Dazzling Knits

Dazzling Knits: Building Blocks to Creative Knitting - I've just bought the book, and started my guage swatches. What follows will make no sense unless you've used the book. We are encouraged to start with Ojo de Dios vest, which is spelt out, so I expect to be able to achieve that. I am not a novice, but not very adventurous. I can manage socks, Kaffe Fassett pieces, that kind of thing. I knit quite firmly, rows ok but require more stitches to achieve width, so I usually need to go one needle size up. I am assuming the needle sizes quoted in the book are US. ( I'm UK and we're metric) I have a conversion chart, so off I go substituting 5 mm for size 8. Square is way too small. So finally I am on 6mm (size 10) before the square is the right size along the edge, and the fabric I achieve is too loose for the suggested Noro silk garden - it's asking to be knit on 5.5mm at the most. The photos don't show this floppy texture, yet it seems I must knit loose or too small. Puzzling

I also need to knit the shorter rows tighter to stop the square becoming a kite shape. This isn't helped by the stocking stitch (rows 8-12) which elongates the knitting out of a true square. Mrs Zimmermann would have a fit I notice the garter stich ridges are moved about a bit on the knitted examples, so presume this isn't rigid once I get used to this method?

I sneak a look a the Dream coat, and see the needles are smaller. The modules are virtually the same as the vest, but set on point, but there is more stocking stitch than in the vest squares (continue purling to row 14, so more of a kite shape), and the guage measurement is "at widest point". I am assuming this is across the diagonal, not the edge. Now I find it easy to add over an inch to the dimension required for each module! So is it the diagonal? Must be. Edge is too short. Aagh!

Would the schematic give a clue? Yes, probably the diagonal, but it's not exact, especially on the large size (which I would knit up huge!)

I was dying to make one of these items and I feel disappointed to be having tension troubles. Do I have to rely on blocking something that seems small to start with? Risky, and Noro is not cheap.

Looks like I'll have to calculate my own way through this after all.

Has anyone else had trouble? I haven't seen any blog entries mentioning it, except a lovely example on Flickr.