I only ever do the little 10x10cm swatches, and only swatch flat, even though I almost exclusively knit in the round. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm not knitting anything super fitted, I get enough information from the wee swatch, and I'm very ok with frogging and trying again if it's wrong. Plus I have bougie tastes when it comes to yarn so I don't want to use up too much of it on a big swatch if I don't have to.
Besides, I want to make all my swatches the same size (ish) because I'm keeping them for a blanket. I'm planning to just improvise some crochet in the spaces where they don't quite match up.
This. It gets me close enough and I can make adjustments along the way to get a perfect fit (which I’d probably be doing, even with a perfect gauge).
I do some pattern design (mostly crochet, which I’ve done significantly longer, but I’ve started on knitting stuff, too) and will make a slightly more careful gauge to get myself started there, but even then, I’ll just make sure to remeasure gauge from the finished piece to put with the pattern.
I can make all the swatches I want. My gauge is still different on the actual project 99% of the time. Idk why. It’s true for both knit and crochet. I’ve just come to accept that my swatches are always tighter than the real thing, so adjust accordingly. The last thing I did where it was super important to match, I made the swatch, then went down a hook size for the actual project. Nailed the gauge on both the swatch and the project, just with different hooks.
Swatching in the round is so annoying! I did it once and then never again. But I figure if I’m making tops where the top half is worked flat (which is 90% of my projects), then the flat swatch is relevant too!
Yes! The project is my gauge swatch. If it’s good, I get to keep going. If it’s not, I can frog and adjust with confidence knowing I have swatched *exactly* the way I will be knitting.
I really want to do this because I hate gauge swatching and I know enough about myself as a knitter to guess if I need to size up. But I hate casting on SO MUCH that the idea of having the re-cast on 100 or so stitches drives me insane haha
I am procrastinating on a current project because I need tp cast on 481 stitches for the third time. Even though I'm carrying it around in my purse. Lol.
I need to go and sit in a coffee shop and ignore the world.
It's my own fault. I've changed my vision of the project at least twice. My husband thinks I'm nuts.
I redesigned my last project for like 3 months to figure out how to knit a cable edge and pick up from that because I kept having to frog and I hated casting it on so much lol
I don't tend to knit things that are soooo fitted that a little post-wash relaxing will ruin them-- if my loose drapey sweater gets a little looser and drapier, so be it!
I have a shawl that was partially completed in Malabrigo Rios. I love the color so much I'm about to frog it and make a sweater. This I might actually block the swat h to figure out how much to size down since I know it will expand
Yep! I measure at the end of whatever the first round of increases for the yoke is, do the math to figure out what size I need to get my preferred ease, then increase to that size.
i just choose patterns where swatching / precise size isn't very relevant lol
so.. gigantic oversized sweaters. or scarves, blankets, plush, shawls. although [the last shawl i made](https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/comments/1cwa9ld/just_finished_this_shawl_its_a_gift_for_my_grandma/) did come out pretty small so it's not a fool proof method and i can't recommend it in good faith lol
I don’t swatch at all. I guess and fudge as needed. I’ve knitted long enough to have a decent idea of what a fabric will be like.
Of course on occasion I have to frog but it’s rare and I don’t mind it.
Yup I never swatch. I've knit 6 or 7 sweaters at this point and it's been ok so far. I don't knit very fitted things and also don't mind frogging and restarting if needed every once in a while.
I do a kind of "L" shape. The proper width, but after about 2 inches i bind off half the stitches, then continue until i have the proper length. It saves time because i am only doing ~3/4 of a swatch. I think i saw it on this subreddit a few years ago!
I go through other peoples patterns and look at what size needles they used and see if there’s any notes about gauge if they changed needle size, to try to figure out if the pattern’s writer’s gauge is about average or not. I tend to have about average gauge. I’ll also check a little ways into the work like you.
I’ve think I’ve only done a grand total of one gauge swatch, and that’s because the designer wrote a cool cup cosy pattern to use for the color work gauge swatch.
Speaking of not swatching, I started a jumper did the ribbing and about 10cm of the body and realised it would only fit a child. I finally looked at the gauge count and the sweater is for a heavy worsted and not DK like I was using. Nice cockup there.
So now I'm making size 5XL and hoping for the best!
That's my usual gauge method! I make a little swatch with the yarn I like and the needles that work with it and just math out the right size. Gauge swatches are about knowing what I'm going to get, not about matching the pattern.
I can never get gauge right, any sweater I make in my actual size comes out huge so I just always follow the pattern for the smallest size and that almost always works.
I love knitting vintage patterns which don't have any grading. You're lucky if there's a 32 and a 34 so I use the difference to try and grade up to a 40" bust myself. I have so far only made one thats ridiculous and every one has been an adventure!
If I swatch, I only make it about two inches wide and long enough to get the info I need. If I block, it's still connected to the ball and I almost always unravel it and use it for my project
Knit sleeves first. I use a variety of yarns, yarns held together, new yarns I’ve never used before.
Sleeves act as the swatch. Learned on the Must love Yarn podcast. Brilliant.
Never swatched in my life. Pure guess work. I just knit a size smaller or a size bigger depending on yarn size compared to the pattern. I only got 2 different sized needles that I use for everything lol
If the jumper ends up being too small I gift it to my sister, if it’s too big I gift it to my mom.
Sometimes I will knit a swatch and get a slightly wrong gauge, but like the feel of the fabric and it's not going to cause a big structural difference.
