Yarn Help and possible gauge help

Pattern Central
1

I have found this wonderful skirt pattern:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall06/PATTcruelty.html
Not sure what i like about it best, the style, the name or the fact it is made with bamboo yarn. My question is in the pattern it calls for South West Trading Co. brand bamboo, i love the idea of natural fiber but have done some research and found this yarn to be quite expensive is there maybe a cheaper version of this that is readily available?..Not that I am cheap but don’t wish to spend a lot of money on something I may bugger up :oops:

Now that I am looking at the pattern again I see that that waist is only an inch bigger then mine but the hip is about three inches bigger then myself would it help to use a slightly smaller needle for the hip shaping or should I decrease amount of stitches? or should I just use a slightly smaller needle the whole way through, the pattern says to use a us 4 (3.5) would a size us 3 make enough of a difference?

2

You can find bamboo yarns in several places–try yarn.com or knitpicks.com for a start.

I don’t think I’d take the pattern down in size at all. You’ll want the ease in the hips so you can move (and especially sit!) in the skirt. However, if you try it on when you have the hips done and find it’s just too big, you could always go back and slim it down.