The sweater I once loved is turning out to be a real pain. I’m not a big fan of ripping, but it’s looking like round two of SKB ripping is about to commence.

Here’s the lace, sans beads. I like it a lot better this way!

Per the pattern, I’m about 20 rows from finishing the bodice of the sweater.

But, here’s what it looks like on me…

I love the fit, up to the bottom of the lace. But, when I switched back to the larger needles and started the increases, something went terribly wrong. This is supposed to be a fitted sweater, and it is not even close to fitting me around the waist! There are about 6 extra inches of ease that make the sweater balloon out around my stomach - not good. Also, I’m going to need to add a bit of length… 20 rows isn’t going to do it if I want the bottom of the sweater in the right place.

So, here’s my plan:

1. Rip back to the bottom of the purl ridges.

2. Re-knit using one needle size smaller.

3. No increasing for a few inches, then add just a few increases spaced farther apart than called for by the pattern.

4. Add enough length so the bottom of the sweater hits my “shirt length sweet spot”.

Also, I should note that my stitch and row gauge are right on. I think the reason that my sweater is turning out differently than the modeled sweaters is the difference between the drape and structure of 100% silk yarn (Tilli Tomas) and 100% merino wool (Malabrigo). The Malabrigo doesn’t “grow” lengthwise like the silk would… its stitches stay right where they are knit. The moral of the story is that when substituting yarn, there are other things to consider besides row and stitch gauge.