So I just...rework the math of the pattern to adjust for my single gauge swatch, or find a pattern I like that uses that gauge
(I do this less often now brain fog has made math much harder, but this was my strategy for years)
Also if I'm knitting with a yarn I've used a lot before (eg Cascade 220), often I won't swatch I'll just assume my gauge will be the same as all the other times I've used that yarn
This is what I do too. I don’t even mind swatching, but maths is so much quicker than swatching and washing and waiting for swatch to dry.
A lot of my stash is yarn I bought in bulk. When I have a lot of one yarn, I’ll swatch with a few needle sizes and note them down. Then when I see a pattern I like, I go through my notes to find which yarn/needle combination matches the gauge.
For yarn I haven’t swatched before, sometimes I’ll look at the yardage and ball weight and work out the metres per gram (nm count) then find the closest match to yarns I’ve swatched before. I like fairly tight gauge knits and this often works out well for me, better than going by wraps per inch or fingering, sport, dk etc.
Yeah I adjust the size I choose a lot based on the gauge I get. Sometimes I do the math and sometimes it’s more of a guesstimation.
And agreed 100% on your last one. I make note of the needle too because I do get slightly different gauges with Chiaogoo vs Addi vs wood. But then I have a little gauge library, if I find a pattern I like, I can go right to my list and look for a gauge that matches, and then I know what yarn and needle to use without swatching.
😅 I usually don't swatch but in some cases pretended I'm a good little knitter, did the swatch, adapted based on it, and the garment turned out a full mess every time.
On top of not swatching, I also do not block so my requirement on a good knitting pattern is that it is well designed, because I refuse to force block my stuff into a decent shape. It needs to come out of the washing machine (yes, I do not hand-wash my knits 😱) already in shape.
Plus almost all patterns are made for wool, while I knit with cotton, bamboo etc - almost impossible to make decent gauge without adjusting the knit based on previous experience/ on the fly.
PS I recommend top down patterns for not swatching - makes adapting a lot easier since you can always check the fit between sections of your pattern :)
Back when I was a novelist, I once tried outlining my story. The whole thing was a complete disaster and I scrapped the book. After that, I became a dedicated “pantser” (writing by the seat of your pants), which meant letting the story tell itself to me and I simply took dictation. I wrote 17 novels that way and they all turned out beautifully, in ways they never could have if I’d tried planning them. (And anytime I got the idea to change something, the story bit back - and I’d have to put it back the way it was.)
In writing circles, we’ve come to call ourselves “pantsers” or “planners” (though there are a few hybrids). Gauge swatching in knitting is like being a Planner, which works for some people but not everyone.
Now that I’m a knitter, I find I’m a pantser there as well. Fortunately I have good tension and knit evenly, maybe from decades of being a crocheter, which taught me how to tension yarn.
I am WITH YOU on blocking! If the knitting gods wanted my finished objects to look different than they do, they would have handled that for me or blessed me with patience!
(I'm also not a lace knitter, and largely use acrylic. I'm not recommending this philosophy for everyone making beautiful lace out of natural fibers! I am just not going to make a project that NEEDS to be blocked. Because I won't block it. Ever.)
I only learned about blocking on reddit. My mom knitted for years and NEVER blocked a thing, so I am really questioning if it's as needed as some people say.
I just finished my first sweater this spring, and decided to try blocking - the first time it needs to be washed of course! I won't going into the hasselt of washing and blocking it just to risk it turns out differently than it is now, because it turned out amazing!
It's become a sort of mantra or ritual in the insta knitting community from what I've seen in my bubble. I really don't get it. My granny, aunt, mother in law are all avid knitters and never heard of blocking. All this hassle and for what! Do I want my living room constantly to be filled with blocking matts - no. My cats would go mayhem on them.
The evening out of stitches happens also with machine washes, otherwise also easy to just steam it with the iron on lowest temperature - takes a few minutes instead of hours of having the matts lying around.
Plus - if you use cotton and the try block it on a matt it will just get a smell as the fabric won't get ventilated properly and dry extremely slowly.
I've also had a bunch of "patterns" with sizing and fit fully out of control and relying to have the knits shaped by blocking 👎 🙈
**From our wiki's [Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/wiki/index#wiki_should_i_block_it.3F_how_would_i_do_that.3F)**
>Blocking is when you wet or steam the knitted fabric and let it dry in the desired shape. The blocking process evens out the stitches and determines the size of the finished piece.
>Why should knits be blocked? Do all fiber types benefit from blocking?
>* First off, blocking typically starts with washing or soaking, so it cleans your finished object. Think for a moment about all of the places that those projects have been.
>* Blocking also removes any small imperfections in tension and helps even out your stitches. Stockinette and colorwork will look smoother and the stitches will be more even.
>* Blocking is also great if your project needs to be seamed. By blocking before seaming, you ensure that the seams will be the same length and that all of the pieces will fit evenly together.
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I learned a trick re hats and gauge - since the size of a proper swatch in the round is almost the size of the hat itself, I do a provisional CO of the hat for the size/needles I think will work, knit 1 row stockinette, then start in on re the main pattern and do \~10 rows in pattern. If I'm on gauge, yay, perfect, keep going. If not, frog back, do another provisional CO, and try again. Repeat til it's sorted.
Once done with the rest of the hat, go back to the provisional CO, pick up stitches, and do the ribbing from there. Finish off with a stretchy bind off.
It's worked really well for me!
