Ok I’m here for your opinions before I set off on the Dollar and a Half Cardigan from IK. Soo…I’ve knit up a gauge swatch (whoa, imagine that!) in the lace pattern. Of course, I only did a 21 stitch/26 row swatch which is EXACTLY the 4x4 dimensions (I’m lazy). So I wet it down and I’ve got it pinned to a gridded board and it just BARELY stretches out to meet the 4x4 dimensions.
So here are my questions: Does Cotlin stretch with wear or hold really tight to dimensions? Does the $1.50 pattern run large or small? Cuz I’m wondering if I should just attack the pattern with the needles I used for the swatch and make the size I intended–or if I should go up a needle size or maybe half a needle size…or if I should use the swatch needles but make it a size larger? Etc etc…
You might want to try redoing the swatch, only add about 5 sts of seed st on either side of the stitch pattern of 21 sts, and a few rows of garter before and after. The edge sts behave differently from the middle stitches and you may not get a true measure of your gauge if you only CO the exact number of sts.
A swatch has to be greater than 4x4 in. There is a good saying:“A lazy person usually is forced to make everything twice”. So… value your time and don’t be lazy.
Oh I know all the rules about swatching, but I’m still too lazy to go beyond a meager minimum.:teehee: I think I’m gonna just start the sleeve and use that as my “swatch.”
My laziness has never forced me to make anything twice, sometimes it just means I make a gift instead of something for myself. Hehe.
Just a heads up…check out other examples of the Dollar and a Half Cardi. Lots of people have had issues with the non-lace portions bulging out, giving a weird Michelin man effect. There’s talk of using a smaller needle for those portions. I’m trying to remember where I saw the discussion…maybe Ravelry.
It’s a great sweater! I have it in my to-do list.
Yeah I’ve checked that out both on Ravelry and the blog KAL. I’m debating–I might do regular St st instead of Rev, but I’ve also seen some examples that came out fine after blocking. I like the texture of the Rev St st but sometimes I also feel like it just adds more thickness and I’m not a person who really needs that :teehee:. Can’t decide yet…
<<<<[COLOR=“RoyalBlue”]My laziness has never forced me to make anything twice, sometimes it just means I make a gift instead of something for myself. Hehe.[/COLOR]<<<<
