A Lot of Wisdom About Swatching

I was wandering around on Twitter the other day when I found a link to this post from Shibaguyz Design about the importance of swatching. It’s called a tangential post because originally it was supposed to be about blocking, but it ended up being about swatching.

No matter where it started, it ended up in a really good place.

You probably know that I’m pretty passionate about swatching and I know a lot of people aren’t, but it’s really, really important if you want to knit garments that fit.

This post talks about common complaints about swatching/reasons people say they don’t swatch — they don’t have time, it’s a waste of expensive yarn, they always get gauge, etc. — and provides great arguments against them.

I particularly love the idea of knitting a swatch in your luxury yarn, not binding off, blocking it and then unraveling the swatch to use for the cast on edge or for sewing seams. Such a smart idea and no “waste.”

There’s also a really great story about how “I always get gauge” can backfire. This is a post you should definitely read if you’re in the no-swatch camp, and if you do swatch it will give you some great ammunition the next time someone tells you they don’t.

Which side of the swatch battle are you on? I’d love to hear why.

Next Pattern:

Universal Sock Knitting Pattern: No Swatching Required

I am normally a fan of pretty basic sweaters for myself. It’s fun to have a little detail that makes it interesting, but as much as I have a ton of colorful sweater patterns in my Ravelry library, the vast majority of the time I go for plain stockinette stitch, maybe with stripes or color changes brought about by trying to bust my stash.

But adding a little bit of something special to a project makes it that much more interesting to knit and to wear, and it doesn’t have to be an allover pattern to increase the wow factor.

Take the Nola pattern by yamagara for example. This simple bulky cardigan would be a great piece just worked in a single color of stockinette stitch. But those bold flowers on the sleeves elevate it into something you’ll reach for all winter long when you need a pick me up and a reminder that flowers will be back again.

I love the neutral colors shown in the model but it would be amazing with bright pink or yellow flowers, too. Or whatever color you like!

The pattern uses intarsia on those oversized sleeves to make the flower pattern, but there’s also an option in the pattern to do it completely in duplicate stitch if you’d rather (though this would be a great learning pattern if you’ve never done intarsia before). The body is worked from the top down with raglan shaping and the button bands are worked as you knit the body for minimal finishing.

The sweater comes in nine sizes, with a finished bust measurement ranging from 39 to 69 inches, or 99 to 175.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 6 to 10 inches/15 to 25 cm of positive ease. The pattern shows the sweater cropped but you can also make it longer if you like.

This would be a great garment to allow you to get a little more wear out of your summer dresses; just throw leggings on underneath and the sweater on top for a day full of cozy comfort.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry. It is available in English and Spanish.

[Photo: yamagara]

Comments

Brenda says
March 11, 2015 at 9:48 am
I think swatches are important but I can never get it right then I can never count the stitches. I wish I knew the secret. This is why I make scarves and afghans. They don’t have to be any certain size. I will have to read some more about how to do swatches.

Next Pattern:

Comments

Have you read?

Leave a Reply