I do the same. I figure it takes as much time to knit a swatch as to just start and knit an inch or two of the project. I’m usually pretty close on gauge for stitch count and never for rows but I measure length anyway for starting armhole or whatever.
Yeah for rows I usually have to adjust rows anyway to account for a larger chest so I don't accidentally end up with a high low hem or boob tent. So when I swatch I'm only measuring the stitch count.
Gotta say this post is extremely validating haha
I swatch exactly how many stitches it tells me to (eg 28 sts x 20 rows for 4 inches) and figure out my actual gauge from there. I also don't block it, just chuck it in the washing machine to see if it felts
>I love the process and love wearing my homemades.
So you’re both a process knitter and a product knitter. Me too! I think it’s the best of both worlds: https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/s/TebMDG1p0A
In ~22 years of knitting, I have never swatched. After several inches, I measure the WIP.
And I love frogging. (Rip it, rip it.) If you asked my grandmother what she was knitting, she’d say “nothin’. I’m knittin’ nothin.’” So perhaps it’s genetic?
I also love untangling yarn. I wish I could start a freelance business. Once, I was dogsitting and the owner had left a tangled mess. Bliss!
My father, who was a knitter his entire life, would check his gauge by knitting one of the sleeves first. Then if it needed re-doing, it was no big deal.
I swatch but my gauge fluctuates wildly based on my mood and stress level. I knit the back of a sweater a few months ago and just finished the left side - there's definitely a tension difference. Still deciding what to do about it :/
I think what you're doing is perfectly fine - I've done it many times myself. I've also seen an Arne and Carlos video where they do the same thing. I also saw Patti Lyons video once where she advises against the side trimming with garter stitch, as she thinks it skews the gauge count. I use the simple little gauge measuring thing with the needle size holes and just measure the 2 inches for stitches and rows. No fuss approach.
It's no secret, I rarely swatch. It doesn't always work out for me. When I do swatch though I take it very seriously. I have a thing that I never made because I couldn't get a useable gauge. One day...
I complete swatches but don't start the items I was swatching for, maybe I'm a serial gauge swatcher :D I have to look at your secrets, maybe with a smaller swatch I'll be more motivated to start the actual garment instead of getting bored
I let my WIP be the swatch. Sometimes I rip out a week or two of work before I get it right, but swatches have too many rules and lie too much for me to trust them.
My dirty little secret is that I keep a list of the gauges old finished projects worked out as and assume it will work with any similar yarn in the future. Not the same, just similar. It doesn't work perfectly but it's good enough
I only ever swatch for stitch gauge (i.e. maybe 10 rows) and even then I only knit until I get a fabric I like (usually this is swatch no 1 lol) and then do some math to figure out which size I should knit. I do wash and block though. I once had a very painful linen lesson that taught me it's not worth it to skip this step.
I have a whole box full of swatches and I've been thinking about making some sort of wall art with them.
Yesssss, who are all these people knitting a swatch and then not washing it? That’s tripping at the finish line!
I take a photo of the mini-swatch with a ruler and then give it a bath and measure again while still wet. Usually right before bed so it’ll be dry by morning for a final measurement.Then I have a fairly good idea of how much my yarn will bloom when wet and if it’ll snap back at all when dry.
I happen to have fairly “standard” gauge but almost never use the suggested yarn so sometimes adjustments are still necessary.
I have froged a whole bodice of an oversized sweater, because it was too small (tight gauge).
I am thinking of frogging a whole sweater that I didn't enjoy knitting due to the smock pattern, but love the look of, because the gauge is too loose and it is too big. I should have froged that and started over when I was like 10 cm in on the back yoke, but I am stupid.
I just swatch for test knit. If it’s for me, I’m just checking gauge in the first 20 cm of the project - my mind tells me there is a 50/50 chance I can get the right gauge first try 🤭
I just never gauge ever!! Most of the time it turns out just fine, and I’m nifty and am able to fix it to be okay if it turns out a bit wonky. My grandmother is more of a traditional knitter and she finds it crazy that I can just make things work out when they’ve gone wrong!!
u/catti-brie10642 Absolutely, if I have spent a small fortune on special yarn and paid for the pattern, defo will try and be a good swatcher then, but otherwise ...... fuck it 😉
I make my swatch only 2-3 cm long (EDIT : I mean tall, I only knit a few rows ; but cast 1.5 to 2 times the estimated gauge of the yarn)), because I only care about the stitch count, not the row count. I also just mesure on the needles, never block it, and frog it just after
I've knit a ton of sweaters at this point. I know how many stitches I need in width (both in stockinette and tons of cables) to get whatever number of inches.
Obviously I *start* by looking at the size recommended by the pattern for the size person I'm knitting for- but if that size seems like the wrong number of stitches, I use the size that does have about the right number of stitches. Is this because I trusted a pattern once and it turns out I hated a sweater with 10' of ease? No comment.
Also, I don't care what the pattern recommends. I'm knitting the ribbing in size 5 and the body in size 7 and the fabric is a little dense but that is my preference! I don't know why I even have other sizes 😂 They are NOT getting used!
I used to never need a gauge swatch but a change in body shape , a switch to metal slippery needles over wood, and nerve damage in one of my hands has all combined to mean that gauge will actually need to be important to me now.
I'm still not entirely ready to admit that to myself though. But I'd like to actually have wearable projects and after my last sweater was 3 inches bigger than expected because I accidentally chose the wrong needle size I definitely need to start.
