I have been chugging along on the Frogtree alpaca Color Block sweater (top down construction a la Barbara Walker). Until Saturday when I was about ready to call it a night — and I suddenly realized I was not happy with the knitted fabric. It was coming out way too dense.
The sweater started out with long chartreuse shoulder stripes that go from the neck to the sleeve — these were fine. But then I picked up the stitches for the back (in jade-colored yarn)and began knitting down (using short rows to shape the shoulders) and the stitches are packed too tightly! I thought the short rows might be responsible, but even the straight stockinette portion along the back of the neck was too dense.
I still had my swatch (done in the jade) and I had to admit it was sort of dense — tho not as noticeably dense as the sweater.
The REAL problem was that I had not made a big enough swatch! The little 5″x 2″ piece did not accurately depict how the garment fabric would turn out. Ok. Lesson learned. I got out US 6 needles (I had been using US 4) and started a nice big swatch — 50 sts wide. At about 2″ tall, it looks good — the loftiness that makes Frogtree so pretty shows! But I will be knitting another 4-6″ to get a substantial swatch before I figure the gauge.
Am I frustrated about having to frog the back? A little. But I will be so much happier with the sweater — it is worth it!