A silly mistake....

I fancied a bit of knitting, but something I would actually wear and not get bored half way through when knitting it.

I found this gorgeous free pattern.....

http://berroco.com/exclusives/kia/kia.html

Right up my street is this style. Problem is it was for a certain wool type, which is now obsolete, and I wasn't sure what thickness of wool it was either. So off I trotted to the local wool shop, chose a nice double knit in a random shade of blues and greys, with a silver metallic thread running through it.  Perfect.  Bought my two sets of Sz 9 circular needles and rushed home to make a start.

I dug out my Sz 9 needles and set to work.  You start by making the edge piece, which you sew into a ring, then you pick up the stitches along once edge and just work in a big round.

At this point I should mention that I NEVER do a test piece to check my gauge (Tut-Tut)  does anyone?

So, I got the rim done, that looked fine, in fact the whole thing looked fine until I did the armholes, they looked a little neat, but just a little.  I carried on, it actually wasn't until the last few rounds that I realised this wasn't going to be the big baggy waistcoat, one to fit my generous frame, that I thought it would be. In fact, it was more like a bolero jacket for my Sz 8 daughter!

I do like the pinwheel design on the back though...

The mistake?  I used Sz 9 needles, which are 3.75mm instead of 9mm needles!!!

(the top ones are the ones I SHOULD have used, the bottom ones are the ones I did)

Oh well, lesson learnt.

Right, try again..... this is my new wool, and this time I have been out and bought 9mm needles.