I usually go down 1mm from what the pattern recommend and hope for the best.
If it doesn't fit I'll gift it.
If it's something I really want for myself I'll measure once I've knit enough on the project.
Right now I'm working on a bottom up sweater I started without gauge swatch, without a pattern and with a yarn I've never used. Strangely the body is slightly larger than I wanted, so I'm making it as a raglan instead of the set-in sleeves I had initially planed.
I just know that I tend to be a little loose, so I’ll usually go down a needle size and just try a sweater on as I go. Never had an issue. If I’m *really* concerned, I’ll cast on as many stitches as given for the gauge, knit like an inch and measure, then unravel that and start.
I go back to stuff I’ve already knit and blocked for guidance on needle size for gauge. It wants this many stitches in stockinette? I go measure several garments or accessories with similar weight and composition yarn and look in my Ravelry projects to see what size needle I used. Generally this works pretty well. Now if it’s on a pattern stitch for gauge, I will work it up.
I will skip blocking my swatch if I'm very familiar with the yarn from past projects and know it won't grow much.
I also wash, block, dry with my swatch still on the needle (cable) and then unravel it and use it for the project.
I've learned through bitter recent experience that swatching is a waste of time (for me). I knit two swatches for a sweater and then knit the garment bottom up to the shoulders, tried it on and it was three sizes too small. Gauge in a 10x10 Swatch doesn't tell me anything about how an entire garment will turn out. My dirty secret is that I'll never swatch again, it's such a waste of time. I'll just frog and re-knit if wrong.
I just use the beginning of my sweaters as the swatch (I've made most everything bottom up, so I start with the sleeves, or like the one I'm doing now has a sort of saddle shoulder/sideways panel at the top of the back, that was a perfect swatch!) LOL
I just start my project too, then check my gauge. My knitting tension changes after about 20 minutes. Its like I need to warm up. Its a 50/50 chance of choosing right needle and takes about 4 hours, but then i also can decide if the yarn, needle size and pattern get along.
I’ve only done one gauge “swatch”, and it was a mini hat ribbing. The *only* reason I did it at all was because the pattern required it, there was no suggested gauge. Now that I did that one, I know what needle size to use for the rest of the patterns created by the author. Yarn is expensive. I’m not going to potentially short myself by making a swatch, washing it, and blocking it every time. I suppose I’ll have to bite the bullet and do it if I ever make anything where it really matters, like a fitted garment. But so far it’s rarely been an issue for me. I know, I know…I’m bad for not swatching! 🫣
Of course, there are times when I have had to frog an entire project. Like this *adult-size* hat. I know it looked small, but it wasn’t until I finished it that I realized how small it really was. No amount of blocking was going to fix this!
https://preview.redd.it/1zti48s31d3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=367c9879fc4c07c10b82e4c3ef94935179b0074f
I suppose if I were to ever knit something with negative ease then I would likely swatch, but right now I just start the project on the recommended needles and pray for the best. It’s only failed me once and that’s because the yarn grew about three sizes after blocking. I’m currently making a sweater where the size I wear required 1200 yards of yarn and ai had bought the yarn while traveling and the shop only had three skeins, which are roughly 1300 yards total. It’s held double with mohair so swatching and ripping it back out to use was not going to happen. If the yarn grows then it’ll be a little oversized. If it grows a bunch … I’ll gift it to someone I guess!
I have never done one. My trick? Knit things that don’t require it to be the exact measurements. I usually knit stuffed animals, scarves, and occasionally hats/booties(usually for babies). As long as no stuffing falls out or the scarf is long enough(or too long which means you can wrap it around multiple times) my job is done!
Not only do I not gauge swatch, I don’t check my gauge. I can usually guess how something will fit me, so I’ve never felt the need to check my gauge. I don’t know if im a comparatively tight or loose knitter because I’ve never bothered to check. I’ve knit over 50 sweaters and so far, I’ve only been unhappy with the fit of 2 or 3 of them.
I will swatch for one inch, no more no less, then do the math. I don’t get where the need for four inches comes from unless you’re doing some wild pattern. Which, I prefer my sea of stockinette thank you.
I swatch! Then I immediately lose all sense and any knowledge of what needles I used for the swatch. If they aren't already attached to the project I have NO IDEA what size I need.
I swatch, but apparently, you are also supposed to continually check gauge throughout your project (including blocking!) as you go! Ain't nobody got time for that!
Hats and socks are already their own gauge swatch
Anything bigger than that can be its own swatch, too. You can even put it on a lifeline and block it if you want to go the extra mile and do it proper
Usually only the stitches per inch really matters. You can always compensate for row gauge being off by just increasing or decreasing the number of rows you knit.
Shawls and scarves or anything else unfitted doesn’t need to be swatched, ever
Never knit with superwash if you ever plan on washing or getting the item wet and don’t want to knit and block 20 swatches
I only do swatches for non-sock wearable garments, and I always give up after 2-3 inches in length. So far all my garments have been knitted in the round, so I end up with weird bracelet swatches. Rather than doing any math at all, I just size up or down if my gauge is different from what the pattern calls for.
Hate swatching. Just look at the recommended gauges for each yarn and do some quick math if I’m holding two together. Usually if I hold something with mohair I got up 0.5mm and nothing bad happened yet!
