Measuring

In the last class on my cardigan, I had trouble with measuring my back piece to determine if I had enough done to start shoulder shaping. By my figuring from earlier measurements, I still had more to knit.What I got in class indicated I should start my shaping.

This really was the first measurement on this piece that could not be worked around if I didn't get it right. I could tolerate a bit of variation in the finished length. If the back turned out a bit too narrow or too wide, I could adapt the front pieces or button bands.

If the armhole turned out too short, though, the sweater would not feel comfortable. If too long under the arm, the sweater would look a bit frumpy and poorly fitting.

While knitting I'm careful to lay my piece on a flat, smooth surface occasionally to measure accurately. In class I measured on the wooden work table. My measurements there came out bigger than I got at home, for some unknown reason. The sproinginess of this yarn maybe be a factor.

So today, before knitting any further, I decided to do some more definitive measurements.

First, I lay out my piece and loosely pinned it out without stretching. This did take a bit of repinning and repositioning to make sure things lay straight. I also pinned out the edges unrolled to try to get a better idea of the width.

When I measure my actual gauge it comes out a bit tighter than my swatch, but I wasn't getting a width that matched that gauge. Once pinned, my length measurements matched what I had gotten before at home. The width, however, did come out close to that predicted by my new gauge.

As a double check, I wanted to measure my piece hanging as it would when worn. I pinned out the needle end of  my piece, which worked for me without transferring the piece onto a length of waste yarn because I knit the piece flat on a circular needle. Again, I tried not to stretch out the piece and to get the top line straight.

I propped my blocking-board-equivalent against the wall and carefully pinned the piece again in a few spots as it hung from the needle. Then with one hand I just pressed it flat to shape while I measured. The measurements here matched the previous within a quarter inch in all directions.

So now I know that I do indeed need to keep knitting before I start my shoulder and back neck shaping. I expect I'll need to do this pinned measuring again on this and the other pieces.