Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Taking my Time

I have a confession to make. I didn't get gauge on the Sweet Peas sweater. I didn't use the required yarn which knits up to a gauge of 4 sts to the inch. My yarn knit up to 5 sts to the inch. I decided to go ahead anyway, by using ratios on the pattern. It involved a lot of math, but of the simplest kind.

For example, when casting on, the pattern called for 80 sts. I divide that by 4 (the pattern's gauge) to get 20, which represents the number of inches required. I multiply the inches by my gauge to get the number I need to cast on: 20*5=100. And off I go!

The only iffy thing to this is the sleeve cap and the neck shaping. I played a little with the numbers there. For example, at the sleeve cap it says to cast off 2 sts 4 times. This means 4 sts at each edge get cast off. At my gauge I need to cast off 5, so I cast off 3 sts twice and 2 sts once.

Well, the proof is in the pudding:

Sleeve caps and neck: check! But I think you will understand that I took my time setting in those sleeves. It was not something I wanted to do in a hurry.

Next up, the side seams.

5 comments:

  1. 'Sweet Pea' looks terrific. I know what you mean about setting in sleeves. When I knit my GD's shrug, I had everything completed, but it sat there for about three days while I got up the courage to set in the sleeves! It worked out, but it is the thought that scares me!
    I am with you on the math thing with yarn! Sometimes I have the yarn before I have the pattern, so I guess we make the yarn match the pattern.
    Good idea on painting the piece of cardboard, especially when you have a nice bold colour like you used. Were you happy with the result?

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  2. Anonymous7:53 pm

    I totally love this sweater. It is a sweet pea! Once again, Laurie, incredible work!

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  3. Anonymous2:09 am

    Great math - it worked out really well. Lovely sweater.

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  4. Anonymous2:04 pm

    I often fudge the way you do and adjust my stitch gauge so it matches the dimensions the pattern expects you to get. In some cases, though, if I think I'll be bigger or smaller than the pattern, I'll just use a different size (that is, I'd knit to the "small" dimensions if I think my work might be stretchy, instead of the medium).

    That's a pretty sweater, and very nice yarn.

    primetimeknitter.typepad.com

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  5. setting in the sleeves always takes me forever too, but it's worth the time invested. to me that is one spot on a sweater that people look directly at, and a neat shoulder line is a thing of beauty . . .

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