The wool/rayon blend of yarn = a lot of relaxation in the washed/blocked swatch. Fabric was quite soft & drapey when done with size 6 & 7 needles. Because the guage changed so much after washing/blocking, I used the directions for size 37.5 and and was happy with the fit of the finished garment. I finished the button bands with a decorative ribbon to retain their shape. Love the tubular cast-on, I’ll use that in the future for other projects requiring a stretchy edge.