I made enough headway on the first Mr. Mitten for him to try it on. Too tight. The gauge was about 1/5 of a stitch to the inch over the recommended. (Too many siiches per inch = tighter, too few = looser than the listed finished size.) No, I didn't do a gauge swatch. Yes, I'm an idiot. I ripped it back and started over. Frog! (I use "frog" as a knitting curse word. Doesn't everyone?) This is only relevant because this is the fourth mitten pattern I've tried to make for the hubby.
Normally I make mittens just fine the first time. I've made over two dozen pairs. No problem. Except when I'm knitting for the Mr..
Every time, the gauge and chosen yarn either work out a little too tight or too loose. I rip back and start again. Usually twice. I give up.
Apparently it is a karmic ask for me to learn to get an exact mitten gauge in colorwork. This time I'm changing needle finish, too. I was knitting on aluminum, which for me tends to knit the loosest of needle materials. (Bamboo knits tightest.) I've switched to two sizes up, plastic, which on flat knitting gives me the right gauge. But flat and circular gauge are a little different sometimes. We shall see.
To cleanse my mind of the failure a little, I did reverse the colors. Now the multi is the cuff. Otherwise the pattern will look about the same. Oh, and I'm teaching a variation of this pattern next week. One found in Marcia Lewandwoski's Folk Mittens. (I have a finished pair I made for myself a couple of years ago.) It would be nice if I had a WiP to show the class, complete with thumb work. Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment