Checking tension

I’m rather confused about the number of stitches to cast on when checking tension. I have just purchased Womens lacy shell jumper pattern chunky knitting pattern No. 57A by Sweetdreams Knitting. The tension is given as 1 patt. rep. of 18sts measures 11cm. 1 patt. rep. of 42 rows measures 18cm. The first two rows of the pattern read:

Row 1
K
Row 2
p.6,(k13, p5) 3 times, k13, p6.

This obviously amounts to more than 18sts. How many stitches do I therefore cast on?

Thank you.

You could knit knit two pattern repeats or 36sts [(k13,p5)x2] then measure across the middle 11cm. That’s more than enough but better a larger tension square than one that it to small. You can knit for 12-15cm and then measure rows down the middle 9cm.
Such a lovely lace pattern. Worth getting it right.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/132993724207

The yarn has also been discontinued. It is Robin aurora brushed chunky. Would it be OK to get Robin chunky? The gauge is given as 14sts to 20rows. I’m still not sure about the 18sts the pattern is talking about. Unless I can understand this, I’m not going to attempt the pattern. I really don’t have a clue.

If the gauge, 14sts/4" and 20rows/4" is the same you can substitute the chunky for the brushed chunky. I can see the chunky at 14sts/4" so it should be fine as a substitute.
https://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/robin-chunky

The 18sts that the pattern is mentioning is this portion: p.6,(k13, p5) 3 times, k13, p6.
That repeats across the row ending with another k13. The p6 on either end is possibly a border.

Hello
To understand the 18 sts referred to it may help to place markers between each repeat.

Casting on 36 as salmonmac suggests
K13, p5, place marker, (that’s one set of 18)
K13, p5, (that’s the second set of 18)

Or if you want to put the purl border you could cast on an additional 12 making 48 cast on
P6, place marker (border)
K13, p5, place marker (one set of 18)
K13, p5, place marker (second set of 18)
P6 (border)

Although this makes a larger swatch than needed it would give a good idea of how the pattern works and looks. It’s a good place to practise a pattern and also if you keep your swatch you can try out increases, decreases, bind offs etc on it before working them on your project.

Markers are really helpful to keep track of pattern repeats and in particular can help identify how a pattern is continued during shaping for a sweater (armholes, neck and maybe other shaping) because it is easier to see each repeat and any which are no longer full repeats when the stitch count changes.

I hope this helps.

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Thank you very much for your response. I can understand now what you’re saying about checking the tension. When I found I couldn’t find the correct yarn, it seemed to be a non-starter. Thank you again for giving me the confidence to go ahead.

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Thank you very much, it all sounds much more doable now.

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Sorry this isn’t working working out at all. There’s increases which throw the stitch count out. Row 1:
K
Row 2:
P6 K13, P5 3 times. K13, P6
Row 3:
K4 *yf, K17, yf, K1, rep. from * twice, yf, K17, yf, K4

Stitches are increased on rows 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and are decreased to their original number on rows 4, 6. 8, 10, 12 and 14

How do I check the tension with these increases/decreases? I cast on 48 stitches, but now the pattern is throwing things out and the correct pattern isn’t emerging.

Thank you for your time.

You’re welcome. Glad it feels doable.
Have you ever heard of yarnsub? It’s a site (free) you can put in the yarn suggested by a pattern and it will come up with a list of recommendations which are similar. You can alter the filters if you have preference for man made, natural, budget and a few other things. It is helpful if you feel at a deadend due to discontinued yarn or perhaps yarn out of budget.
I have made more patterns with the wrong yarn than with the right yarn. I always check the tension and check the length of each ball to make sure I buy enough for the project.

Hello
To me the numbers given in the pattern don’t add up, even if you didn’t alter the cast on number for the swatch and even without the increases in row 3 the stitch count doesn’t appear to me to marry up with row 2. Therefore I will leave salmonmac to advise you on this.

Don’t be discouraged though. Often the tricky bit is in the getting going and a pattern is much easier to work once you’re into it.

Is that the right pattern? It says “lacy”, not “chunky”. And the stitch count given in her pattern only shows 3 pattern repeats across, not 7.

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Thank you for your time and yes I always find that once I’m started it’s much easier.

Yes the pattern says Robin aurora brushed chunky, which is no longer available, so this is all round difficult.

I was asking about the link @Creations posted to the Etsy site, which shows a lovely repeated shell pattern, but it’s for a lighter-weight yarn and has 7 shells across the front. Can you post a pic of what your sweater looks like?

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It should be enough to cast on 36sts and work 2 repeats but you can work more if you wish. The repeat in row 2 is 18sts. The sts required to work row 3 are still 18. When you finish row 3 there will be 2 more sts per repeat or 20sts in each repeat. It’ll help to have markers between the repeats.
The pattern tells you that there will be increases as part of the pattern stitch on the listed odd rows. Then the stitch count decreases on the even rows listed. Once you’ve completed the 14 rows or an additional repeat of the 14 rows (28 rows total) block the lace gauge swatch and when dry measure it this way.

It was salmonmac that posted the link to the pattern and I agree it doesn’t look like the same pattern. The description of the one on the link sounds similar but has in the description that it is DK yarn, not chunky.

@Christine_H do you have a photo of the sweater on the pattern or a link to where you bought it?

@salmonmac how does the rep pattern work when row 2 begins with 6 purl but row 3 begins with 4 knit?
Whilst the section between the ** of row 3 still uses 18 stitches, these are not the same 18 stitches repeated in row 2. Ie if markers go in on row 2 the rep on row 3 begins before the marker. I can see confusion in how to work the swatch.
Also despite the rep having 18 stitches, the row stitch count of row 3 doesn’t equal the row count of row 2, whether it was a swatch or the sweater. That’s how I see it.

@Christine_H for your sweater pattern in the size you want to make what is the stitch count for the front or back? How many to cast on, is there a stitch count change between a hem rib section and the main pattern starting? What is the stitch count given as you begin row 1?

@Christine_H can you check that this is the pattern for the first 3 rows? What doesn’t make sense is that the stitch number after completing row 2 is 79sts while the stitch number required to work row 3 is 61sts. These two numbers should be exactly the same.
Row 1: K
Row 2: P6 * K13, P5 * 3 times. K13, P6
Row 3: K4 *yf, K17, yf, K1, rep. from * twice, yf, K17, yf, K4

The pattern and repeat may shift from row to row but these stitch numbers between rows shouldn’t. The pattern does tell you that there will be increases and decreases across rows.

Stitches are increased on rows 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and are decreased to their original number on rows 4, 6. 8, 10, 12 and 14

Yes that’s correct.

This all sounds rather complicated to me. When I worked row 3, I had stitches left over at the end of the row.

Thank you for your helpful advice.

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