SWATCHING: ArtFibers Hokkaido Yarn

Hokkaido is a blend of 57% bamboo, 30 % tussah silk, 5% mulberry silk,  and 8% nylon created by Artfibers in San Francisco.  

I have knit a lovely 8" x 8" swatch and my gauge is  approx. 20 stitches/24 rows over 4" in stockinette on #7 needles.     I love the texture in this yarn -- it is just so pretty.   

The first time I swatched this yarn I thought that  my knitted gauge was enough information on which to draw up a pattern and cast on.  Sadly, it was not.  

Because unfortunately this lovely yarn had to be washed at some point,  and that's when things changed. If you missed that sad tale, I wrote about it here. 

So here is the yarn knit up again (keep in mind this yarn has been knit, washed, worn, washed, unknit and now knit again ). And I'm still getting the same gauge.  But looks can be deceiving. 

So this time I washed the swatch and I hung it out to dry.  I put some clips on the bottom to simulate the weight of gravity that will pull on it when this is a larger garment and I left it for a day.  And guess what folks? 

This swatch has grown again.  

Yup, pretty much a full inch in length.   But nothing in width. 

 So, next step is to design a pattern I think will work with this yarn and knit it a good inch shorter than I'd like it to end up.  And let's hope that the swatch is honest  this time-- nothing worse than a swatch that lies!! 

Edited to add:

Maggie asked me a good question -- since this is an 8" swatch, shouldn't I be thinking about the growth in percentage and not in inches?  Phew, thanks Maggie, I knew that but somehow forgot that this morning.  You saved me.  

So, here's how it works.  I had a guage of 48 rows for 8 " when I knit it up. Then I washed it and hung it and it grew and now I have 48 rows for 9" -- BIG difference, right?  So it goes from 6 rows/inch to 5.333 rows an inch.  Some folks on Ravelry have suggested I go down a needle size (or 2) to get the tighter gauge.  What would you do? 

 

Comments

[Maggie]

But would the whole bigger garment only grow one inch, or would it grow by some percentage?

[do you mind if i knit]

This is very interesting! The yarn sounds lovely, but the stretching! I admire your perseverance and attention to detail with the swatching, amazing! Now I guess the fun part starts, the designing.................. Have fun! Vanessa xxx

[Wool Free and Lovin' Knit]

Thanks, Vanessa. I am sort of surprised at my own persistence. It tells me I've grown as a knitter and maybe as a person too -- a younger me would have pitched the whole thing when it didn't turn out the first time.

[Dorothy]

Because I'm totally new at this kind of thinking....

The clips are a brilliant idea, but how sure are you that they are a good measurement for the force of gravity on your whole sweater? Might the sweater grow more inches, or less inches? If knitting at a tighter gauge would make the fabric stretch less, I would go for that, and adjust the stitch gauge accordingly.

I might have a headache already, just thinking about it. :)