The KW Swatch Experiment, Or, Why, Yes, You Need to Knit a Swatch

Kelbourne Woolens is doing a really interesting series on its website with different knitters working up swatches in their yarns, comparing them and then looking at how those different knitters would fare making a garment with that gauge if they hadn’t knit a swatch before starting.

For instance, knitters working with the company’s Arranmore yarn would have ended up with garments ranging from 8.25 inches too small to 1.5 inches too large, and indeed none of them hit gauge for the pattern in question (one did before blocking the swatch, but it came out bigger after washing, which is why it’s important not to skip that step).

I really liked the general post on gauge they included in the series, which discusses tight knitting and loose knitting, and why you still have to knit a swatch even if you think you “always” knit loose or tight as the case may be. I know that I knit somewhat loose, so if you’re knitting from one of my patterns and you think you need to change needle sizes automatically because of how you knit, you’re likely to end up with a garment that doesn’t fit.

Knitting loosely or tightly doesn’t mean there’s necessarily anything wrong with your technique or that you need to change anything; it’s just something to be aware of as you swatch and something that reinforces the need to swatch.

Do you swatch? I’ll admit I don’t when I’m making a scarf or something, but anything that needs to fit a body I do. It’s so important for the success of your finished items!

[Photo via Kelbourne Woolens.]

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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