Here is the story of the red knitted coat. The picture is not posted because I do not want to get in trouble with anyone. Instead, pictured is a pair of basic socks, wth 1x1 twisted rib, made with Plymouth's Happy Feet yarn.
All the pieces of the coat were knitted. The fronts seemed a little narrow, but I thought that could be taken care of with blocking. Nope...too narrow. What happened? The stitch guage is fine, the back and sleeves are the correct size. Did I cast on the correct number of stitches? Yep. What did I do?
I fretted over this for more than a week. The coat was beautiful, except for the narrow fronts. Too much work had been done to just put it away and forget about it. Then, late one night while in bed still wondering what happened, it hit me.
About a year ago, it came to my attention that a certain publisher does not use pattern testers. Instead, they use math to check things like shaping and number of stitches. In the case of the red knitted coat, the mathematicians failed to allow for the ribbing and cable patterns on the fronts. The number of stitches to cast on would have given the correct width, but ribbing and cables tend to shrink the width. Allowances must be made in order to get the required width.
Once the fronts were frogged (rrrrrripit!), I added 1-1/2 inches worth of stitches to the sides. Some adjustments were needed in the shaping so the shoulders would match for seaming. I now have my beautiful red knitted coat, folded and put away for next fall.
The moral of this story? Publishers are human and do make mistakes. If a pattern is not working, chances are the problem is in the directions. Many caft publications have websites where corrections can be found. Unfortunately, the red knitted coat was not listed for corrections.
There are no changes in what I am reading. I've been too busy with the red knitted coat.
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