There is only one of the Brushed Alpaca. What looks like another strand of yarn is a shadow.
The Alpaca Silk looks finer than I would expect for a yarn that has a listed gauge of 16-19sts/4". La Gran mohair always seemed heavier than that. I wonder if that’s contributing to the oddity of gauge. Even doubling the alpaca, it’s still not contributing much to gauge. When I’ve carried a similar yarn along with a wool, it hardly affected gauge at all and that may be similar to what you are seeing.
All good things to check. If you like the drape of the knit fabric then you have a choice: go with the gauge you are getting now and make the size that gives you the measurements you need or change out the Alpaca Silk for a heavier mohair or save this yarn for another project.
If you go ahead you will have to consider the amount of yarn that you’ll need. You might start by knitting a sleeve which will give you an idea of the yarn required.
Your knitting looks very pretty and will make a beautiful jacket if you decide to go ahead. I guess what’s still going on at the back of my brain is what happens to gauge and drape on a larger size needle.
Maybe it needs the bigger needle and bigger stitch size so it has space to puff out and haze when it is washed and dried?? What do you think? Looking at patterns made only with brushed alpaca silk, the stitch itself is quite big looking but the haze is billowy and there’s a soft drape without looking holey.
Thanks for responding. I appreciate your input! I will do what you just mentioned…. working a sleeve and doing it in the size S instead of XS ad it seems like I’m getting something closer to the cast on for that size.
I know I will probably need to repeat the rows that are listed for each of the Pattern Rows to get the length but I don’t think that’s as big of a problem as it is getting the sts per inch.
I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from after all of this but I will keep you posted on what happens with a sleeve.
Thanks again for all your time and advice!
Mahalo MK
We are delighted to hear from you, especially with this puzzler! Don’t hesitate to come back if there’s still a problem or if you have other questions. This is going to be a good-looking jacket that is a go-to choice in the cool weather.
I hope the sleeve goes well.
Have you thought about ordering the additional yarn for the double brushed alpaca silk, I don’t know what the dye batches are like, but just thinking it could be worth trying to get the same batch now rather than later.
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Once I realized that I was going to need more yarn I went ahead and ordered more!
Thanks for thinking about it!
MK
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