Have you ever worked on a pattern and you did everything right, but it still turned out wrong? This is what happened to me when I was almost finished with the first sleeve of my Canopy Cardigan by Amy King. When I came to the sleeve cap shaping section, I noticed that the upper sleeve was not going to fit around my arm. Even if I blocked the sleeve to widen the upper arm, it still wouldn't fit correctly.
I got the correct gauge of 16 stitches and 22 rows for a 4" square using size 3 knitting needles. I checked for pattern erratas prior to starting the project and found one issue involving binding off stitches at the very end of the sleeve cap shaping. However, this errata had nothing to do with the actual width of the sleeve. So I couldn't understand what happened.
When a project doesn't come out the way I had hoped, I usually blame myself. I assume it didn't turn out well because I didn't use the yarn the pattern called for, I didn't do a gauge swatch, or I didn't read the directions thoroughly. However, with the Canopy Cardigan, I did everything right, though I did use a different yarn than the pattern called for. The pattern called for Ornaghi Filati Tibet wool. I used Paton Tweed yarn instead. It never occured to me that the project itself may be flawed.
I knitted the body of the sweater in size 46" and it turned out nicely. I expected the sleeves, using the same sizing, to be correct as well. But unfortunately, they are not, which I learned the hard way, Now I am going to have to re-do the sleeve in the next size up, which is size 50". Naturally, this does nothing for my vanity, having to go up another size.
I'm frustrated by the problem, and still do not understand why it happened. I even considered contacting the designer, but didn't want her to be insulted by my questions. I really want the cardigan to turn out well. I even bought a new pair of pants to wear with it. I will start working on the new sleeve very soon, and hope to wear the cardigan before the weather gets too warm.