downsizing

My first swatch was too big. Even after drying, the number of stitches per inch isn't quite right. It's better now than it was when I first washed it, but the square knit on 5mm needles is 17 st per 4 inches, so I knit another swatch on 4.5mm needles.

Unfortunately, that one has exactly the same number of stitches per inch as the 5mm swatch. I couldn't believe it. It's 19 st per 4 inches on the unwashed sample and on the very wet sample, it's 16 st per 4 inches. So, I'm thinking that the number of stitches per inch is being set by the yarn, not the needles, and I'd better just live with being a quarter stitch off per inch.

That's quite a lot; one quarter stitch. It means that when I'm knitting 100 stitches I've got an extra inch and a half on the go. For the body, it's a choice between 154 and 167 stitches around. at 4.25 stitches per inch, that's going to be a choice between 37 and 40 inches. I know which I'm going for. 40 inches is too big for me. 37 sounds about right; loose but still reasonably close.