Knitting a gauge swatch

Swatching. At the very mention of the topic, most knitters close their eyes, put their fingers in their ears, and say "La la la la, I'm not listening."  I get it, but I promise post will be fun and not boring.

My dating days are long over, but I remember how utterly stressful and not fun it was for me. It felt like a waste of time when I really just wanted to get married and start my actual life. Not the best plan, and except for my beautiful kids, the marriage was a disaster.  Of course, it could have all been avoided had I taken the time to get to know him. 

Knitting is like that too, of course.  We're in such a rush to get started on our actual project, the swatch feels like a stumbling block with no real purpose.  But Your swatch so important - it's the courtship.  It's you taking the time to get to know the yarn so you can decide if you want to settle down and knit a sweater with it.  I have talked about this kind of swatch before, which you can read about here.  

But there's another kind of swatch I want to talk about.  This swatch isn't like dating. It's more of an arranged marriage. 

This is the swatch you do when you are using the exact yarn called for in the pattern, or something you know to be a nearly identical substitute.  

Since it's a done deal, you don't have to swatch around to see if you like the yarn.

You're only trying to answer this one question:

What needle do I need to use to get the gauge specified in the pattern?

So how do we swatch to make answering that question as simple and easy as possible?  Here are some tricks

1. Use a garter stitch border to make your swatch lie flat-  Stockinette fabric rolls, which makes it hard to get a good measurement because you're trying to hold it flat and hold the ruler, and the fabric is about as easy to manage as a feral kitten.  three stitches either side of a stockinette section makes your fabric lie flat enough to measure fairly easily.
2. Create a center section with the number of stitches you're supposed to have in four inches.  When you have what should be 4 inches worth of stitches in stockinette surrounded by garter stitch, you can easily lay that ruler down over the stockinette section and know if you're on gauge.  If the center is larger than 4 inches, you need to go down a needle size. If it's smaller than 4 inches, you may need to go up. If you prefer a larger swatch, make put 6 or 8 inches worth of stitches in the center.  Just write it down so you know what it's supposed to be. Here's an example. If your pattern's gauge is 20 stitches over 4 inches, cast on 20 stitches for the center section plus three more for one side's garter edging and three more for the other side's garter edging 20+3+3= 26 stitches  There will be 3 stitches that you knit at the beginning and end of every row, but the center 20 stitches will be in stockinette
3. Keep going on the same swatch --If you need to change needle size, work a purl ridge with the new needle and keep going - There's no need to rip out your swatch and begin again - you're much better off to just keep going with the same piece of fabric
4. Don't rip out your swatch at all.  I've heard a lot of knitters say that the reason they don't swatch is because they are afraid they'll run out of yarn.  I get it, but you can always take you're swatch out and use that yarn for the last bind off if needed.  Just be sure to steam the yarn from your swatch to remove the kinks before you re-knit it.  No need to rip the swatch out right away - you may want to practice picking up stitches with it.  Who knows.  But it's always there in case you do actually need it, which you probably won't

How do you feel about swatching?  Tell me in the chat. Also, join me for a fun look at swatching myth vs fact on YouTube this week.  

Warmly

Ellen

 ps

TL;DR

Swatching is essential for knitting, much like getting to know someone before marriage. Here's how to make swatching easier:

• Garter Stitch Border: Use a garter stitch border to keep your swatch flat for accurate measurement.
• Center Section: Create a center section with the number of stitches specified for four inches in your pattern, surrounded by garter stitch.
• Adjust Needle Size: If the center section is larger than four inches, go down a needle size. If smaller, go up a needle size.
• Continuous Swatch: If you need to change needle sizes, work a purl ridge and continue on the same swatch.
• Reuse Swatch Yarn: Don't rip out your swatch immediately. You can use the yarn for your final bind-off if needed.