26 February 2007

Yet more proof that size matters


After trying the front of the Jo Sharp Ultravest on my 13-year-old, I was afraid it was going to be too snug for me. I even contemplated adding extra stitches to the back. Good thing I didn't! This might be all the bigger I want it.


In fact, I'm forced to admit, it's really too big. Oh yes. Try imaging the ribbing that is still to go around that armhole! After a moment of utter self-loathing, hating my loose knitting style, and fury over my failure to accurately measure a gauge swatch, I decided to check the printed measurements. What's this? Size medium is 100cm around? Does that sound good? Sure, so let's check the measurements of the actual garment: and yes, I'm supposed to and I do get 50cm each side, or 100cm around. Gadfrey, this thing is exactly the right size!

What happened? I know that 10cm is 4in, because every knitter, even the most diehard stick-in-the-mud lost-cause Imperial-clinging knitter (me), has noticed that equivalency on every ballband printed on Planet Earth. So you would think I'd realize that 100cm is 40in, which is to say, practically a foot, a foot, of ease before the stretching begins. I hereby vow to do my own careful conversions wherever they are not already presented, forevermore.

Good thing I don't need to fly this vest to Mars.

So back to second-grade arithmetic, because I am still crazy about the yarn, and I'm prepared to rejigger the pattern and knit it a third time. Yep: after I knit it once using right-slanted decreases on the right-slanting sides of the knitting, I decided I preferred the more old-fashioned look of left-slanting decreases on the right-slanting side. The alignment of same-slanting elements together produces a very noticeable ridge, which I thought too pronounced in the already-quite-fat Silkroad Ultra. The mis-aligned decreases make the little full-fashioning marks I like so much.

Here's the right-slanting decreases (k2tog) on the right-leaning knitting:


And here's the left-slanting decreases (SSK) on the right-leaning side:


There's still a marked boundary, but it's not so dimensional, and it's not casting a big shadow. Which do you all like better, and when?

5 comments:

NJStacie said...

I like the lefties better!

Alayne said...

I like the ridging as design element. Especially in such a gorgeous color, I like adding a little dimensionality.

Did the picture of it show it big on the model? That is so bizarre.

evandra said...

Aiee, my vest has *also* turned out to be just a bit too big - not as big as yours - but a bit droopy. I'm counting on the armhole/neck ribbing to snug it up a bit. What is going on?? Maybe it's the retrograde planets...

Max said...

The model for this pattern was unusually... how can I put this... well, I'll just say it: thick-waisted. I figured I would make up in hips what she had in waist. Alas!

Anyway, it's on to gloves and socks for Mexico, because: portability. But when I'm back I would love a little help figuring out how to do the pattern. Anyone?

Veronica TM said...

i am just learning to knit so i got a little lost here, but i love the colour of that yarn!
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