In Between: Swatches

I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I’m determined to knit myself a sweater. I went ahead and bought some gorgeous wool (Dream in Color Classy in Chinatown Apple) to knit a Central Park Hoodie. Then I realized that it’s February, and soon spring will be here, and I’m a fairly slow knitter, and I know that I’ll be halfway through my hoodie in and knee deep in autumnal orange and I’ll want to toss it aside in favor of something more lightweight.

So I’ve directed my sweater love elsewhere – more specifically, on Hey Teach from last summer’s Knitty. It’s got everything I’m looking to work on: A cardigan, knit in pieces, with a little visual interest. Since it’s a summer sweater, I’m breaking away from my wool-centered comfort zone to knit this in cotton: Knitpicks Comfy in Honeydew, to be specific.

While I’m waiting for the yarn to arrive, I figured I’d whip up a couple of swatches to make sure I get gauge. I had a couple of skeins of this yarn on hand that I had never used, so I cast on some stitches and knit away on size #7s. Too tight. So I cast on again with #8s. Still to tight. I had to go up to a #9 to come close to guage.

The #9 is on the left, #8 in the middle, and the #7 on the right. Same stitches across, same rows on the lace portion. Can you see the difference?

I’m so, so, so glad I took the time to do this! I think I would have just jumped right in with the #7 needles, figuring “close enough.” Truth be told, on the swatch I really prefer the fabric density of the #7, but it could just be that I’ve been knitting denser, wintery items lately – the #9 fabric is much more airy, which will actually feel much nicer in a spring sweater.

Let’s just hope I haven’t been distracted by another pattern before the yarn arrives for this one. I’m fickle, after all, and if I see a really nifty mitten pattern, I may have to ditch this sweater entirely. Stay tuned!