Pictures please. I'm confused too.
Clamp diameter is irrelevant to the problem. Sheldon Brown lists the largest and smallest grip diameters as 23.8mm and 22.2mm. That's a 1.6mm difference in diameter. If these stretchy elk hides are able to accomodate brake housing, surely there is enough give for an extra 1/16".
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...ar-covers.html