It is Fate.

Remember how I was thinking of using my new hand-dyed yarn to make a baby sweater? And I kinda wanted to make Baby Sophisticate? Well my yarn is actually a chunky weight, not an aran weight. So instead, I decided to utilize my new book- Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight- and knit the Chunky Cardigan.

The pattern called for size 6 and 7 straight needles. I have 6's. I do NOT have 7's. I decided I could probably get away with knitting the body on 8's instead, and cast on with the 6's. I cast on for a sleeve and quickly realized that my gauge was off. At first I thought that was great, because it meant I could work the whole sweater on 6's, but as the sleeve progressed I realized the fabric was too stiff for my liking.

My gauge with the 6's was 15.5 stitches per 4" and the pattern called for 18 stitches per 4". Rather than deal with the maths, I went on Ravelry and plugged in my gauge to see what other baby sweaters turned up. Not surprisingly, most of the results were ugly, or not free, or ugly and not free. Or pullovers.

I don't know why I don't want to knit a pullover. In spite of the fact that buttons are a choking hazard and ribbon ties are a strangling hazard, I think a pullover is a stupid thing for a baby. It's such a pain getting them over their big ol' heads. So I was searching for a cardigan. I had printed up the Baby Sophisticate pattern just minutes before winding the yarn, and decided to check the gauge.

15 stitches per inch.

Well well well.