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A Lot of Wisdom About Swatching

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importance of swatching knittingI 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.

Comments

  1. 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.

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.