Hi everyone,
I want to knit this pullover (attached), and I made two swatches:
One with a 5.5 mm needles and it came out 15.5st X 23r
the other one I knit with 5 mm needles and it came out 18st X 25r
Which one should I use?
Also, in the Gauge instructions, it says 17st X 24 r to 10 cm over st st using larger needles.
What does the larger needles mean? larger than what? what for?
Thanks for your help!
The larger needle thing is a misprint-- they only give 1 size of needles in this pattern.
Forget the row counting-- you can make up for that in the number of rows you knit. The issue is the stitches across. This pattern has a lot of sizes, so I would go with the 5.5mm and a smaller size, or the 5mm and a larger size. The difference you’re getting between the 2 sizes of needles is pretty extreme, though. Try knitting some more and see what the gauge is again.
They want the gauge to be 17 sts/24 rows per 10cm using the larger of the two needles, so the 5.5mm. Since you only got 15½ sts with it, and 18 with the smaller one… hmmm. You must have cast on more than 20 sts, which is good, the edge sts shouldn’t be used in the measurement. Did you wash and/or block the swatches the same way you will the sweater? That may make the gauge turn out right on the 5mm needles if the yarn is one that will relax a little. Try that, your yarn is likely a little thinner than the pattern uses. You’ll probably do the sweater on the 5mm ones, and where you were supposed to use them, you’d use 4.5mm instead.
The link to your pattern didn’t come through, and you can’t attach or copy an entire pattern here anyway. Just copy the important parts for the question, which for this one is the name, yarn and needles used and the gauge.
There is only 1 size of needle given in the pattern:
“MATERIALS
• 5 (6, 6, 7, 8, 9) 3≤oz/100g balls (each approx
207yd/188m) Lion Brand Yarn Cotton-Ease
(cotton/acrylic) in #113 cherry
• One pair size 8 (5mm) needles OR SIZE TO
OBTAIN GAUGE”
This is your clue - One pair size 8 (5mm) needles[B] OR SIZE TO
OBTAIN GAUGE[/B]"
Whatever size it takes to get gauge, the needles given are the ones to start with.
I think there’s a misunderstanding about her original question. The pattern gives only 1 size of needles, and the directions only use 1 size. But the gauge says to use the “larger” size needles, as if there were 2 sizes used in the pattern. That’s (part of) what confused her.
Probably, that’s why I asked for the name of the pattern too, so we could all look at it.
Thanks for all the relpies,
The pattern is “Relaxed pullover” from Vogue Knitting free patterns. In the pattern it says (as written above):
“MATERIALS
• 5 (6, 6, 7, 8, 9) 3≤oz/100g balls (each approx
207yd/188m) Lion Brand Yarn Cotton-Ease
(cotton/acrylic) in #113 cherry
• One pair size 8 (5mm) needles OR SIZE TO
OBTAIN GAUGE”
I am using the exact same yarn as in the pattern, and on the yarn itself it also states that 17st X 24r = 10X10mm.
So I figure that this is the gauge that should be obtained before blocking…
So, if one swatch had too little rows and st, and the other one has too many… which one is better?
Maybe choosing a size that is a bit wider than my size, and use the smaller needles…? this is my first big project, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to improvise…
Oh, and I remembered one more thing I wanted to ask:
Should I do a few raws of ribbing at the beginning so it won’t roll, or should the blocking take care of it? (the pattern doesn’t say anything about ribbing or knitting a few rows of rice)?
Is blocking 50% cotton/50% acrilan possible? is it the same as wool?
Thank you!
You should go with the one that’s closest to the right number of stitches, not so much the rows. And it’s the gauge for the pattern after blocking. But cottonease doesn’t block the same as wool, so just take the one you did on the 5mm and run it through the washer and dryer. The bottom will curl, it doesn’t really block. You can knit the first inch or so on smaller needles and that will help, or do an inch in garter or seed stitch at the bottom edges.