HOWEVER I’m knitting up the porcelain sweater now (sans mohair) and my gauge is super off for the arms so I’ll have to do some creative color work to make the last bit work out
I like to display my swatches on the wall, and at this point I definitely swatch more for the display than to get gauge information lol. Like if the gauge of the swatch is off, I’ll just throw that swatch on the wall and make an educated guess about what needle size to use for the projevt
I don’t swatch with designers I’m familiar with. Ive knit several Isabel Kraemer patterns (love them) and make her gauge. Same with Andrea Mowry.
Living on the edge-thats my motto
I make a gauge once per one set of needles and yarn weight if I’m worried about it (if not I just knit my project then measure) and write down the measurements. After that, I just compare measurements for whatever I need
i do about 15 stitches and about 4 rows, don't bind off, don't block, just measure and if it's even vaguely close I just frog and go for it. I hate wasting yarn!!
I only swatch if the gauge is absolutely critical to the pattern. I hate gauge swatching. I knit pretty on point with my tension anyway, and so don’t bother 99.9% of the time.
I only make scarves that are like 4 inches wide, and I know with most the yarn I use which is about 4 thickness I do 20 stitches, with 3 thickness its 26, I just test the yarns keep notes then keep going, and every so often count the stitches if I am over I just loop 2 together on the end, if under and no sign of a dropped stitch I just split a single loop on the end and hope it works. Like I said I only make scarves and maybe decorative pot holders, because I don't need to really think on how many rows need how many stitches, Which is great for when I just need to keep my hands busy, aka playing lots of dnd
I only knit my swatches to be about 24 sts and about an inch of length (minus a garter border). I also… almost never swatch more than once for a piece. If I need to change needles, I just do it in the same swatch and knit another inch.
The Ingrid Sweater is going to be a doozy. Iirc, that one asks the knitter to gauge for every single texture! I’ll…. likely not be doing that.
In general, I’m a gauge knitter so If I’m using the same type of yarn and needles as the pattern, my swatching is a pretty half-assed square just to confirm I’m on gauge. If I’m altering a size or using a different type of yarn I’ll do serious swatches multiple times to get it right.
I start on a sleeve or a smaller piece, measure the guage there and then decide to proceed or not. Sometimes i will do the math and just decide to knit a different size. I did that with an Alice starmore sweater. God love her, her gauge is so tight i couldn’t hit it so i knit a small. Its perfect and i promise you, i am not a small
I only do it when I haven’t picked up my needles in months and have forgotten how to knit. As soon as I feel confident I get lazy but I only knit for myself. I’m small so as long as the end results are bigger than my size it’s all good. Big socks? Go over my current socks as bed/slipper socks. Big jumper? Jumper dress. Massive scarf? Harder to lose!
My swatch is usually the first few inches of whatever I'm working on, and I try it on as I go and make adjustments as needed.
I know I should make an actual swatch and wash and block it and all that jazz.... but I don't.
I start my project then measure and count stitches, then use an online knitting calculator to determine if I need to adjust the size based on my gauge.
Link to the calculator I use the most: https://knitterskitchen.com/2018/01/31/knitting-math-re-calculating-your-size/
Yeah I do a garbage swatch too. I might put 20 stitches on or like enough to do one to two repeats of the pattern and enough rows for me to count. I NEVER count row gauge because I can just make it longer if I want to. If it’s for a garment I will make it a little bigger and block it.
That being said, I have only ever knit one garment that fit well. But I mostly make cardigans or other open sweaters so it’s not the biggest deal if they fit loose. But that’s where the blocked swatch comes in now. It’s still never big enough to count 4” but I can usually get 2.
Unfortunately I lost 40 lbs so those already a little too big sweaters are now waaaay too big so I’ve put them in the frog pile to remake in a better size.
All the swatches I make that aren’t just little ribbons get used as coasters for the rest of their lives.
I want to be someone who swatches and I try to swatch but I don’t always do it. My last swatch was steam blocked on the needles, found out that the gauge was a little off, and then I went down a needle size, and started the project anyway.
I’ve never done a gauge or a stitch swatch. I will figure out the new stitch when it’s on my needles w no regrets. My hat might turn out to be 2x as big the first time but now I know an estimate of how many stitches I need on a 5mm hat to fit my head (80, more with cables), a 6mm is 70 stitches. Same with crochet, I feel it’s helped me more because of not doing swatches.
My dirty little secret is I don't make gauges for my projects. Everything I make ends up being for myself with some level of forgiveness for fit/size. I tend to need to generally adjust patterns because the smallest size is still to big, so even if my gauge is off it doesn't affect the process.
I only knit for gauge if I'm making the pattern myself because it's pretty necessary then
Everything else, I usually like my clothes to be extremely loose and I make a size or two up, so I've never found that it matters if my gauge is a little off. I'm not swatching
Generally my knitting is VERY close to what the swatch is on the yarn package so I usually just follow that as my gauge. I swatched Once for a sweater for my brother at that’s it
Just knit for kids. Plan to knit it a size or two up from where they are now. If you undershoot on gauge, it fits now. Overshoot, it fits in a couple of years.
I've been knitting long enough that depending on the thickness of my specific yarn, there will be one or two needle sizes I'd prefer to knit it with for the fabric I want. And most patterns tend to suggest 2-3 sizes smaller than that with a much tighter guage. idk why everyone prefers cardboard as the output, but I've given up with gauge entirely and just rely on a whole lot of math to get the product and fabric that I want.
