Pride goeth before the fall. also known as Gauge goeth before the RIP. at least it will if you agree with me ……
Here’s the dilemma …. Ann’s a knucklehead. A lazy, gauge-skirting knucklehead.
Here is how it has manifested this time.
I decide to start knitting the Stacy Pullover. I measure etc. and have sizing issues. Which I have resolved. (see previous post). I do check my gauge. I really do. At least the first part of my gauge. The part that says this is what you should get for this pattern stitch on the smaller needles. I do not check my gauge for the other pattern stitch on the larger needles. If I consider it at all, I figure how different can it be?
let’s pause for a moment and consider the madness of that question
The pattern on the larger needles wants me to get 8 rows per inch. I am getting 7. I have discovered this discrepancy upon reaching the portion for decreasing at the armhole. Left unresolved, this will lead to a full inch deeper armhole than the pattern or my size needs.
I was all set to just re-work the math in order to get the proper number of decreases over the specified inches. Where the pattern says to decrease 12 stitches over 12 rows, I would need to decrease 12 over 10. This seemed simple enough and I could just take notes and be sure to do the same on the back. Until Boar, who had been helping me with the math, said, “so will you also re-work the tops of the sleeves?”
gah! the sleeves
maybe I should just rip and have a do-over on smaller needles. The rip would involve 48 rows. And while I have gone so far as to take a class at Stitches given by June Hiatt where she showed us how to rework the pattern to fit our gauge rather than reworking our gauge to fit the pattern, I am beginning to think that in the face of all of this math, that 48 rows is a small sacrifice.
what do you think? Not only do I need your advice, I need it as soon as possible, so knitting can resume!
or how about this (possible stroke of genius or sign of severe sleep deprivation) …… I am right at the point of armhole decreases ….. what if I don’t rip and simply switch to the smaller needles right now? what would that do/look like?
purlingswine 
Definitely don’t switch to smaller needles now – that’ll leave you a very unattractive poof from wherever to your underarms.
I say just rip and switch to small needles, unless it will completely screw up your pattern (and I have no idea what that looks like).
I’d have to say rip, but only because that’s what I would do, being a Bear of Very Little Brain.
Others, with higher math skills might suggest something more practical.
Good luck with it!
I guess I am in the rip and reknit camp. I discovered that my gauge can change substantially if change the material of my needles, say from metal to bamboo. I would try swatching with a variety of needles before reknitting.
Rip, rip, rip. sorry. :-(
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! All I read was math and my brain turned off. It does make me feel better that the Boar helps with the math because yesterday I asked Georgie was 8-5 was and then felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
In the end I would probably rip, but just because I’d have no idea how to do the math.
I say put the knitting down relax with a nice cup of coffee and a good book until your head clears. Then decide what you want to do. Do act to quickly or you may regret it. THIS IS WHY I DON’T KNIT I STINK AT MATH!
‘Tis well past midnight (heh, it’s morning!) and I wonder what you’ve done. All I can say is that I’ve learned to not to anything rash (such as ripping) at or near the midnight hour. It is better to sleep on it, and rip in the morning if that’s how it has to be.
I suspect that’s how it had to be, though you likely ripped at midnight. ; )
rip it…you’ll be much happier in the end…
Pour a large glass of wine. Drink it. Look at the sleeves. Pour another glass of wine and drink it while reading the pattern.
Pour a third glass, deeply and sincerely consider how hot a sleeveless sweater would look.
Have another glass of wine. Go to bed. Hope the knitting fairies will fix it all in the middle of the night.
The best solution: RIP RIP RIP
eek! I wonder what you did, now that it is 10.5 hours later (and yet bloglines didn’t pick up the post until 10 this morning, hrmph)?!
I have become a ripper recently. I never used to rip – I used to rework and fudge and it worked out okay. But nowadays I rip, set up for the next row, and set it aside for the night so I can pick it up the next day (or days or months later). :|
Rabbitch had the best idea… drink a bottle of wine, sigh a bit… and lerrr rip! I know it hurts. Close your eyes while ripping the first few rows… it helps… at least for me it does ;-)
Well, I’m in the minority here, but I’d say switch to the smaller needles. If it turns out to look bad, you can always rip later, after you’ve knit 3-4″ in the smaller gauge. And if it works, well, hurrah!