Almost every pattern has a gauge it is knit in, but is trying to match gauge even possible?
While doing research for a gauge workshop, I came across an interesting article on Nimble Needles.
Its titled “Is getting gauge an illusion?” and it brought up some interesting points to consider.
3 Reasons You Struggle to Match Gauge
Knitting a gauge swatch can be so frustrating that many folks would rather throw caution to the wind. Rather than take the time struggling to match gauge, they start their project and hope for the best.
It’s understandable.
Trying to match gauge can be a challenge, but the good news is it’s probably not your fault.
In his article, Norman at Nimble Needles gives a few reasons why this might happen.
Here are three of them:
Reason 1: Blocking
Now I know we all wash or block our swatches before we measure them…right?
Right?!
The thing is you can manipulate and finesse the size of your swatch quite a bit when blocking.
If you’re using a blocking mat and pins, you can stretch your swatch to very specific dimensions.
But how do we know those are the “right” dimensions?
What if you use a more stretchy yarn than the pattern suggests?
How much stretch is enough stretch?
It’s impossible to know how the designer prepared their swatch for measuring.
Or…
Did they even measure a swatch?
Reason 2: Swatch of Not?
Do you know what I do when I design a pattern?
I swatch and measure gauge.
Do you know what I do when I write a pattern?
I measure the gauge from the finished project.
Do those two things usually match?
NOPE!
Do I care?
Not really, because I don’t have to try and match gauge when I’m designing. The original swatch is there to help me get a rough ball park of my finished design.
Maybe this has happened to you as well.
You’ve knit a nice swatch and you’ve even managed to match gauge with it.
Then you start knitting and you’re gauge is completely different.
Do you know why?
Lots of reasons:
- The weight of the fabric on a big project is different than a little swatch. That changes how you knit.
- How stressed or relaxed you are while knitting will change your tension. This also isn’t consistent throughout the entire project.
- Checking your unblocked gauge on an unfinished project is going to have differences as well.
Are you starting to see why getting gauge is complicated?
Reason 3: Rounding Errors
In the US we measure gauge over 4 inches.
Do you know why?
Because that is 10cm.
Sort of.
It’s actually 10.16cm.
Norman describes this a little differently in his article, but the gist is we’re almost always rounding our stitch count up or down.
Rarely do we have a swatch that has perfectly whole stitch counts across the distance we measure.
You’re going to have half a stitch here or there. Or is it 3/4 of a stitch. Or an 1/8th?
And what do we do with 4.3625 stitches per inch?
There is no perfect gauge just as there’s no partial stitch.
Eventually we have to round to the next whole stitch which can throw everything off.
So…Is knitting a gauge swatch even worth it?
The short answer is…
YES
The purpose of a swatch is not only to measure gauge.
That’s important, but it’s just one piece.
There is WAY MORE to swatching and what you can learn through the process.
It’s a great way to learn about your yarn, the fiber it’s made of, the feel of the fabric, and how the color looks knitted up or combined with other colors.
It’s a good time to practice new techniques, learn a stitch pattern, or determine if you even like knitting the pattern.
Swatching is about PREPARING to knit.
It’s a time to make mistakes and test different yarns and colors and make choices.
But it’s safe to say that measuring gauge is not the only reason to swatch.
And if you’re struggling to match gauge, give yourself some grace.
Sometimes good enough is just fine.
Conclusion
If you have time I highly recommend checking out the full article on Nimble Needles. It goes into a lot more detail than I have space for here. That and it’s just a great resource for knitters.
But what do you think?
Have you had problems getting gauge?
How did you solve them?
Hit reply and share your experience with us!
We’d love to hear your feedback. 😊