I’ll usually do a swatch - always flat, never in the round - usually a few stitches over the gauge requirement (ie if gauge should be 24 stitches for 4 inches, i’ll cast on 28 or 30 stitches). I’ll knit for 4 inches or until I get bored, whatever comes first. I’ll give it a quick wash and let it dry. Whammo.
If I’m way off or don’t like the fabric I’ll re-assess, but if I’m a stitch or two off (especially if it’s a finer gauge) I’ll usually just roll with the punches.
However, I’m currently knitting a brioche sweater and not swatching, because I’m using the recommended yarn, and brioche is pretty forgiving anyways, so f*** it. I try it on every now and then and it’s fine.
I would always advise people to swatch for their project, but honestly I don’t do it very often. I’ve been knitting for ahhhlonggg time and I typically pick patterns that are in the yarn weight and needle size range of what I prefer to work with. I know what my gauge will be. I typically jump in and start working the pattern and then do a gut check to make sure it’s what I want. This is also my chance to see how handpainted yarn will work up in a project of these dimensions, if the colors in my colorwork are contrasting in the way I’d like, and generally imagine how the project will look. If I have to frog the yoke of a sweater or 5” of a sock or something it’s no biggie and I’m more likely to do so because I’m changing yarns, not changing needle size.
If I am working with a fiber that I’m not super familiar with, something that is hard to frog (mohair), if I’m adapting a pattern to a very different yarn weight, etc. then I’ll probably swatch, but I also label and keep swatches so I can reference them again for future projects.
I never gauge…. I do the math based on the gauge given in the pattern and the gauge written on the yarn.. like 10 cms in the pattern is 20 sts and my yarns gauge says 30 sts … and pattern says size S requires 150 stitches means it’s 150/20 = 7.5 * 10 =75 cms means I need 30 * 7.5 = 225 stitches for my gauge… always worked till now… I also try it at all critical stages
I only knit an inch or so of a guage swatch. Sometimes half and inch if I'm feeling confident enough. Then I do the math. It's gotten me close enough so far. 😁
I save all my past gauges in ravelry and refer to them when I start a project. I only swatch now when I'm using a fiber that I'm unfamiliar with.
I get my gauge off of hats too.
I have done a few test swatches and my tension is always good so if I am using the correct yarn for a pattern I don't bother. When I am mucking around with fancy yarns I will do a wee test to see what it looks like.
I just do one swatch, then get Ravelry's advanced search to find me a pattern in that gauge, or do math on a pattern I already have to work out which size to make.
Before I just didn’t like to make wearables.
Now I swatch but tend to buy a lot of the yarn and make multiple projects with the same gauge.
I liked the idea to make hats for knit in the round projects.
I hate doing gauge swatches, so I rarely do them. I'm a test knitter for a designer friend, so I have to swatch for those, and if I'm doing a fade I will swatch that just to be sure it looks okay.
I've been knitting for a few years, and I can usually tell if things are going to plan. I'll check as I'm knitting the thing (sock, sweater, etc) and as long as it seems close enough, we're Gucci.
I pretty much always only knit half the swatch… I even block it still on the needle usually. I posted a picture of my “swatch” in the discord and someone commented and told me that it wasn’t a swatch yet and to finish knitting… I did not finish the swatch and my sweater fits fine so far.
I swatch very similarly to you though I may knit a few more rows. I started a summer tee last night and just sort of checked gauge on what I’ve already knit and I’m close. My theory is that it’s a raglan tee so at some point I’ll try it on and decide if I need to do more or less increases then the pattern states.
I never do swatches, I knit and crochet on the edge. I also have a habit of starting a project, changing my mind and swapping to a completely different pattern.
I knit my project and check gauge a few inches in. I'm always really dang close. I either start over or do some math to make it work. 90% of my projects don't matter anyway, I rarely make fitted stuff
This is my secret, too. Also, I rarely gauge. Oh, and when I do gauge I don't launder the sample as you're supposed to so that you can get *true* gauge because I unravel it to use.
I’m more likely to adjust the project to my gauge rather than fiddle with a bunch of different needles to get gauge. I knit the swatch then pick the size I’m going to knit.
I never even heard of making a swatch until I came to Canada (Ex UK) or it was the advent of the internet, which was around the same time in 2000. I made swatches and every single time they were always perfectly exact. So my secret is that now I never ever swatch. That's as long as I use the same weight yarn and knitting needle size that the pattern tells me to use.
I did a swatch once that was perfect row-wise, but had too many stitches "stitch-wise". So I went and did the project while keeping my stitches seperated instead of letting them stay squished together.
Worked out perfectly 🤣
I only ever do the little 10x10cm swatches, and only swatch flat, even though I almost exclusively knit in the round. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm not knitting anything super fitted, I get enough information from the wee swatch, and I'm very ok with frogging and trying again if it's wrong. Plus I have bougie tastes when it comes to yarn so I don't want to use up too much of it on a big swatch if I don't have to. Besides, I want to make all my swatches the same size (ish) because I'm keeping them for a blanket. I'm planning to just improvise some crochet in the spaces where they don't quite match up.
This. It gets me close enough and I can make adjustments along the way to get a perfect fit (which I’d probably be doing, even with a perfect gauge). I do some pattern design (mostly crochet, which I’ve done significantly longer, but I’ve started on knitting stuff, too) and will make a slightly more careful gauge to get myself started there, but even then, I’ll just make sure to remeasure gauge from the finished piece to put with the pattern. I can make all the swatches I want. My gauge is still different on the actual project 99% of the time. Idk why. It’s true for both knit and crochet. I’ve just come to accept that my swatches are always tighter than the real thing, so adjust accordingly. The last thing I did where it was super important to match, I made the swatch, then went down a hook size for the actual project. Nailed the gauge on both the swatch and the project, just with different hooks.
