I Will Always Check My Gauge
I will always check my gauge. I will always check my gauge. I will always check my gauge. I will always check my gauge. I will always check my gauge.
I’m going to be repeating this to myself from now on. I’m having gauge issues, and the worst of it is that I already KNOW that I knit more tightly than the average knitter and that I almost always need to use a bigger needle than what the pattern calls for.
So why did I slack off this time and skip the gauge swatch for Miriam’s birthday sundress?? Because the pattern size that I was making was labeled suitable for ages 1-2 years. Eh, I thought, if it comes out a tad small that’ll be okay since Miriam is only just turning 1 year old. So I went to town using the needle size recommended — and a substitution yarn (another red flag).
The result? A very small sundress. Very small. Tiny. Smaller than the 6-12 month infant size. We’re talking preemie size garment here.
So, it’s back to square one. I devoted some time last night to knitting up a few proper swatches. And it seems that the Millifili Fine yarn (which I love working with) is quite a bit skinnier than the Cotton Glace recommended by the pattern. Combine that with my tight stiches… and by the time I increased needle sizes enough to get stitch gauge, I’d upped from the size 3 that I started with all the way to a size 7 — and working the yarn doubled. Just goes to show how important it is to do your homework!
I ended up being happiest with the fabric when I worked with a single stand and size 6 needles. So… I think I’ll do some calculations and see what would happen if I went with that combination and made the next size bigger. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go ahead and double-strand the yarn.
At least this gives me the opportunity to find some white or cream yarn to go with the lilac, which was my original plan. Using the variagated yarn for stripes just wasn’t quite doing it for me. Live and learn!