Lightly Stretched

This is the top I’m working on now, from the Zara & Zara Plus 2005 book. The gauge says 24 st = 4″ in 2×2 rib “lightly stretched”. Hmmmph. Now that seems a bit open to interpretation, doesn’t it? I’m using Filatura Di Crosa Zara, which is very elastic. I’m knitting the size “small” (34″ bust finished measurement), but I cast on 4 stitches less, as I wanted it to be a bit closer to 32/33″. I’m knitting it flat, so I was expecting to get somewhere close to or just over 16″ in width. I’ve got about half of the back done, and unstretched it’s barely 10″ wide. If I stretch it almost fully, it’s close to 20″. In order to get it to 16″, I have to pull it out about 3/4 of the way between compacted and fully stretched. That seems to be a bit more stretching than “lightly stretched”. What to do, what to do… continue on and hope for the best? That’s one of the reasons I decided not to attempt to convert the pattern to knitting in the round. It leaves open a lot more options if I need to adjust the size. Maybe for the front I’ll cast on the original number of stitches. I guess I’ll finish the back and see what I think, then decide. I must say, though, I’m really loving the Zara yarn. It’s so soft and squishy. I shall call him squishy. And he shall be mine. And he shall be my squishy!