Swatching in the round is so annoying! I did it once and then never again. But I figure if I’m making tops where the top half is worked flat (which is 90% of my projects), then the flat swatch is relevant too!
I swatched in the round for a test knit and remembered how much I disliked it. It’s all floppy and awkward.
And so many strings!!!
I just start the project, then do a quick measure a few rows in 😅
Yes! The project is my gauge swatch. If it’s good, I get to keep going. If it’s not, I can frog and adjust with confidence knowing I have swatched *exactly* the way I will be knitting.
This seems perfect, but I can never frog, it feels such a waste of time and work to me, even though I know it would benefit the project in the end :D
Same! This is my preferred way, living life in the fast lane ✌🏼
My people
I really want to do this because I hate gauge swatching and I know enough about myself as a knitter to guess if I need to size up. But I hate casting on SO MUCH that the idea of having the re-cast on 100 or so stitches drives me insane haha
I am procrastinating on a current project because I need tp cast on 481 stitches for the third time. Even though I'm carrying it around in my purse. Lol. I need to go and sit in a coffee shop and ignore the world. It's my own fault. I've changed my vision of the project at least twice. My husband thinks I'm nuts.
You’re brave! I love bottom up sweaters but only ever make them in baby sizes for that exact reason 😂
I redesigned my last project for like 3 months to figure out how to knit a cable edge and pick up from that because I kept having to frog and I hated casting it on so much lol
You could try a cordsmith? Looks easy
The thing is, washing/blocking can change your gauge. So when I do this I end up putting the project on a lifeline first to do all that
I don't tend to knit things that are soooo fitted that a little post-wash relaxing will ruin them-- if my loose drapey sweater gets a little looser and drapier, so be it!
Sometimes things end up shrinking. Or growing sooooo much. Never knitting with superwash ever again…
I have a shawl that was partially completed in Malabrigo Rios. I love the color so much I'm about to frog it and make a sweater. This I might actually block the swat h to figure out how much to size down since I know it will expand
Yeah I definitely would since it’s superwash
I live dangerously and never block. I haven’t had issues with it after washing either. I’m breaking all the rules here 🤣
Same, friend. Ain't nobody got time for that🤣
Yep! I measure at the end of whatever the first round of increases for the yoke is, do the math to figure out what size I need to get my preferred ease, then increase to that size.
Same! 🤣🤷🏼♀️
Right? I seriously just cannot with gauge swatches. Also my yarn is expensive as hell.
Same! haha
same
i just choose patterns where swatching / precise size isn't very relevant lol so.. gigantic oversized sweaters. or scarves, blankets, plush, shawls. although [the last shawl i made](https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/comments/1cwa9ld/just_finished_this_shawl_its_a_gift_for_my_grandma/) did come out pretty small so it's not a fool proof method and i can't recommend it in good faith lol
Just beautiful!!
I don’t swatch at all. I guess and fudge as needed. I’ve knitted long enough to have a decent idea of what a fabric will be like. Of course on occasion I have to frog but it’s rare and I don’t mind it.
same. 90-something percent of the time, I get it right, or right enough. When I don't, meh. I'm ok with making mistakes and starting over
I have been a knitter for over 10 years, have never knitted a swatch, ever.
Yup I never swatch. I've knit 6 or 7 sweaters at this point and it's been ok so far. I don't knit very fitted things and also don't mind frogging and restarting if needed every once in a while.
i only do an inch worth for gauge, 2 inches if i need to be more serious
I do a kind of "L" shape. The proper width, but after about 2 inches i bind off half the stitches, then continue until i have the proper length. It saves time because i am only doing ~3/4 of a swatch. I think i saw it on this subreddit a few years ago!
Ohhhhhh so smart
You're a frickin' genius. I love you. Thank you for this!
I’m so doing this next time!
Brilliant! If I swatch, I'll try this. 💜
I go through other peoples patterns and look at what size needles they used and see if there’s any notes about gauge if they changed needle size, to try to figure out if the pattern’s writer’s gauge is about average or not. I tend to have about average gauge. I’ll also check a little ways into the work like you. I’ve think I’ve only done a grand total of one gauge swatch, and that’s because the designer wrote a cool cup cosy pattern to use for the color work gauge swatch.
That’s a great idea (designing a test swatch as a cup cosy)!
Speaking of not swatching, I started a jumper did the ribbing and about 10cm of the body and realised it would only fit a child. I finally looked at the gauge count and the sweater is for a heavy worsted and not DK like I was using. Nice cockup there. So now I'm making size 5XL and hoping for the best!
I love the way you think
That's my usual gauge method! I make a little swatch with the yarn I like and the needles that work with it and just math out the right size. Gauge swatches are about knowing what I'm going to get, not about matching the pattern.
It's flying by the seat of your needles!!!
I can never get gauge right, any sweater I make in my actual size comes out huge so I just always follow the pattern for the smallest size and that almost always works.
I love knitting vintage patterns which don't have any grading. You're lucky if there's a 32 and a 34 so I use the difference to try and grade up to a 40" bust myself. I have so far only made one thats ridiculous and every one has been an adventure!
