Tag Archives: swatch

Failed Swatch: Rock It Tee

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I had a successful swatch yesterday. But today is not as lucky. Swatching for my Rock It Tee was a total fail

I checked the pattern like 5 times and measured three different ways. I am just way to big at my gauge and needle size. And I can’t fathom going down to much smaller needles and knitting at that gauge. I am also not willing to do the math to pick a pattern size in this pattern to work up a garment that fits me.

I am going to take this swatch and do a Ravelry search to find something that works at this needle size and gauge. Going into the holidays, I don’t want to think that hard!

Happy Swatching!!

Swatching: Cozy Classic Raglan

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I am far enough along on my Round Yoke Pullover that I wanted to start swatching for a Cozy Classic Raglan.

Using my Nomad Yarns DK tweed, I was able to get pattern gauge with the recommended needles. I honestly did a little happy dance. I was swatching over the weekend as I recuperated from a nasty cold. I needed the win!

Now I just need to find more hours in the day to knit. I think this will be the carrot to keep plowing through my current sweater WIP!

Happy Knitting!!

Swatching

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I am making progress on my Love Note and I have several sweaters I want to do this year. And no more that I have ready to cast on. I need more swatches.

I blind pulled one of the project bags I had ready and it was the Unisex Round Yoke Pullover. This is using some deep stash Knit Picks Provincial Tweed in Candy Apple. I think makes a cute pun for casting on during October and Halloween season.

I was able to get gauge the first time, knock on wood, and I’m excited. So I have needles and ready to cast on once I finish my current sweater. Love the new tool I picked up to help with gauge form my SSK swag bag. I measured with this AND a ruler just to be safe.

Happy Knitting!!

A Tale Of Two Swatches

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I have decided to swatch for my Love Note. And I learned some lessons.

First up, this is not the fingering weight yarn I plan to make the sweater out of. I will be playing yarn chicken with my Old Rusted Chair sock yarn so I pulled some fingering scraps from my leftovers to swatch with that has the same yarn base.

I knit the top swatch first with the pattern recommended gauge. And boy howdy….was she tight. I was easily 4+ stitches over gauge. So I went up from US 7s to US 9s. And a bath for both led to me to understand that US 9s are what I need. My row gauge is off a little but I can account for that.

Just need to get my other WIPs clear so I can start this! Happy Knitting!!

SSK Homework

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I am headed to SSK this summer in Nashville and one of my classes has homework.

I am taking a class from Romi Hill and I needed to start a swatch. I may have procrastinated a wee bit but I made it under the wire. I am very excited to head out and spend a wonderful long weekend with crafty friends!

I really need to get my butt in gear and get packed and prepared! Happy Knitting!!

Swatching: Bibliophile Sweater

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I decided to swatch for a second sweater after my Autumn Gold went so well. This time around I chose the Bibliophile 2 by Alicia Plummer.

I wound the yarn and used the recommended needles. And boy oh boy did that NOT work. My fabric is almost bullet proof tight and way off gauge.

I think I will I will try a second time with just one needle size up. I think that will give me stitch gauge but not row gauge. So there will be maths involved when I go to actually and knit the sweater.

Guess I can’t win them all? Happy Knitting!!

Swatching Rainbow Radiate

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I have been excited about working my Synthe and I have had this thought for many years to make another Radiate. This time with a rainbow yoke. I wear my previous version a ton and would love to have more sweaters in my rotation.

I have several skeins of grey yarn that are rainbow speckles. I have two skeins of 316 Dye Studio House DK and four skeins of Wichita Woolery Tweed DK. They are different but close enough I can alternate skeins to make this work. And the kicker is a Hue Loco Phyllis DK in a rainbow sampler set to work the yoke.

I swatched in the round and cut my strings. After a bath and block I measured and I am bang on stitch gauge but my row gauge is off. I will have to adjust my project when I am working sections that are depended on length. I have more rows than the pattern, not unusual with Joji patterns as she is a loose knitter. I can deal with this as long as I pay attention and use measurements.

I can’t decide if I will start this one after or concurrently with Synthe. Do I need two sweaters?

Synthe Swatching

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As I promised myself after finishing my huge crochet blanket, I want to start a sweater with some of the sweater lots I own!

The post Christmas germs finally got me so this swatching process is brought to you by cold medicine, duke snuggles and hiding in my guest room. I wound a skein of my Brooklyn Tweed Shelter and got started.

The Synthe sweater is worked in the round with a purl row breaking up the stockinette. So I decided to swatch the proper way….in the round. I knit my swatch and then moved the work around my circular needle to leave a span of yarn across the back. This means that I should get a truer picture of my pattern gauge in the round.

Once I had my swatch done, I gave it a good wash/rinse in the sink and then bravely cut the strings in the back to get a flat swatch. That was nerve wracking!! The tails are long enough and the yarn is “sticky” enough that they didn’t go anywhere.

The swatch is now pinned out and drying. Once it dries, which should be quick, I can then measure my gauge and determine how close I am to the pattern. I know what size I want to knit based on my bust measurement. I’m hoping I don’t have to adjust too far!

Happy Swatching!!

Re-Swatching Because Swatches Lie

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Earlier this week I had talked about making a second gauge swatch but this time with stripes. Seriously glad I did…because my tension changed while working stripes!! Using this yarn and my needles and making stripes got me a LOT closer to pattern gauge. This means my first spreadsheet math would have had me make a WAAAY to big of a sweater. This washed and blocked swatch only has me go up 1/2 to a whole pattern size. Glad I checked before I had most of a sweater done.

This time I had some better light so I took some better pictures. I am still leaning towards the wrong side of the striping. And I think I’m going to mix and match the single and double garter ridge stripes in some sort of pattern. Stay tuned…

Happy Knitting!!

Sweater Math and Color Options

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I was a good knitter and made a gauge swatch for an upcoming sweater.  I off course was not happy with either the gauge at the recommended needle size or actually achieve pattern gauge. I just had to like my gauge at a different needle size. So taking my gauge I popped open excel and did some maths to figure out what size I needed to make to fit my upper bust at my gauge. And boy howdy did that stretch my brain. But I persevered.

So then I checked the pattern to see how much yarn I would need for the size I was going to make….and I didn’t have enough of the grey. But I know I had some more Berroco Chunky in my stash from some old sweaters.  I dug and found a blue and a purple…see below.

I made a WHOLE NEW SWATCH to see how the colors would play out. I am going full bore responsible knitter here guys. This is what my swatch looks like with stripes…

And here is a blown out photo of the wrong side of my stripes. Am I crazy (the answer is yes btw) but I like the wrong side better. It makes it look like poor woman’s colorwork ala the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos.

I need to wash this swatch version and mull over my options. I am really leaning towards the wrong side. But now….do I work single garter ridge stripes or double ridge garter stripes?

Happy Knitting!!!