Gauge frustration w/Malabrigo sock yarn

How-to Questions
1

I’ve got this gorgeous Malabrigo sock yarn that I want to make these socks with for my sister. The yarn in the pattern is light fingering weight, Malabrigo sock is light fingering, so I thought I’d be okay.

The pattern calls for 2.5mm (US1 1/2) needles, but I’m a bit of a tight knitter so I tried knitting a swatch with my 2.25mm’s first. Instead of 7 stitches per inch (spi), it was 12! I figured with such a drastic difference, I’d try my 2.75mm. Still not right at 10 spi! Now I just finished ANOTHER swatch with 3mm and I’m getting 7 1/2-8 spi!

I don’t have anything bigger, and I’m not sure that the fabric would look right in a size up.

Here’s the thing: My sister’s feet are smaller than the pattern is supposed to make. Do you think that since my gauge is pretty close that the difference would make up for the fact that I want the socks to be slightly smaller than the pattern calls for?

This is driving me crazy. :wall:

2

According to Ravelry it’s 32st over 4 inches so it’s pretty thin. Are you sure you’re counting right? Those numbers don’t make sense…:??
http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/malabrigo-yarn-sock

3

Are you sure you got Malabrigo sock, and not Malabrigo lace? The numbers make more sense for their lace weight than their sock weight. I have used Malabrigo sock, and it’s certainly not the thinnest sock yarn I’ve ever knit with, so it sounds weird that with ANY size needle you’d get 12 spi.:think: