I like to cast on stitches and get started on a project as much as the next knitter, but it’s an inconvenient fact of life that if I don’t knit a gauge swatch first, the project will likely end up the wrong size. Besides ensuring that you’ve chosen the right needle size for the project, a swatch can tell you a lot about how a yarn knits up. You’ll learn if the yarn is sticky or slippery on a particular type of needle or if the pattern stitch is too boring or too fussy for your peace of mind. This allows you to make adjustments in needle type or stitch pattern before you embark on a full-scale project.
But one of my favorite things about knitting a swatch is the opportunity it gives to experiment with different needle sizes. This is particularly useful when I’m designing a pattern from scratch. The ball band on most yarns specifies a particular gauge with a particular size needle. Rather than a rule, I consider this a guideline for what the manufacturer thinks will be a suitable fabric. Depending on the project I have in mind, it’s not unusual for me to disagree with the manufacturer. For example, I habitually knit socks at a tighter gauge than recommended, even when using dedicated sock yarns. Recently, I knitted a long swatch of each of the four yarns available from Quince & Company. Because I expect to knit socks with this yarn, I knitted the swatches in the round, beginning with at least two sizes smaller needles than recommended and ending at a couple of sizes larger. This gave me a nice range of fabrics from very tight (appropriate for socks, mittens, hats, and gloves) to quite loose (more appropriate for airy scarves or shawls). I now have a record of a variety of gauges to choose from when designing socks with these yarns, which gives me more freedom in choosing stitch patterns that repeat over a variety number of stitches.
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3 comments:
That is so smart - I am going to start doing the same thing immediately instead of accumulating little collection of swatches. Thanks, Ann!
That is smart!
And your swatches are very pretty.
I actually kind of enjoy swatching (gasp!) but for some reason never end up keeping them around. I should.
I have a love/hate relationship with swatching. I do it, and I know that I should, and I find it helpful, kind of ... but my problem is that my finished project almost NEVER matches my gauge swatch, even with all other factors being the same. Maybe yours don't, but my gauge swatches always lie.
I think part of this is that I'm an absurdly loose knitter, and project weight eventually pulls things looser, which doesn't happen with a 4x4" swatch, but still ... it's rare for my swatch to tell me what I ultimately need to know, gauge-wise. Yet, I still swatch...
(That said, things like learning the feel of the yarn, or if you like a stitch pattern, and all that--all helpful swatch things. Though I tend to begrudge the yarn for it!
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