Proposition 19 - Make 4.75 Stitches/Inch Illegal

I am seriously gauge-challenged. I have tried to start this really nice Sarah Dallas sweater 3 times and I just can't get it right. The pattern gauge is 19 stitches which really is a gauge that should be abolished! 19 stitches SUCKS because that means it's 4.75 stitches per inch - and since I can never measure stitches to begin with, trying to count 3/4 of a stitch is really impossible. What's more, the pattern says to cast on 179 stitches, and then in the course of the next 10 rows, there's a funky  (rather complicated) ruffle which twists and tucks and eventually ends up with the number of stitches (89) to get the width of the back of the sweater correct. God help me. I did a gauge with size 6 needles - and it looked good. Not 4. Not 4.5. Not 5. Ok, so I cast on and I did the whole ten rows, and ended up with a sweater that would have been 34 inches wide. So, what do i do, I drop to size 5's and do a gauge. Great. Not 4. Not 4.5. Not 5. Ok, here I go to do the first ten  '179 stitch' rows AGAIN. This time its about 26 inches wide. What the F???

Now, I'm completely lost. And what's more, I've lost all interest in the G-damn project!!

Luckily, I have my trusty Koigu sock project to turn to. Now I can see why everybody loves a sock. You can never go to far wrong with a sock. Tomorrow night I get to learn how to make a heel flap. Gosh, I sound like I'm retarded.

Comments

[Cookie]

Try going up a size, sweetie, and see if that helps. My stupid cardi should be made on US6 but I didn't get gauge till I got out the US9. I'm trying to pretend that's okay.

Isn't it nice to have the comfort of a sock to fall back to when things aren't going well?

*hugs*

[Jennifer]

Yes, sometimes gauge is the work of the devil. Cookie's idea of going up a size is a good one.

[Carrie K]

Hmm. Can you go up a half size and knit while gritting your teeth? Or go down a couple of sizes and knit while drinking heavily?

It sounds hellish. But pretty with the ruffles and all. I usually measure a gauge swatch (if I do one at all by the stitches total)in 4 inches, or whatever works out to an even number.

[scribblesnbits]

You're just zooming along on that sock! It's going to look great!