HELP with pattern . . .

[knitot]

Hey, fellow knitwits--

A great yarn store here in the Cleveland area went of business (boo and yay--40% off!). I bought a great Debbie Bliss pattern book and some fabulous yarn (not Debbie Bliss). I started knitting this beautiful sweater in the smallest size (after, of course, knitting a gauge swatch). Only thing is . . . the first piece is a waistband, and even in the smallest size, I can tell that it's way too big. Can I simply downsize needles and follow the pattern until it seems like the right fit? Or will I waste lots of time and lots of really expensive yarn doing this kind of adjusting?

Jackie in Ohio

[knitqueen]

If you did the gauge swatch and your gauge was accurate, I'd say keep going and trust the pattern. It is very hard to tell from such a small sampling of the knitting so far, things might start to look different once you're into it a ways further.