Let's Talk About Gauge

July 26, 2017

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So today I want to talk about gauge, it's not something I enjoy but it has to be done. First off I will let you know what you have to do then I will tell you how to knit your swatch for sock knitting.

First off with any knitted swatch once it has been knitted you must wash it then once dry take several measurements over 4 inches. I usually take 2 measurements in 2 different spots and hopefully they are the same. If you get 2 different then take another measurement and hopefully after that you will have 2 the same. Once that's done just divide the number by 4. Also with knitting a swatch I always use a basic cast on and I always just do a stockinette stitch swatch for my socks.

So now let's look at knitting a circular swatch for sock knitting. I like to knit my circular swatches flat, so to do this I use my dpn and cast on enough stitches to cover my 4 inches. I then knit across these stitches, now with normal knitting I would turn this work around and purl back. So what we do is carry the yarn loosely to the start again and knit back again, so that way we are knitting every row. Now make sure to carry that yarn loosely as once we have finished our swatch and cast off, these strands will be cut. So you also want to knit the swatch large enough so that you get a good measurement.

Knit your swatch

Carry yarn loosely at back

Cast off

Cut threads

Then once you have it knitted, washed and dried it's time for measuring. When measuring, it's best to measure with a ruler. I measure 4 inches, I pin this then I use another dpn and count my stitches between the pins. Then you just divide by 4 and that gives you your gauge for 1 inch and then you can go on to work out how many stitches to cast on.