ARGHHH

They don't call it "tension" for nothing.

The yarn substitution I made for the ribwarmer isn't working. In a big way.

First all, it's pretty clear that the original yarn must be an aran, not a worsted. That, I can handle.

But I'm still hugely puzzled about the difference in row gauge across the two stitch patterns.

A k4 p4 rib should be 18 sts/24 rows when lightly stretched... that's basically st st, so that's a perfect aran.

But then a 8-row cable pattern with the same yarn, same needles should have 16 rows to 3 inches. Which is 21.3 rows for 4 inches. WTF? It's got to be a typo, must be 16 rows to 2 inches.

I spent some time with the schematic, and I'm even more puzzled.

10 repeats of a second 8-row cable pattern, essentially the same as the other one, should provide 15 inches. Which means that they're serious about the 16 rows to 3 inches thing. I have NO idea how this is supposed to work.

Am I missing something about the behaviour of cable patterns that the row gauge changes so radically? I thought I was pretty good at this stuff, pretty smart.

ARGH.