Help with a cable knit pattern

[Feathergirl]

Hello,

I am looking for a little help.
I have a pattern where the smallest size is a 32 inch bust and I wanted to knit a 30 inch bust size!!

It's knitted on 4mm needles for the ribbing and 5mm for the rest of the pattern. I've looked at the pattern for the changes between each size to see if I can alter it to make it smaller but I don't think that's an option!

I wandered if anyone had any ideas of what I can do? Is there any way I can gauge which needle size I should use to make a smaller size?

Any help is much appreciated!

[Feathergirl]

Forgot to mention the pattern is James C Brett - JB100,

I can't find a link to the pattern anywhere.

Thanks

[salmonmac]

Thiss may be a picture of the pattern:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/James-C-Brett...-/130667767891
Try knitting a gauge swatch in your yarn and needles (this may be best done in the aran pattern). See how many stitches you get per inch and figure out how many sts it would then take for a 30" bust (or ~15" across the front or back). From there you can figure out whether it would be better to try a smaller size needle or to alter the pattern to make it smaller.

[Feathergirl]

Thanks, yes that's the pattern!

Shall I just knit a 10cm x 10cm swatch in 5mm needles and the yarn?

Sorry im new to knitting! Thanks

[salmonmac]

Cast on enough stitches for a bit larger than a 10x10 say a 13x13cm and measure over the middle 10cm.

[Feathergirl]

Thanks,

I knitted the swatch, over a 10 x 10cm area I have 17 sts across and 23 rows in stockinette stitch.

Per inch I think I have 5 sts across and 7 rows.

Will it be possible to use smaller needles or will the pattern need altering?

I've only been knitting 8 months or so, it's boggling my brain!!

Thanks

[salmonmac]

Ok, what gauge does the pattern call for in stockinette?

[suzeeq]

You see why it's important to measure 4"/10cm, that shows you've really got 4¼ sts per inch, not 5 sts. What's the gauge you're supposed to have? If it's different than the 4¼ then you need to multiply that times 30" to get the number of stitches you need.

[Feathergirl]

18 sts and 24 rows to 10cm stockinette is the correct gauge.

If I work out how many sts I need for the 30 inch bust I see that it will work fine for the stockinette part of the dress but will this affect the cable pattern?

I was hoping that i'd be able to change the needle size but follow the 32" pattern. Is that not realistic?

[suzeeq]

No you can't use the 32" size, your stitches are slightly larger than the pattern gauge at 17 sts in 10 cm - less stitches means they're bigger. So if you go down a couple needle sizes you might get 19 or 20 sts and that may work, but it might be too stiff and densely knit.