It is all about the gauge.
There, I said it. How many times have I said this?
Countless. Uncountable. I can’t count the number because it is vast. Like “infinity and beyond”!
For those of you who don’t know, the “gauge swatch” is a sample of knitting that is at least a 4” by 4” in size. The bigger swatch the better your garment will fit. Think of taking a poll. The more people you poll, the more accurate your results. Polling 100 people will get more accurate results than polling 10. The exact same thing applies to making a gauge swatch. A tiny gauge swatch of ten stitches knit in stockinette stitch for seven rows is NOT an accurate representation of the numbers.
Ask yourself this all-important question: “DO I WANT THIS SWEATER TO FIT?” Bold. Underline. Italics. Quotation marks. Capital letters. You can see that I am pretty serious about this.
What can you find out from a gauge swatch?
- How to measure stitches and rows for your finished item.
- If you like the texture/stitch size of the fabric.
- If you like the fabric at all.
- How to launder/block/process your knitting, and what happens to it, such as shrinking, stretching, fading, etc.
Many knitters don’t like to knit a gauge swatch. You need to do it. Yes. You. “I always knit to gauge” is not an acceptable statement. Whose gauge do you “always” knit to? Every pattern designer? Let’s say Mary is the designer of the pattern you want to make. She has actually knit the sweater. Mary is a loose knitter, so if you knit this garment, do you knit “loosely”? How do you control that? You can’t just decide to knit as Mary does, you must make a swatch to compare your knitting to Mary’s.
Ask yourself if any of the statements above will make a difference to you. As a general rule, if you are making a garment with a lot of shaping and detail, you will want to make a generous sized swatch in the stitch pattern of the garment. The more precise the finished garment will be, the more precise your gauge should be. The larger you make your swatch, the more accurate the gauge.
Making a “proper” gauge swatch.
Basic Method:
Cast on at least 30 sts with chosen yarn and needle. If working a stitch pattern, cast on the proper multiple plus three stitches on each side for garter border. Make sure your cast on is very loose so it doesn’t distort the edge. This will make it easier to measure later. You may like to start by using the suggested needle size on the yarn ball band.
Knit 6 rows. (Three ridges in garter).
Next (WS) row: K3, p24, k3. (Or the stitch pattern of your choice between borders).
Next (RS) row: K. (Or the stitch pattern of your choice between borders).
Repeat the last two rows (or desired pattern) until piece measures about 4” or more.
K 6 rows. (Three ridges in garter).
Bind off loosely. Process swatch by washing/drying, blocking or dry cleaning.
When making your swatch, if you can tell right away that the stitches are very tight or loose, remove the swatch from the needle and take a rough measurement of the knitting to see if you are close.
Calculating the stitch gauge:
Count the number of stitches between the garter stitch borders.
Measure your swatch between the garter stitch borders horizontally. Be sure to include measurements to one eighth of an inch.
Divide the number of stitches by the number of inches. Use decimals to divide:
1/8” = .125, ¼”=.25, ½”=.5, 5/8”=.625, ¾”=.75, 7/8”= .875
This gives you the number of stitches in one inch.
Most patterns express the stitch gauge by the number of stitches in four inches.
Take the number of stitches in one inch and multiply by four.
If you have more sts per inch than the pattern gauge calls for, go up a needle size.
If you have less sts per inch than the pattern gauge calls for, go down a needle size.
Row gauge is not as critical as stitch gauge, but you should still measure it for reference. You can easily make the knitted item longer or shorter as desired.
Calculating the row gauge:
Count the number of rows between the garter stitch borders.
Measure your swatch between the garter stitch borders vertically. Be sure to include the measurements to one eighth of an inch.
Divide the number of rows by the number of inches. Use decimals to divide as above.
This gives you the number of rows in one inch.
Most patterns express the row gauge by the number of rows in four inches.
Take the number of rows in one inch and multiply by four.
Most patterns say something like “to save time, take time to make a gauge swatch”. You might think, “How does this save time?”
You have knit an entire sweater without making and measuring a gauge swatch. How long did it take to make the sweater? Now it doesn’t fit. There it is. How long does it take to make a gauge swatch? Uh huh, you are getting the picture now.
