I have begun my mitten adventure!
Phase 1 of 9: Swatch and Gauge
I began (as one is always supposed to do) with a swatch on size 3 needles as instructed. I cast on 30 stitches and after knitting a few rows of garter stitch started working in stockinette stitch. Once I had about an inch of work, I did a gut check.
My 30 stitch wide swatch was not even 4 inches wide and I was trying to achieve 22 stitches and 16 rows in 4 inches of stockinette stitch required per the pattern. Verdict:
Rip it out and try again.
I started by reading the pattern from the beginning instead of skipping straight to gauge. It was then that I realized the pattern writer had held two yarns together and recommended heavy fingerling or sport weight yarn. I had light fingerling yarn. I cast on another 30 stitches holding the yarn doubled and after a bit of knitting did a gut check.
It was more than 4 inches wide. I decided this was sufficient to justify completing the swatch.
The results were 26 stitches and 30ish rows in 4 inches of stockinette stitch versus the 22 stitches and 16 rows in 4 inches of stockinette stitch required per the pattern. Verdict: I am a tight knitter.
I immediately disregard the row gauge discrepancy. These are mittens, I'll just knit more rounds to get the results I want.
I thought about knitting another swatch. Hating to waste the time though, I opted to do some math. 26 stitches over 4 inches is 6.5 stitches per inch. If I compared the diameter ratio of size 3 needles versus size 4 needles, I could reasonably expect to achieve 24 stitches per 4 inches. The same ratio logic revealed that I should expect 22 stitches over 4 inches on size 5 needles.
Size 5 sounds like a winner to me, so I'm casting on the mittens without knitting a new swatch. I'll verify gauge once I've knit for a bit to confirm that I did my math correctly.
And If not, I won't have lost any more time than making a new swatch would take.
Until next time,
Jessica, Empress of the Universe
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