Thursday, April 5, 2012

How much can a cotton swatch shrink after washing?

My cotton machine knit sample shrank upto 1/3 in length, but stretched about 1/4 in width after washing. I am trying to figure out the correct number of stitches to cast on and rows to knit, finally wash in cold water and cool dry to get the size I need. Here are my experiments:

1. 4" x 8" swatch made of 1/8" cotton woven tape.
    4" x 4" swatch = 16 sts x 24 rows. Pattern: 2 x 2 tuck stitch; needle size 3, on the bulky ribber KR 260.

2. Using the above measurements and allowing shrinkage of 6%, I created the front of a tube top. The finished size was to be 15" length x 15" wide at the ribbing. A 1 x 1 ribbing of 5" and a tuck stitch pattern 10" long.

I cast on 90 sts, ribbing 20 rows and tuck sts 74 rows + 2 rows knit + 2  rows islet sts for cording + 1 row knit and bind off. Total of 99 rows. I seemed to have used the whole spool of 420 yards of cotton tape for front and back. I hand seamed the pieces before washing.
After completing the piece that looked perfect, I washed it in regular warm water and normal dry cycle. The piece shrank to 10" in length and stretched to 19" in width. The ribbing shrank to 2.5".
So, here's the math 15" L - 10" = 5" or 1/3rd shrinkage.
15" width - 19" = - 4" or 1/4th stretch.
5" ribber - 2.5" = - 2.5" or 1/2 shrinkage
3. To get the right dimensions I should cast on 4 sts x 15" = 60 sts. Knit a 1 x 1 ribbing of  40 rows. Knit a tuck stitch pattern of 6 sts x 10" = 60 rows. Total of 100 rows. Wash in cold water, lay flat to dry or dry in cool air cycle. Hopefully the shrinkage will be minimal, I will do this tomorrow.

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