This week we’re making discoveries with Universal Yarn’s Rozetti Cotton Gold yarn.
Rozetti Cotton Gold showing the structure of the yarn
Now that we have examined the structure of the yarn, it’s time to start sampling. The next three days (including today) will each have a sample that will hopefully jumpstart your creativity.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the first step I take is to cast on the number of stitches prescribed on the ball band with the manufacturer’s recommended needles.
The upper left corner of the yarn details section from the ball band
In this case, I should get 26 sts to 4″ [10cm] if I use size US 4 [3.5mm] needles.
The primary purpose for this sample — to me — is to check for the distribution of the payettes. Sometimes, when a yarn has something bumpy in it such as a sequin or a bead, the item wants to gravitate to one side of the work. Because of this, I want to see if the payettes will be inclined to float to the back of the fabric, or whether they’ll behave themselves regardless of which stitch I use.
As is my habit, I begin with garter stitch at the base. This keeps the swatch from rolling. Then, I switch to stockinette stitch, as this is the stitch used for almost all gauge swatches. In this case, I reversed my stockinette stitch for the next section, again to test my theory and be able to show you how the payettes distribute themselves on the reverse side of stockinette stitch. Ordinarily, I would knit a few rows of garter stitch at the top of the sample, again to keep it from rolling. However, I wanted to be able to tell the top of the swatch from the bottom, and if I had added another garter stitch section, it would have made it more difficult to tell.
The ruler shows that my gauge is just about right on — 26 sts to 4″ [10cm]
Analysis: As you can see from the photo, the yarn is very fine, so many of the payettes on the back side of the work show through to the right side. This makes it hard to see a difference in the distribution of the payettes in the top two sections.
The Phantom shawl pattern uses size US 6 [4mm] needles, so the fabric made with them would be even more lacy, and the payettes would show through perhaps a bit more.
The payettes also tend to appear in little clusters. While this is attractive, if I were to re-knit the swatch with 27 or 28 stitches, I’m certain we would see a difference in their distribution.
My last observation is that my ruler confirms that my horizontal tension is just about exact.
Tomorrow, we’re going to combine Cotton Gold with a laceweight yarn and study that effect.