Right As Rainbow: Choosing a Size (and a giveaway)
The Right As Rainbow knitalong continues, and I have now knit my fourth gauge swatch:
My gauge was larger than I would have expected in the teal blue yarn, so I decided to knit a swatch in the green that I actually will be using for the body of the cardi, and without the eyelets I was using in the last swatches to indicate needle size. Just, you know, in case either of those things might make a difference. I may be losing perspective here.
Knit-Chek!
While I am feeling unenthused about swatching this morning, this photo does give me an opportunity to talk about the Susan Bates Knit-Chek, one of my favorite knitting tools. It seems to go into and out of favor (and stock) over the years, but for my money it’s an easy way to count stitches. It gives you a 2-inch (5cm) space both horizontally and vertically in which you can count stitches and rows. [For those new to gauge swatching, each V is one knit stitch in stockinette. I tend to follow the little vees with the tip of a needle while counting, because otherwise my eye jumps around and I count incorrectly.]
Gauge Woes!
You’ll see from the swatch above that I am still at 4.5 stitches per inch, rather than 5. So I am in the middle of yet another gauge swatch. Some days, I tell myself that I will sew all of my swatches together into blankets, and that helps keep me from lying on the floor and weeping.
Sizing!
Meanwhile, as a distraction, I measured Little Miss Feisty for her sweater:
Warning: your baby may well wish to play with your tape measure. Who knew?!?
The designer helpfully gives three measurements for her sweater: a chest measurement, the body length, and the sleeve length from cuff to underarm. So rather than looking at the size that’s given (and I personally find that Little Miss Feisty eschews traditional sizing, much as she does so much about modern life), you can measure your little one and be sure your sweater fits.
In our case, LMF’s chest circumference is 21 inches, so I’ll be making the largest-but-one size (18 months), which has a chest measurement of 23 inches. This gives some ease for her to move around in the sweater, and room for her to wear a t-shirt or onesie underneath it. [Both body length and sleeve length can be adjusted in this pattern, so the chest is the one to pay attention to here.]
Remember that all you have to do to be entered to win one of the Spud & Chloë prizes is use S&C Sweater for one of your colors (of seven)! Hop over to Catherine’s blog to see her progress, or join us on Ravelry or Facebook.
An Interim Prize!
The Spud & Chloë prizes are still under wraps (ooh…aah…the mystery!), but I have a little giveaway for you all today. You may recall that Catherine and I are swapping some Sweater so that we each have enough colors for the stripes. [You can find a pal on our Ravelry discussion and do the same, if you like.]
This means that I am not going to use the brown skein that you see in this photo:
S&C Sweater: Win the brown yarn!
Which means I am offering it to you kind people. Just leave a comment on this post by noon GMT on August 28 (Wednesday) and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win the brown yarn. I use the Random Number Generator to select people; other information is on my stash giveaway page.
So! If you were to knit this sweater, what yarn would you use? What colors would you choose? And do you have any advice on choosing the right size in a pattern? Tell us all about it, in the comments.
Knit Like You Mean It. 
I am contemplating the KAL. I have some lavender Sweater which might actually look really cool with that brown. Pick me! I’ve been contemplating doing it 2-tone, but we shall see.
Ooh, brown. Not normally my colour but I think Little Djinn will take after her Daddy and be able to wear the earthier tones. And there is a need in our lives for little brown sheep.
Thus far I’ve mostly picked an age some distance out and hoped it would be seasonally appropriate when she grows into it. I have to admit, I hadn’t counted on a proper summer this year 🙂 she may have a very well-dressed dolly in the future.
Brown does match the green in the photo nicely, although I’d choose light brown with greens and rose pinks to match.
Sorry, I don’t have any advice on sweater sizing to give, as I’ve made only two sweaters ever, one of which turned out to be too small and the other all shaped wrong:) So since then I’m sticking to stuff that don’t need such precise sizing.
I don’t have a baby to knit for, so I’m not joining in the KAL, tho I think the sweater could be fun upsized to adult size. I could see myself wearing it, maybe in purple with different shades of teal stripes.
I love that sweater! If I were to knit it, I’d probably use the S&C Sweater yarn (I mean, why mess with perfection?) in black for the body and rainbow stripes for the yoke. As for choosing the right size, I always make a couple sizes bigger than I think my daughters will need so they can grow into it. 🙂
My SIL is expecting her first (a boy!) in December, but I’m sort of unsure size-wise what to expect…
I like to see little boys in colors other than light blue. Greys, browns, greens, yellows, reds and oranges are all wonderful.
Whenever I am gifting something I’ve knit, I like to try to pick yarns that are machine washable. Just because I like hand-washing my knits, doesn’t mean that others will, and I want them to use and love what I give them, not put it in a keepsake box. That said, I really dislike acrylic yarns. So I typically look for superwash/cotton/linen yarns with vibrant colors for gifted projects.
I’ll probably mix a soft blue with the brown – I love the contrast. Get ready I’m going for something other than a scarf – my sister will be proud.
I’d pick the green since my cousin’s son doesn’t know the sex of his baby yet. Such a cute sweater and in such wonderful yarn.
I’d put another netural with the brown -safe for any kid. I’d make at least one size up from what you think you want size-wise. You can always roll sleeves until it fits.
I’d love to try some of this yarn which I keep hearing so much about! Sorry I haven’t got time to join your KAL, it’s a lovely pattern.