Gauge too tall
I just finished row 30 of the graph and my work measures 5" tall rather than the 4" called for! Any advise? I hate to give up, it's so hard to get gauge right with stranded knitting. Help! I'm using Knit Picks Merino Style.
Argyle Vest Maths 101 pt. 2
I think I figured out the maths for my gauge correction... at least my much smarter neighbor, Lisa, did. Lisa
is an artist who works primarily with knitted fabric, so if anyone should know, it's her.
My gauge is averging out at 6.5 in inch, instead of 5.5. So, after doing a few whizz-bang calcuations, we decided
that I should cast on a 40" instead of 34" inch vest. This seems like a very dramatic jump up, but there is a 20%
difference in vest size (or almost 4 inches around) because of my gauge issues.
Casting on now, only God knows if this vest will be for a Giantess or a Dwarf!
Funny Story!
Yesterday, I called my sister while she was shopping at the mall. As we were chatting, she mentioned that there was a 'surprisingly tall' woman in the store. I immediately got excited, and asked, 'how tall?' and 'is she really slim, too?' She responded that the woman was about 6 1/2 feet tall, but that she was not slim, and then was very curious about why I was asking. I explained to her about the knitalong and the multitude of 'mini dresses' that we have made. I have been keeping my eyes peeled for the mystery woman who will fit into our vests... and I thought I had found her! Sadly, I had not. My sister had a good laugh over the idea of going over to her and saying, 'Do you like argyle vests? May I have your mailing address, please?' Can you imagine? Hilarious!
Modifications
It's been a while since my last post here. I think I hadn't even begun yet.
And now the end is near. I've had serious row gauge issues and had to recalculate everything from about 10 cm and up. That is, that was when I realized what was happening. I also had to skip a couple of side decreases. If you understand Swedish, there's more of this on my blog.
My Second Swatch
This time I've used the same yarn - Brown Sheep Sports Weight - on a size smaller needle - 6s. The fabric
looks much better - the pattern is clearer (though this could be because I actually FOLLOWED the pattern this
time - and the tension is a bit more even. I tried a different color combo this time - brown and grey - but am
not thrilled with it. For the actual vest I'll go light blue and grey for that preppy (or Civil War ) look.
Not sure what the gauge is yet, but I'm guessing I'll just have to "make it work," as Tim Gunn would say.
Edited to Add: Well, my gauge is still troublesome. I'm basically getting about 7.5 stitches per inch, and
28rows over four inches. I'm thinking I should knit one size bigger, and add a few rows in to compensate.
Does this make sense? I am maths dumb as you may guess.
My vest gauge
Ok... when I posted the pictures of my vest earlier (the pink & white one), a couple of people asked about gauge. I got out my ruler- and here's what I found:
My gauge is 28 stitches and 30 rows over 4 inches. Right on rows, wrong on stitches. I'm feeling ok about this gauge- the yarn I'm using (Knitpicks Merino) seems pretty stretchy, and I'm confident that I can block this to the width I want. I was more concerned with getting my row gauge right considering everyone's mini-dress dilemma.
I'm using size 6 (US) Addi Turbos, and am working with the main color (pink) in my right hand and the contrast color (white) in my left- so that the pink is being worked English style and the white Continental.
Hope this will help everyone a little!
Re-Gauging
Glad to see there are other Vestalongers still! I am re-swatching tonight on a size SMALLER needle on
Eunny's suggestion (my instinct was to go up a size). If that doesn't work I may attempt to tweak the
pattern to work with my eventual gauge.
It would be funny to run into another Vestalonger wearing The Vest. Has anyone ever seen a knitter
out in a sweater they recognized from a blog or a KAL?
A nailbiter...
Hi all... though this is my first post, I've been working on this vest for awhile, and am close to being done! Here's my progress:
I love it! Such a satisfying knit, and I really like the colors I picked. Now here's the problem:
That's all the yarn I have left! Ahhh! I don't think I'll be able to make it. The worst part is that I ordered from Knitpicks, so I'll have to wait a week for the yarn to come in. And I'm on a roll!
Oh well... if this is the worst problem I have with this garment, I guess I'll count myself lucky!
-Kelly B.
Open Letter to Knitpicks...
Hello, Knitpicks...where is my Asparagus? It's been back in stock since April 1...Where is my order?
Where oh where is my yarn???You can't swatch fair isle in one color.....
Thanks,
Julia
What a hot ugly mess! I find knitting on DPN really tricky at the best of times,
but with Fair Isle it's really gone to pot. The tension is out the window, and it
looks like I didn't really follow the pattern that well. I know that once I start this
piece on circs it will work well though - I'm a pretty determined knitter!
I think I'm going to knit a few more rows, block it, and see what I have for gauge.
Wish me luck! I love this pattern, it will look fabulous over a little shirt with a
pencil skirt.
Yarn is Brown Sheep sport weight, and right now I'm getting about 5 stitches an inch
unblocked.
Finally starting
The yarn has arrived- I can finally start! From wonderful Östergötlands ullspinneri comes this incredibly soft Visjö-garn that I've only heard about but now will try out on this vest. And the colors... I've been thinking back and forth, and settled for this springy combination... I really hope it will work!
My first KAL
Hi! Just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Sofie, and this is my first knit-along, and my first vest...as well as first bigger project really! Since I'm not an experienced knitter, I decided I would modify the pattern a little bit, making it in only one color. I know, it kind of takes the argyle out of the "Deep V argyle vest", but I'm hoping it'll turn out nice anyway. This is kind of what I'm hoping it will look like:
Right now, it feels like things are going ok. I started at my boyfriend's mom's birthday dinner (well, not until after the actual dinner), and to my luck his aunt was a "textile crafts teacher" in middle school (syslöjdslärare) , and helped me out! Right now, I've only gotten this far: 
The only thing that's really bugging me is the size issue. I'm using the same yarn as Linn did, who now writes, "I shouldn't have gone for the Alpaca. Stupid." For her, the vest turned out much bigger than she thought. I'm thinking about changing to a smaller size (I'm usually 38'), and maybe making it less wide and shorter? Some people have also written that they wish they hadn't made the V so deep. I guess it's not too late to change that either... What do y'all think? Those of you who have finished; do you wish you had done it differently?
Binding off, finally!
I've had some argyle action this weekend, and tonight I'm having a knit-together at my place and will finish, secure and block tonight. Hooray!
But I must say I feel there's something wrong with the steeks. I know I've never been the most thorough reader of patterns, but I honestly think I got the steeks right and crotcheted with a very wooly mohair, but still it's like it doesn't stick together, and the crotcheted edge wants to slip away, slowly but surely. Maybe the alpaca is too soft for steeking? Does anyone else have these problems, or are everybody else's steeks just perfect and lovely?
The yarn has arrived- I can finally start! From wonderful Östergötlands ullspinneri comes this incredibly soft Visjö-garn that I've only heard about but now will try out on this vest. And the colors... I've been thinking back and forth, and settled for this springy combination... I really hope it will work!
Hi! Just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Sofie, and this is my first knit-along, and my first vest...as well as first bigger project really! Since I'm not an experienced knitter, I decided I would modify the pattern a little bit, making it in only one color. I know, it kind of takes the argyle out of the "Deep V argyle vest", but I'm hoping it'll turn out nice anyway. This is kind of what I'm hoping it will look like:
