give 'er!

i'd like to preface this post by saying that my math sucks. i took a fair bit of math in high school but mostly because i had to keep repeating grades. here's math i do know: me + math = not good.

so i sat down with a calculator and a measuring tape and the pattern and my swatches and yeah, i give up.

here's where i get muddled. if the pattern calls for 20 st to 4 inches and i get 21 st to 4 inches, then i have one extra stitch for every 4 inches. across the back that's an extra inch if the back is 20 inches wide.

or does it mean that it takes me one extra stitch to get 4 inches and so my sweater will be an inch smaller across the back?

i'd like to direct your attention to the top of the post again.

i'd also like to point out that while everything i've read about gauge and the importance of getting gauge, none of them spell it out to a simpleton like me which way the math goes. or maybe they do and i just don't read things closely enough (because, hey, no on reads the instructions right?).

i ended up casting on the size that i was intending to knit anyway because i can handle that size being an inch larger or an inch smaller than the pattern. that's my reasoning and it makes perfect sense to me so please do not point out the error of my ways. ignorance is bliss. and potentially funny if the sweater is huge or way too small. i promise to post pictures of the final product.

let's hope i nail gauge on the hourglass sweater.