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Brioche Gauge is my new nemesis
Jul. 10th, 2020 08:49 pmThings weren't quite going as planned with Crocus, and I had to frog a few times. I was pondering my other WIPs. There's still a single sock on the needles, but I really didn't feel like it, so Solstice was my only other option. It was easy enough to get into it again, the muscles remembered how to brioche and I was having fun because this yarn is so darn scrumptious to knit with (Malabrigo Sock).
It did seem like the shoulder rectangle was growing rather wide. I had cast one the second largest size as per my gauge - which matched the pattern gauge pretty well. We snapped a quick picture this morning, and yes: it was growing rather too wide.
This is a boxy sweater with a dropped sleeve, so however wide you start out with on the shoulder will be the width of the sweater too. Stuck on the needles, the brioche didn't stretch very much because the knit fabric was limited by the needle tips, but once it would be off the needles I could see there was going to be a lot more stretch. Brioche makes for a very stretchy fabric. Which is great, because you knit it with two colours on purpose, and the fabric will be one colour on the front and another on the back until it stretches.
I tried stretching the fabric similarly to what the lady on the front of the pattern was wearing. Lots of the contrast colour showing between the cornrows of brioche, but not so much the stitches themselves pulled tightly.
Where the pattern calls for 26 stitches for 10 centimeters and I am right on point with 3.5 mm needles in stockinette, my brioche gauge is suddenly a whopping 18 stitches for 10 centimeter. The scrumptiousness of the brioche and the alteration of knit and purl stitches makes for a very loose fabric. Not necessarily larger stitches, because the purple knit stitches are pretty darn neat on these 3 mm needles. And no holes, because the slipped stitches and yarnovers fill up all the holes. But switching down just a half needle size to 3 mm isn't going to cut it, apparantly.
I measured quickly where I wanted the dropped shoulder to sit; somewhere between 50 and 55 centimeters measures from deltoid to deltoid on my body. At the new gauge of 18 stitches per 10 centimeter, I should have roundabout 90 - 95 stitches. The smallest size of this pattern has 115 stitches, so I guess I'll try that next. It's 1.4 times smaller than the size I will need for the stockinette, so that will be an interesting calculation once I go from brioche to stockinette and I need to get back to the 161 stitches I need on stockinette gauge.
But on the plus side:
I ordered and received the final skein I need to finish this big project. I am now working with three different dye baths, so lots of switching balls around!
I can frog what I have on the needles right now, and no longer be torn between projects. I can focus fully on the Crocus KAL, postponing Solstice until that's done.
The math is done for now. I can frog, re-ball my yarn, and once I am ready to pick it up again I can cast on and GO. Good notes were made in places I will not lose them.
And finally: for Crocus I am working with lifelines, which I hardly ever do. It's a complicated enough lace pattern to not be able to pick up a missed yarnover several rows down. It's good practice though, and once the lace bit is done we can pedal to the metal in stockinette until the hem!
It did seem like the shoulder rectangle was growing rather wide. I had cast one the second largest size as per my gauge - which matched the pattern gauge pretty well. We snapped a quick picture this morning, and yes: it was growing rather too wide.
This is a boxy sweater with a dropped sleeve, so however wide you start out with on the shoulder will be the width of the sweater too. Stuck on the needles, the brioche didn't stretch very much because the knit fabric was limited by the needle tips, but once it would be off the needles I could see there was going to be a lot more stretch. Brioche makes for a very stretchy fabric. Which is great, because you knit it with two colours on purpose, and the fabric will be one colour on the front and another on the back until it stretches.
I tried stretching the fabric similarly to what the lady on the front of the pattern was wearing. Lots of the contrast colour showing between the cornrows of brioche, but not so much the stitches themselves pulled tightly.
Where the pattern calls for 26 stitches for 10 centimeters and I am right on point with 3.5 mm needles in stockinette, my brioche gauge is suddenly a whopping 18 stitches for 10 centimeter. The scrumptiousness of the brioche and the alteration of knit and purl stitches makes for a very loose fabric. Not necessarily larger stitches, because the purple knit stitches are pretty darn neat on these 3 mm needles. And no holes, because the slipped stitches and yarnovers fill up all the holes. But switching down just a half needle size to 3 mm isn't going to cut it, apparantly.
I measured quickly where I wanted the dropped shoulder to sit; somewhere between 50 and 55 centimeters measures from deltoid to deltoid on my body. At the new gauge of 18 stitches per 10 centimeter, I should have roundabout 90 - 95 stitches. The smallest size of this pattern has 115 stitches, so I guess I'll try that next. It's 1.4 times smaller than the size I will need for the stockinette, so that will be an interesting calculation once I go from brioche to stockinette and I need to get back to the 161 stitches I need on stockinette gauge.
But on the plus side:
And finally: for Crocus I am working with lifelines, which I hardly ever do. It's a complicated enough lace pattern to not be able to pick up a missed yarnover several rows down. It's good practice though, and once the lace bit is done we can pedal to the metal in stockinette until the hem!
