The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

HTorrance — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:46:01 GMT

I remember a designer once said that the best swatch for a garment is the garment itself. (I wish I could remember who said that, but I can't.) Little swatches, and even big swatches, don't seem to behave the same way as an entire garment. I had the same experience with a 100% silk top I knit once. It was heart-breaking that my gauge was spot-on and the top was too big. I gave it away to a friend whom it fit better. I now spend a lot more time holding the fabric up as the knitting gets bigger to see if it seems to have more drape or stretch than expected. Mostly I knit with wool, but I think this is more necessary with fibers like silk, bamboo, and rayon, which all have a lot of drape.

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

KnitNoir — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:37:21 GMT

Ack! One more thing to look out for. Forewarned is forearmed. Hmmm, if we had four arms we could knit a lot faster.

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

Donna Renshaw — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:12:03 GMT

May we ask what kind of yarn it was? At least tell us the composition so we can be careful when we use it. Bamboo, though I love to knit it up, has done that to me.

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

SandyS@3 — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:41:17 GMT

I read "IT" a long time ago. I love Stephen King, but you are right about the clowns. Once you've "met" Pennywise, you'll never feel the same about clowns again...

Good luck with the fix-ups for your really pretty purple top!

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

SarahB@115 — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:17:01 GMT

What about doing a tube-swatch for sweaters rather than just the traditional flat square / rectangle swatch?

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

BonnieC@11 — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:09:05 GMT

Shake your fist with fury! I'm so sorry that it's a big, fat trickster. Good job on keeping (or quickly recapturing) a positive attitude about this. THAT is the real inspiration to me!

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

KarinP — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:01:05 GMT

Well, I'm glad it happens to the best. Not that I especially want it to happen to you or anyone else in this matter. But this is life. We can either trow it away or learn to deal with it like you did and at the same time teach everyone else. I'm sure you will make the best of it. I really love your blog. you've got a great sense of humor and can tackle anything.

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

lizkjohnson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:55:10 GMT

It's so true that even when you knit a swatch, there are no guarantees. Knitting likes to keep us humble...!

re: The Best Plans (& Stitches) Sometimes Still Go Awry

MicheleB — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:01:25 GMT

So not only do our gauges swatches occasionally lie, they also prevaricate and obfuscate! Not telling the whole story...not fair. Glad you have such a good attitude about it.