Well shooot...I was all set for the cast on date of July 12th of the Central Park Hoodie KAL with the Mosaic Maniacs. That is until I swatched the Queensland Kathmandu DK Tweed in Dark Chocolate which I was intending to use. I must admit that the yarn just isn't going to work for this project. When I knitted the swatch I started off with a US7 and a cast on of 45 stitiches. After knitting a few inches I counted the number of stitches I was getting which turned out to be 19 sts/4". Since that wasn't close to the required gauge of 17 sts/4" I moved up a size to US8's. I also added a set of cables from the pattern chart as I knit the swatch to see how the yarn would look when cabled.
My swatch ended up being fairly large at about 9", but I really wanted to see how the DK would do since it is more light weight than the yarn mentioned in the pattern. The pattern called for a gauge of 17 stitches per 4 inches on US8's....this worked out to be 4 1/2 stitches per inch. Unfortunately the Dk Tweed recommends using US6 needles and works up at a gauge of 5 stitches per inch. I had hoped that by going up a needle size or two it would be okay since I really wanted a light weight sweater, but after washing & blocking my swatch it became clear that this yarn would not do justice to the sweater. I was able to get 17-18 sts/4" and 26 rows, but not pleased with the feel of the fabric...it's too "flimsy". Since there is so much cabling in the CPH...arms, fronts, and back....I'm afraid that the DK Tweed just wouldn't hold up & the stitch definition would not be clear enough. I do love how this feels as you knit it...so soft against the skin. I have a plan for the Kathmandu DK Tweed just not going to be used for the CPH project.
So the search is on for alternative...I could bite the bullet and go ahead and get the Queensland Kathmandu Aran. I know this one will work and actually tried on a finished CPH at Purl Jam last week. N had knitted up a beauty out of the green colorway in the Aran weight... wonderful nice feel to the sweater. My other choices include Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (4 1/2 sts/inch on US8), Louet's Riverstone (4-5sts/inch on US7), Classic Elite Waterlily (4 1/2 sts/inch on US8) and last the Jo Sharp SilkRoad Aran Tweed (4 1/2 sts/inch on US8) which is basically the same as the Kathmandu Aran. I don't have enough of anything in the stash to use so a shopping trip is going to be necessary...the Lamb's Pride is by far the cheapest way to go and I do enjoy knitting it. I even have a skein in the stash of Wild Oak and Roasted Coffee that I can try out a swatch from before plunking down some cash.
Also in the stash I have 12 balls of the Waterlily that I was planning to use for my Nicole Jacket by Jane Ellison. I need a total of 16 to 17 balls for the Central Park so I need to find 4 more to go with what I have...a difficult proposition since I bought this yarn at least 2 years ago so the dye lot is long gone. I may check it out and see how close the colors match. I can try knitting with different lots if I alternate the balls, but first must see how close in color they appear. The yarn does have light & dark shading...looks like it's been handpainted so you may be able to get away with different lots.
The plans are forever changing...now I''ve changed the plan for the Nichole Jacket...it is destined to be knit out of the Kathmandu DK Tweed. Which happens to be exactly the yarn called for in the pattern so the change in plans works out in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment