Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

It’s all about Gauge

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In this post of 2/19 [tag]Marnie Maclean [/tag]writes about gauge. Not important you say? Well, would you build a house that needs to be 20 blocks wide, but not determine the width of the block? Do you buy shoes without trying them on first? If you don’t knit a gauge swatch, you have no idea how your yarn works with your needles or how big or small the needles make the stitches. [tag]Knitting[/tag] is a time consuming hobby and you would like to have a project that turns out like your pattern shows. If you don’t “play” with your yarn and needles first, you will be disappointed in the outcome.

Another article by [tag]Mary Smith[/tag] explains even more the reasons that gauge is important. Mary also explains why needle size is not as important as gauge. Knitting is about gauge and tension. Different people knit with different tension and this can also affect your [tag]gauge[/tag]. You may need to go up or down in needle size to obtain the necessary gauge for your pattern.

The next article about gauge written by [tag]Jenna Wilson[/tag] explains in depth about the tension of your gauge and how gravity affects your knit stitches. This article explains that your knit swatch is not square because knit stitches are not square. The article also address the fact that because gauge isn’t permanent and can even change with wear, simply whipping up a gauge swatch and measuring it straight off the needles won’t prevent unwelcome surprises. Even steam- or wet-blocking your[tag] swatch[/tag] on a flat surface will not guarantee that the finished fabric will keep your measured dimensions.

All these articles agree that swatch knitting is extremely important, not only to the sizing of the finished product, but also to the care and wearing of the product.

Isn’t your knitted project worth the little extra time swatching takes?

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Comments

  1. Yes, gauge is very important if you want to have the finished object sized the way you want.

    I remember hearing a lady say she never swatches. Another lady said “I bet you give everything you make away.”

  2. Hi Nancy, thanks for stopping by. I have always knit to gauge on the recommended size needles, but I learned early on that swatching is about more than stitches per inch,(Big Grin). Love your Blog!

Have you read?

Book Review: Magical Woodland Knits

Magical Woodland Knits by Clare Garland is a few years old as I write this, but it’s such a fun book I couldn’t resist sharing it. Step into a magical forest full of realistic woodland creatures including rabbit, deer and squirrel, birds and mice, to name a few.

In all there are 12 creatures, and though they are rather small (the wolf is the largest at 14.5 inches/37 cm tall and 18.5 inches/47 cm long), they are so detailed these are definitely not projects for new knitters. 

One of the smaller projects, for example, is the robin, at 5/5 inches/14 cm long. It calls for nine different kinds of yarn. Sometimes some are held together, while others are worked with on their own. This pattern only includes three pages of instructions, but the print is rather small and in that time there are six different sets of short rows. None of this makes it too difficult for a knitter with experience reading detailed patterns, working short rows and working with multiple strands of yarn at once, but it’s worth knowing going in that even for small projects you’ll need a lot of supplies and time to work on them.

These are also not meant to be children’s toys, as they can include wires and other supports that could be a danger to little ones.

The process photos often look like taxidermy on a tiny scale, with little animal pelts stretched out and tons of stitch markers showing where and how things go together.

The finished animals are so pretty it’s certainly worth the effort to stitch up these creatures. You might be tempted to make all 12 and set up your own forest scene or use them to decorate your Christmas tree. You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

Along the way you’ll also find a little folklore about the animals, charming drawings and pretty photos of the finished animals, too. In the back you’ll find some helpful techniques like picking up stitches, making I-cord and working short rows.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 12 patterns. Published 2020 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.