Knitting Rules! (16 page)
Authors: Stephanie Pearl–McPhee
There is a certain truth to swatches, and it's an unfortunate one. It turns out that the bigger the swatch, the greater the chance of accuracy. This means, naturally, that the best gauge swatches are the projects themselves, but we've already determined that you're probably attempting to get out of knitting the project several times.
Whatever you decide, don't skimp on the swatch. As much as I try to get you out of it, you should knit a gauge swatch (or a tension square, depending on your country of origin) that's big enough that you can measure 4 inches (or 10 centimeters) across to get your stitch gauge and the same amount up and down to get your row gauge. Cast on (using the cast-on that the pattern calls for, if it
tells you) at least as many stitches as you think it'll take to cover 4 inches (or 10 cm), plus at least an inch more for insurance, and then knit along in the stitch your pattern calls for. I can't stress enough the importance of doing this. If your pattern calls for stockinette, this is what you knit the swatch in. If it's garter stitch, then do that. If it's cables and lace (may the knitting goddess bless you), do the lace and cables.
If you hate to knit swatches, are eager to get going, and just read what I said about the best swatches being the projects themselves, take a good look at your intentions and ask yourself, “Is there any part of this sweater that would make a good swatch?” Could you begin the sleeve? Many sleeves start small enough that you wouldn't mind ripping back one when if wasn't right. How about a pocket, a pillow, or the front of a cardigan? If no part of the project leaps out as the perfect guinea pig, then how about knitting a matching accessory? (Obviously, if you're knitting an accessory, you know I think you should just dive in.)
Many knitters have different tension on circulars and straights. So, it's important to work the gauge square with the needle type that you're going to use later. This is especially important for a mixed-needle project. I was making one where the body was knit on circular needles and the sleeves were knit on straights, and I learned the hard way (don't I always) that my gauge is different with the two kinds of needle. A smarter knitter than I am would have knit a gauge swatch with the circulars and a swatch with the straights, and tried to match the gauge in both. It would have been nice to discover this quirk of my knitting style sometime before I sewed in the sleeves and discovered they were large enough to hold a litter of kittens.
If your project is knit circularly, you can knit a circular swatch without casting on enough to go all the way around a circular needle. Cast on the swatch stitches, knit them (or purl them, or whatever your pattern dictates), and then, without turning, slide back your work to the beginning, reach the yarn across the back loosely, and start at the right-hand side again. Repeat this until you have a good-sized swatch.
When you've knit a few inches (at least two or three) cast off (if you're a good knitter) or simply take the knitting
off the needles (if you're lazy and your yarn is not the unraveling kind). It is important both to knit a few inches and to take the knitting off the needles to measure gauge. Both the cast-on edge and the needle can distort your stitches as much as several shots of vodka, so your aim is to knit enough that you can measure a stretch of knitting that's uninfluenced by the edge and the needle.
Because swatches are intended to be samples of the shape of things to come, attention to detail is a vital part of the swatching phase. You're trying to match the conditions that the project you knit will be knit under. Think of swatching as a scientific experiment and try to duplicate the circumstances of the project.
When you have a sample chunk of knitting knit in the style and manner of your project-to-be, you're ready for the next phase of swatch management: washing. When the swatch is finished, treat it exactly as you'll treat the finished item. If it's for a lace shawl, wash and block it, and if it's for a sweater, wash, pat it into shape the way you will the sweater, and leave it to dry.
This step is the one most often missed by those swatch knitters who go on to unhappy endings. Surprising things can happen to yarn when it hits water, and the astute and cautious knitter washes her swatch exactly the way that the garment or item will be washed when the project is done. You can make it dry faster by putting a fan nearby to blow on it.
When the swatch is dry, unpin it (if it was pinned down) and find one of those elusive tape measures and
some pins. You are now ready to attack
stitch gauge
. Starting at least ½ inch in from an edge, insert a pin to mark your starting place. Then measure 4 inches (or 10 cm) from that spot and mark the ending point with a pin. Now, count, with all the honesty you can muster, how many stitches are between the two marks. Then do it again. Then give the swatch a shake, and do it again. The number of stitches between your markers is the stitch gauge.
A gauge square is a misnomer. There's no reason you can't do gauge triangles or stars if you want (and now that I think of it, gauge stars could make pretty cool Christmas decorations). Imagine coming up to Christmas season and having a swatch from every project you'd knit all year to tie on to packages or hang on the tree. Sure, your family would think the knitting thing had gone way too far, and maybe they'd call the cookie truck to take you away for a little “rest,” but ⦠doesn't a little rest sound good?
Check the pattern with some care. Somewhere on it will be a bit about tension or gauge. Read this part to make sure you aren't making assumptions. Nine knitting patterns out of 10 will have you measure gauge over 4 inches (or 10 cm) Then, out of the blue, you come across a pattern that calls for something else. Take a minute to register that the pattern writer wants 20 stitches to 4 inches, and not 20 stitches to 2 inches. Not catching this can make you think unkind thoughts about yourself and others.
If you're lucky, your gauge will match the pattern's. If you're unlucky, it won't and you'll have to try again.
If you have FEWER stitches to the inch than the pattern calls for, you need to make the stitches SMALLER so more will fit in the same space. Use a SMALLER needle.
If you have MORE stitches to the inch than the pattern calls for, you need to make the stitches BIGGER so fewer will fill the same space. Use a BIGGER needle.
I'd feel guilty about telling you something so obvious, but when it's late at night, it's your third swatch, nothing is working, and you're fraying at the edges, it can be really helpful to have the rule written down in black and white. In the heat of gauge battle, things are forgotten.
Now take the measuring tape and deal with row gauge.
Row gauge
is how many rows of knitting (measured up and down) fit in the prescribed area, and it's also the bane of many a knitter's existence. Knitters are forever getting stitch gauge only to realize they don't have row gauge, knitting a new swatch that gets row gauge but not stitch gauge âonly to want to run themselves through with a knitting needle because they think they'll never get both. It's a problem.
Given a choice between getting stitch gauge and getting row gauge, take stitch gauge every time. Row gauge is easier to compensate for; just add a few rows or decrease a few. You should still try to get gauge on both; I'm just saying that if you must choose, you'll be less likely to want to feed your own ears to a wild boar if you settle for stitch gauge.
A swatch is not just about gauge, and it's not the only reason to knit one. (Although you have to admit that gauge disasters being so frequent, gauge alone is a pretty good reason.) Knitting a swatch is also like a first date between knitter and yarn. You get to know each other, you converse, you see how the yarn behaves when you handle it, you discover if it's soft or harsh, you decide whether the pattern you've picked is right for this individual yarn. You begin to get a sense of the potential your relationship holds: is it a keeper? Or are you going to have to dump it faster than a 42-year-old man with an action-figure collection and his mommy on speed-dial.
Put them in a knitter's journal with project notes underneath.