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Would You Photocopy Your Swatches?

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photocopied swatchA funny thing has been happening in the knitting world of Facebook today.

It all started with WEBS, the fabulous yarn store, publishing a tip on its blog about photocopying swatches onto graph paper. The idea is that you can knit a swatch, copy it onto graph paper (so you can see at a glance how many rows and stitches per inch you’re getting), then you have that as a reference should you want to knit with that particular yarn again, or if you’re swatching before you have a pattern in mind, you’ll know what gauge you got when you find a pattern that might suit the yarn.

This seems like a great idea if you want to be able to unravel your yarn after you’ve finished swatching, or if, like me, you can never seem to find a swatch again after the initial making and measuring.

But apparently some people didn’t get what was so great about this idea, so much so that the Knitting Fever blog posted a response to the WEBS blog to offer more detail to its Facebook followers who didn’t understand the tip. This post expands on the value of swatching in general and offers more ideas on how photocopying swatches might be helpful, including having a more portable record of your knitting experience than a journal with swatches provides and being able to swatch a yarn you love, take notes and take them to the yarn store with you when you’re seeking out a pattern so you don’t have to take the whole skein with you.

In that case, though, I’d try to either make a color copy or attach a length of the yarn to the printout so you’d have a clear idea of what colors you’re thinking of working with.

In addition to these ideas, I think having a swatch printed on graph paper would be a cool way to chart out your colorwork because instead of working on a plain grid you could color in actual stitches so you’d know pretty much exactly how your finished project will look even before you knit it.

What do you think? Could photocopying swatches be helpful? Do you keep your swatches, and if so, what do you do with them? Spill it!

[Photo by WEBS.]

Comments

  2. I like the idea. I rip my swatches once I’m done because I usually need the yarn for the project, but a few times, I really needed to refer to the swatch and didn’t have it. I love the idea that you could use it to refer back for future projects.

  3. Thanks! It just seems like color would be important on something like this, particularly if you decided you wanted to do something with a stripe or Fair Isle and needed to buy another color…

Have you read?

Apple Knitting Patterns for Fall and Back to School

It feels like it’s too early to be thinking about back to school, but as I write this my daughter has just a couple of weeks of summer left! So let’s get in that school and fall knitting spirit by looking at some apple knitting projects. 

If you have a 22 needle circular knitting machine, knitting an apple is one of the easiest things you can do. I have an apple pattern over at Our Daily Craft that will take you just a few minutes to knit and they’re a great addition to your fall decor. 

Apple hats are a classic, and whether you want to knit a hat that looks like an apple or one with apples on it, we’ve got you covered. For hats that look like apples check out the rolled brim version from Emma Crochet Design 4 U, which uses worsted weight yarn and comes in sizes for kids of all ages; and the ribbed brim version from Hand Knit Hugs. This one also calls for worsted weight yarn and comes in four kids sizes. Both include a stem and leaf. 

If you’d rather have apples on your hat, try the Red Apple Hat from Little Red Window. This one is sized from newborn to 2T and calls for four colors of worsted weight yarn. 

How about apple socks? You’ll find Ariel Chang’s Apple Picnic Socks as a free download on Ravelry. These use three colors of sock yarn and come in three sizes. Stone Knits also a pair of stripey apple socks that show the inside of the apple. These also have three sizes but they use six colors total, with the main color being a self-striping yarn. 

If you want a little apple accessory for the house, the apple potholder from Nifty Knitter Designs is cute and a great way to practice double knitting. It uses two colors and you’ll find the colors in the reverse on the other side. The pattern only uses about 50 yards of each color of worsted weight yarn, so it’s a great use for odd balls, too. 

Once you’ve got your double knitting skills sorted you can also try the double knit apple scarf from Crow and Chai Shop. The Winter Apples scarf is shown in red and gold, but you can use whatever colors you like. There are apples, stars and random stitches in the design, which calls for DK weight yarn. There’s also a matching fingerless glove pattern.