[B] Sorry guys, I put this in the wron place earlier. HELP!!![/B]
I purchased some Elsebeth Lavold Chunky AL in Turquoise (50% alpaca and 50% Peruvian wool). My friend loves both the pattern and the wool . BUT they don’t like each other! :?? It is knitting at close to 3 1/2-4 sts to an inch on 10 1/2 needles. The gauge for the pattern is at about 2 1/4 per inch. I went up to a size 12 and can get close to gauge but it makes the material too loose. I don’t want it stretching like an accordian! :hair: Thinking of adding either a lace weight or fingering weight to go along to get that gauge OTHERWISE I will have to change patterns. Any other things you think I might try? The pattern is a free one from Lion Brand using Wool-Ease Thick and Quick. My friend/client loves that pattern though. Now if only they had made that pattern in a small?! She is a tiny 4’8’’ and the patter’s smallest size is written for a medium or I could go ahead with the gauge as it is as she wants it a little big…BUT at the gauge I am getting it would be a LARGE medium at best and possibly even a LARGE. She is only 34" at her largest chest measurement. What do you all think? Thanks ahead of time. You guys do come through!! 
Free Lion Brand Shrug Pattern
Maybe you could reduce the number of stitches by a certain percent all the way throughout the pattern? A guide is to check out the differences between the sizes in the pattern. Usually, each size goes up by the same number of stitches. I don’t see why you can’t go down by the same number of stitches to get a smaller size.
Which pattern is it? That would help us figure out things, as well.
[COLOR=#e88787]http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/50718.html[/COLOR]
Here it is Ingrid. I was trying to figure out how to get it here. Finally copied where someone else had placed it another post. Thanks Sharon
To make it smaller, forget about the gauge and use the size 10.5s and follow the pattern for the XL. I don’t know of a US size 12, there’s 11 and 13. 11s might work but you’d still have to downsize the pattern.
Hi Sue, You’re right… I tried 11’s then 13’s. The 13’s are the ones that I got ‘close’ to the gauge with but the material is much too stretchy. Not even close to being appropriate for a nice warm shrug. I did take Ingrids advice and decreased all the pattern numbers. Lion Brand made it easy by putting the number of stitches that should be on the needles after every change. That’s what I used to do when I wrote patterns. After my stroke however, I can only follow patterns, not much designing or math anymore. Thanks a lot!