no freaking way
When I started knitting Mermaid, I thought the yarn was very fragile: it's loosely spun, loosely plied, wispy-looking 2 ply. So, I was very careful not to knit too tightly. Of course, I was off gauge, and went down to a size 1 needle. But I powed on, undeterred. I was proud of myself this morning; look how close I am to finishing! I just have to finish the last orange/pink stripe and the border pink stripe!!
As I was knitting, my fingers (but not my brain) realized that this yarn is pretty resilient, and without really noticing, my fingers knit tighter. Just a little bit. And then a little bit more. And then... I had a passing thought. Was the newly-knit (right) side slightly smaller than the left side? It couldn't possibly be. Let's fold it together into a sweater shape and see.
Oh.
I am off by 1.5 inches.
*wimper*