Kiss My Knits!

Since panzermama got her parcel in the mail, I can now post info on the baby socks. This has been previously posted to the knitting channel, I just like having a record elsewhere.

I made a pair of baby socks for panzermama‘s adorable little sprout out of Lorna’s Laces sport on size 3 needles. Even though the recommended needle size is 5, size 3 needles worked great for me.

I thought I’d do a baby hat out of the remainder, and wanted to get a nifty color swirl effect, like rainbow sherbet. I should have realized that if I got a good result with size 3 needles, I should stick with size 3 needles. Instead, I went up to size 5, but couldn’t get the swirl quite the way I liked. So I went up to 6, and through trial and error figured out that an 84 stitch cast-on gave me a good swirl pattern. I THOUGHT my gauge was 6 stitches to the inch. I measured, honest.

Partway through, I can no longer delude myself. This hat’s way too big for a baby. Turns out I’m at 5 stitches per inch. And the fabric looks awful because I’m changing my tension too dramatically to try to keep up the swirl pattern. I was able to modify the tension to be more even and still get the swirl, but it’s still way too loose because I’m using needles that are too big.

So the moral of the story is, check your gauge twice. Look on the internet for recommendations, because many sites list the proper needle size for this yarn as 2-4, in spite of what the label says. Don’t try to cut corners by using a bigger size needle so it’ll go faster. Don’t compromise the quality of the fabric for a cool effect.

Much as I’d like to takle this again on 3’s, I can’t before sending the package. There’s just not enough time. If I wait until I have time to tackle this again, the baby will outgrow the socks!

Oh well, lesson learned.