The Swatch

Swatching is so important when knitting things that need to fit. Even one stitch per inch can make a huge difference. Say the pattern is written for gauge being 5 stitches per inch and you’re getting 6 stitches per inch. Say the pattern has 180 stitches across the bust. At 5 stitches per inch, the bust would measure 36″.  At 6 stitches per inch, the bust would measure 30″. HUGE difference so gauge is very important.

There are several ways to “adjust” your gauge. Many knitters will first think “I’ll just knit looser or tighter” but it seems your gauge is kinda like your gait in that it’s kinda built in to who you are and how you do things.  You can be very conscious about what you’re doing and how you’re knitting but you’re almost always going to revert back to your typical style of knitting. On the other hand, if your knitting is sloppy loose or way too tight, you would need to work on your gauge but trying to change how the gauge of your knitting by the tension you’re putting on the yarn is not the best way to adjust gauge.

The best way is to change needle sizes, or when the difference is small, maybe even change the needle type. I find that with metal needles, my gauge is a bit looser . . more the gauge I like to be knitting. With wooden or bamboo needles, whether it’s the “grabiness” of the needles or simply the way they feel in my hand, I tend to knit tighter with those.

On average, I tend to be a loose knitter and will almost always swatch first with one size smaller needles than are recommended.

The swatch may seem like a waste of time and yarn .. it always does to me, but it truly is so important in getting a good fit.

Since I’m using a different weight for my Sunset Highway, I was definitely swatching before starting this one.

Found Pottery Swatch

My swatch is done and it revealed that my stitches (width or circumference of the piece) are right on but my row gauge .. not so right on! It should be 6 rows per inch and it’s 8. That matters with the length of the garment but it also matters as to where your armholes are going to end up and on this piece, with a design on the yoke, my design may look a little squished. 

I have a plan . . and like I always say, it’s just yarn. I’m going to go forward and if it doesn’t work, I’ll either rip back, lose weight or give it to someone smaller!  It’s the process of knitting that I enjoy more than wearing the knitted garment and . . since we all know that we don’t have a lot of sweater wearing weather here, it’s a good thing I love the knitting more than wearing the sweater.