split, so I found it necessary to pay attention to edge stitches or stitches that were tight to make sure that I didn't split the plies -- which would definitely be visible in the fabric.
Of course, casting on has commenced, so in the not too distant future I'll be able to see how "honest" my swatch really was with me.
A whole sweater on sock needles? This is one of those knitting experiences I'll just enjoy vicariously!
Imagine, I don't swatsch for Rowan sweaters any longer. I have knitted so many of them, I now know that my gauge with the given needles and the given yarn is always a little loose and that size XS perfectly fits.
Can't wait to see the sweater done! Good luck!
Dude, I hope you cast on for a sleeve-swatch.
Wow. An entire sweater on sock needles. You now have my undying admiration forever and ever!
And I just HAVE to ask....how in the world do you manage to hold a book, never mind read it, while you knit on such teeny tiny needles??
I am drooling over this sweater, this yarn....
Hi, it will actually go faster than you think, at least that is how I remember my Isabella (admitedly no sleeves). Just take it slow and steady.
I'm not sure I'm ready for the sweater with sock needles project yet but I will enjoy seeing how this turns out :) It looks lovely in the picture.