i've got the blues
and it's the fault of my fickle master, gauge. how i hate gauge. it's never been too much of a problem for me, until yesterday. and by the time i went to bed last night i was ready to throw in my double points forever. i have all this lovely socks that rock in mediumweight and i had plans to make each skein into a pair of socks this year, picking a different pattern for each. that's not going to happen. or probably not going to happen, i should say. i got down as low as us0 and still was only getting 6.5 stitches to the inch. the yarn felt great, only the fabric seemed dense and possibly too think to wear in my shoes. i am so disappointed. so disappointed. what's wrong with my knitting?? i searched and searched all over the internet and plenty of people make lovely socks with the mediumweight. what am i going to do?
posted by michelle at 8:42 AM
2 Comments:
A couple of my friends are in the socks that rock club, and last year they got a lot of medium weight. One friend she had to use a size 2 or 3 needle and adjust her favorite pattern for fewer stitches. (I don't pay much attention to her feet, but she didn't say anything about making them house-slipper-socks, so I think she can fit them in her shoes.)
EXACTLY! You have to throw out all your preconceived ideas about gauge and needle size and swatch until you find the fabric that works for you. Forget the number you think you're SUPPOSED to be getting. What's written on a label is basically a guideline - but since every knitter knits differently it's really just bunk.
I just sent you an email stating this, but the reason the socks are so thick is because their not meant to be knit on size 0 needles. Not by a long shot. Knit a swatch on size 2s and decide if you like the fabric you're getting. Is it thin enough for you? Great! (If not - switch to 3s - and what's the worst thing that happens if you knit your socks on 4s and this gives you the fabric you want? Absolutely nothing - except you'll get pairs of socks a lot faster than I will! ;-) )Now take your measurements and you've got a gauge. You can adjust any pattern to meet that gauge. And now you've got ten socks in the making!
You can make this work. Don't give up yet.
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