Knitting Basics Library: Do I Have to Make a Gauge Swatch?

At the beginning of every knitting pattern, mixed in somewhere with other vital information like the yarn and size needles used, is the gauge. The gauge tells you how many stitches should be in every inch of your knitting if you want the item you are knitting to turn out the size you desire. These are knitting basics. So to determine how many stitches you knit, on these needles, with this yarn, you have to make a swatch at least 4 inches by 4 inches to find your gauge. I join many others in dreading this step- the knitting that has to be done before you can begin knitting, so to speak. "Awww, do I have to do the gauge swatch?"

Always knit a gauge swatch, period.

Experienced knitters will tell you that you have to. They know it is extremely frustrating to start into a project and realize that you can't give it to your grandmother after all and you will either need to rip it out or make a new friend that wears a size 2. So to their sage advice, I add my emphatic "Yes!!!! ummm... probably." No, I am not giving permission to cross off that dread task; hear me out. A gauge swatch is necessary to make your lovely knitted object the size you want to it to be. But there are 2 occasions I can think of where you don't have to make one. The first is pretty obvious.

Always knit a gauge swatch except when...

1. You don't have to make a gauge swatch when you don't care what size your knitted object turns out to be. I know from experience what type of knitter I am- neither tight nor loose. My gauge swatches are often right on, or not more than one size off from the recommended needle. So when I go to make something like a dishcloth, where I don't care whether if it is an exact 8 by 8 square, I just start knitting, baby! If you know your knitting tendencies (tight, loose, average) you can guess at what size needle you need and knit the night away. Scarves, dishcloths, and even afghans might fall into this "whatever size it turns out is hunky dory with me" category. Yahoo! A swatch free zone!
    
2. You don't have to make a gauge swatch if it won't save you any work. Here's an example. Say I'm making a child's sock. Of course, the pattern gives the gauge. To make a proper gauge swatch, I would need to make a sample of the stitch used, knitting in the round as called for in the pattern (For many people, their back and forth gauge and their round and round gauge are different, so your gauge swatch has to be done in the type of knitting used in the pattern). I might as well grab the suggested needles and start the actual pattern, measuring the gauge after I get several inches in. The gauge swatch would be about the same diameter, so it wouldn't save me any work to make one. Ask yourself "Is the beginning of the pattern similar in size to my needed gauge swatch?" If so, just start right in. You might be at the right gauge and save yourself some time. I hate wasted work.

Chances are though, you just have to make one. That's okay. It's good for you. (It builds character, as my mother says) Take the time to get to know your yarn. Enjoy the feeling as it slips through your fingers. Bask in the satisfaction of knowing you are doing the right, good, and honorable thing. After all, if it's worth knitting, it's worth knitting well!

 

~Theresa Lansberry

Theresa Lansberry is primary knitter for James (her husband of 11 years, and counting), her six children, and Einstein the hairless dog. She obsesses about knitting in the heartland of America, Peoria, IL.