So I’m still working on that cardigan. When I knitted a swatch, the recommended size 8 needles were too small, so I switched to a size 9. The pattern calls for a 20 sts and 30 rows over 4". On the size 9, I get 5 stitches over an inch, but over 4 inches, it’s about 20.5 sts. I convinced myself that it would be okay, knitted a bit, got a little loose, ripped it out, started again, a little tighter, and it seems to be okay, but I have 28 rows over 4 inches. Size 8 is too small, but 9 seems to be slightly too big. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Hiya ktd,
Well if you’re getting the correct stitches per inch, that’s good. as for the rows, usually cardigans n other items like that use inches instead of row counts for length (example: work in pattern for x "s…etc.) So the row count isn’t nearly as important as the stitch count. You can always add or subtract rows but it’s a PITA to try to calculate stitch counts when you’re gauge is different than the patterns.:knitting:
You may be purling looser than you knit, so you could use size 9 on the knit rows and size 8 for the purl rows. Or vice versa if you knit looser than you purl. Also it’s recommended to wash and block your swatch to determine if the yarn relaxes once it gets looser. This works better with wool, rather than acrylic.