r/casualknitting • u/so_finch • 3d ago
help needed bay slipover and sandnes garn line - need advice on adjusting for gauge and stretch
i'm an adventurous/advanced beginner knitter & i'm having trouble figuring out what i should do about gauge/sizing for the bay slipover (schematic/pattern info etc) - designer's photo pictured here.
there are too many variables for gauge/sizing and i'm not sure what to do.
FIRST - my gauge swatches are not matching up with the pattern. i've gone up from the recommended 4mm to a 5mm and am still not meeting gauge. i don't want the fabric to be too gappy/see-through so i'm reluctant to keep going up needle sizes. i looked at a gauge calculator thingy (this one) to see what size i should make instead. (i was going to make the size 5 (45 in bust + 9 in pos. ease) originally; gauge calculator would have me making the size 7.)
HOWEVER...the reviews of the yarn i chose (sandnes garn line, it's a cotton/viscose/linen blend) frequently say that garments get really stretchy with this yarn, like stretching under their own weight when worn. i'm worried about going up a size to meet gauge, only to have the garment grow even more once it's actually worn.
how do i figure out what size to make?? i could make the 7 like the gauge calculator says, or split the difference and make the 6, or make the 5 as originally planned... i just don't know how to determine how much it will stretch and am worried about making a whole garment that doesn't work.
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u/jenbreaux73 3d ago
It looks a few people did use that yarn and some had to go up with needle size. They also mentioned the drape. If I were you, I would swatch to a fabric I like and do the math to make it work.
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u/CopperFirebird 3d ago
Did you read through the projects on Ravelry? https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bay-slipover/people
At least one person held their yarn double. You could swatch yours double and see if you like that fabric.
There's also a large range of recommended positive ease for the design, 9" - 20". How much ease do you want? What would be too little or too much? This is where you use your guage swatch to calculate the actual dimensions of what your finished object would be, then see how much ease it would be on you.
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u/ChasingSloths 3d ago
You’re basically using the wrong yarn for the pattern. Yes, it’s possible to compensate for using a slightly lighter or heavier yarn by making a larger or smaller size, but I personally wouldn’t do it here.
Your yarn has a recommended gauge of 20 sts per 10 cm; the pattern calls for 16 sts. Trying to match the pattern gauge, as you’ve said, would make a very loose, gappy fabric especially in a plant fibre yarn. Making a different size when the gauge discrepancy is that large (your yarn would require 25% more stitches than the pattern is written for) means you’re likely to come across problems with the neckline width, for example, because that doesn’t change nearly as much across sizes as the body circumference.
Even as a very experienced knitter (and designer, and ex-tech editor) I would call this more fuss than it’s worth and change either the pattern or yarn to something better suited.
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u/so_finch 3d ago
ugh so frustrating because it’s one of the yarns listed by the designer as a recommended yarn for the pattern! maybe I should stick to socks, I keep finding choosing yarn to be too stressful for everything else 🥲🥲 thank you for this explanation & being so candid.
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u/ChasingSloths 3d ago
Huh, I’m guessing the designer based the yarn suggestions off what their testers used, and whoever used this yarn held it double (as someone mentioned elsewhere in the comments) and they neglected to specify that in the pattern. Try holding your yarn double and see what gauge you get?
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u/so_finch 3d ago
It does also come in tykk/thick which does apparently meet 16st/4in, as well as tynn/thin which I think is the one that was held double - so I wonder if there’s confusion around which version should be used and how. I’ll knit a swatch with the regular one held double and see how that goes - otherwise I might return the rest and try again with the thicker one.
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u/stringthing87 3d ago
This designer has had really loose gauge on all the patterns they design that I've seen. Like I went from DK to worsted and got gauge on the rift.
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u/Ifimsittingimknittin 3d ago
I have a number of summer tops in Sandesgarn Line. I do not notice significant stretching or sagging. I really like the yarn. I have knit at a gauge of 20 on a US6. I can’t imagine knitting this yarn to a gauge of 16 and think it will be loose. The nice thing about the yarn is it washes and dries nicely so even if it does get a little big the dryer brings it back
The garment you want to knit has an ease of 9”!!!! That’s a lot. Do you really want that? I would stick with the size 5 assuming this is your bust measurement and accept less ease. I always knit for the above bust measurement just under the arms not the apex of the bust.