Today’s theme comes to you from Mildly Granola, who started a Sock it to me Monday thing a while back. I like it, and it works because today’s knitting is…a sock! I’m back working on my Apothefaery socks, and I’ve made it a good way through the leg.
However, the reason I’m back on my sock is because that dad-blasted gosh-dang sweater project I told you about yesterday is not going well. I swatched using size 4, 16″ bamboo circular needles. I assumed that would be close enough to what I would really be using, which are size 4, 40″ metal ChiaoGoo circulars. I knit the first 28-row patterned band and measured it, and the length was NOT half of what I would need for the bust measurement, let alone what I’d need for the bottom hem. (It’s A-line, knit from the bottom, so it should start with the widest point and narrow slightly.) I’m sure you can imagine the words that came out of my mouth at that point. There was no way to make that 28-row, 17″ long strip work as half my hem, so it got frogged and that project is in time-out until I figure out my next step.
What went wrong? Well, I was using metal instead of bamboo. I was knitting flat instead of in the round, but in the past my flat knitting has been looser than in the round, not tighter. So, I don’t even know. Now I can swatch again with the 4s to double check myself, and/or swatch with size 5 circular needles. Or I have a couple options for winging it: go up two sizes with the current needle, or go up one needle size and one pattern size. I’m kind of inclined to wing it a little bit, because the patterned band is really not that different than a swatch, and if it works, I’ll have a good start toward the sweater. What do you think: swatch or wing it??
Also, it’s International Dog Day! That’s a day I can celebrate!
bonnyknits 
Love the dogs and sock. Lol darn knitting not behaving
Right?? Worse than my dogs! (haha not really)
Live daring…wing it! I love the colors…beautiful. 🙂
That’s what I’m thinking too!
Great minds! 😉
I’m so glad you wrote a Sock It To Me Monday post! The socks look great. Normally I say swatch for sweaters, but I’m currently knitting one in the wrong weight of yarn and didn’t swatch, so I can’t be trusted.
Haha!! Normally I’m very good about swatching for sweaters, so I don’t know why I want to rebel this time!
Wing it….I dont think I’ve ever knit a swatch! And now that I’ve said that I will get terrible gauge!
Wow, never?? Yes, you better be careful or the gauge gods will wreak havoc! 😉
Never, lol. That doesnt mean I dont make bizarre things sometimes, or realize how bad it’s going and rip back to figure out how to fix it. I figure it’s just a giant swatch, and it’s either wrong and I have to RIP back, or it’s great and I can keep it moving, lol.
Exactly, every project is just a giant swatch, I love it!
That’s how I see it!!
I’d wing it!
I would wing it, but then I can very rarely be bothered with gauge swatches!
Me too, except for sweaters, but it does seem like a lot of bother right now!
Wing it. Yes, gorgeous yarn colors!
I think I’m gonna do it!
SWATCH. Swatch with the 5’s. Always swatch. I have been burned too many times to give any other advice. It sounds like you can probably do a US5 for the band and then switch back to the 4’s once you’re knitting in the round, but if that doesn’t work will you still want to knit the sweater? Or at that point will you be so annoyed at having frog the band twice and discard the project?
Haha, you are the lone voice of reason!! I hear the logic of your words but I’m afraid I’m going to ignore that logic just this once, and I will probably regret it and then you can say “I told you so!”
Oh well. Good luck! (I’ll admit, I cringed a bit with all the “wing it” comments. I mean, I don’t swatch for most of my projects, but they’re all shawls and I don’t care what size they end up. Even though this does mean that I sometimes run out of yarn when I don’t get gauge. But sweaters? I always swatch.)
It kind of surprised me too, because I truly do swatch for sweaters, every time, and I’ve done several for this sweater already. Maybe that’s why I’m okay proceeding with caution, because I have a good idea of how the stitches behave on the larger needles. And the good news is I’ve measured what I’ve got of the first band & it’s measuring exactly how I want it! Here’s hoping my luck stays good!
Fingers crossed! At least you have already done swatches for this one.
Wing it!
Okay, wing it wins!