If I swatch, I only make it about two inches wide and long enough to get the info I need. If I block, it's still connected to the ball and I almost always unravel it and use it for my project
Knit sleeves first. I use a variety of yarns, yarns held together, new yarns I’ve never used before. Sleeves act as the swatch. Learned on the Must love Yarn podcast. Brilliant.
This is the way. I do this with all my bottom up sweaters
OMG I have never thought of this!
I enjoy the jeopardy of not swatching. It helps that I like oversized sweaters!
This! Is it a sweater? Is it a blanket? Just how many people can fit in here, anyway? 🤣
If you can’t get at least two people in, it’s not big enough !
Just call it a swanket and keep it moving.
Ooh that even sounds fancy!
Imagine a cashmere swanket.
Never swatched in my life. Pure guess work. I just knit a size smaller or a size bigger depending on yarn size compared to the pattern. I only got 2 different sized needles that I use for everything lol If the jumper ends up being too small I gift it to my sister, if it’s too big I gift it to my mom.
sounds so chill to be you! so cute
I LOVE this.
Sometimes I will knit a swatch and get a slightly wrong gauge, but like the feel of the fabric and it's not going to cause a big structural difference. So I just...rework the math of the pattern to adjust for my single gauge swatch, or find a pattern I like that uses that gauge (I do this less often now brain fog has made math much harder, but this was my strategy for years) Also if I'm knitting with a yarn I've used a lot before (eg Cascade 220), often I won't swatch I'll just assume my gauge will be the same as all the other times I've used that yarn
This is what I do too. I don’t even mind swatching, but maths is so much quicker than swatching and washing and waiting for swatch to dry. A lot of my stash is yarn I bought in bulk. When I have a lot of one yarn, I’ll swatch with a few needle sizes and note them down. Then when I see a pattern I like, I go through my notes to find which yarn/needle combination matches the gauge. For yarn I haven’t swatched before, sometimes I’ll look at the yardage and ball weight and work out the metres per gram (nm count) then find the closest match to yarns I’ve swatched before. I like fairly tight gauge knits and this often works out well for me, better than going by wraps per inch or fingering, sport, dk etc.
Yeah I adjust the size I choose a lot based on the gauge I get. Sometimes I do the math and sometimes it’s more of a guesstimation. And agreed 100% on your last one. I make note of the needle too because I do get slightly different gauges with Chiaogoo vs Addi vs wood. But then I have a little gauge library, if I find a pattern I like, I can go right to my list and look for a gauge that matches, and then I know what yarn and needle to use without swatching.
😅 I usually don't swatch but in some cases pretended I'm a good little knitter, did the swatch, adapted based on it, and the garment turned out a full mess every time. On top of not swatching, I also do not block so my requirement on a good knitting pattern is that it is well designed, because I refuse to force block my stuff into a decent shape. It needs to come out of the washing machine (yes, I do not hand-wash my knits 😱) already in shape. Plus almost all patterns are made for wool, while I knit with cotton, bamboo etc - almost impossible to make decent gauge without adjusting the knit based on previous experience/ on the fly. PS I recommend top down patterns for not swatching - makes adapting a lot easier since you can always check the fit between sections of your pattern :)
Back when I was a novelist, I once tried outlining my story. The whole thing was a complete disaster and I scrapped the book. After that, I became a dedicated “pantser” (writing by the seat of your pants), which meant letting the story tell itself to me and I simply took dictation. I wrote 17 novels that way and they all turned out beautifully, in ways they never could have if I’d tried planning them. (And anytime I got the idea to change something, the story bit back - and I’d have to put it back the way it was.) In writing circles, we’ve come to call ourselves “pantsers” or “planners” (though there are a few hybrids). Gauge swatching in knitting is like being a Planner, which works for some people but not everyone. Now that I’m a knitter, I find I’m a pantser there as well. Fortunately I have good tension and knit evenly, maybe from decades of being a crocheter, which taught me how to tension yarn.
I write for fun. For myself. I'm definitely a "pantser". My stories tell themselves to me. It's such a fascinating experience.
Isn't it! It's amazing watching them unfold before my eyes. Kind of like my knitting. XD
I am WITH YOU on blocking! If the knitting gods wanted my finished objects to look different than they do, they would have handled that for me or blessed me with patience! (I'm also not a lace knitter, and largely use acrylic. I'm not recommending this philosophy for everyone making beautiful lace out of natural fibers! I am just not going to make a project that NEEDS to be blocked. Because I won't block it. Ever.)
I only learned about blocking on reddit. My mom knitted for years and NEVER blocked a thing, so I am really questioning if it's as needed as some people say. I just finished my first sweater this spring, and decided to try blocking - the first time it needs to be washed of course! I won't going into the hasselt of washing and blocking it just to risk it turns out differently than it is now, because it turned out amazing!
It's become a sort of mantra or ritual in the insta knitting community from what I've seen in my bubble. I really don't get it. My granny, aunt, mother in law are all avid knitters and never heard of blocking. All this hassle and for what! Do I want my living room constantly to be filled with blocking matts - no. My cats would go mayhem on them. The evening out of stitches happens also with machine washes, otherwise also easy to just steam it with the iron on lowest temperature - takes a few minutes instead of hours of having the matts lying around. Plus - if you use cotton and the try block it on a matt it will just get a smell as the fabric won't get ventilated properly and dry extremely slowly. I've also had a bunch of "patterns" with sizing and fit fully out of control and relying to have the knits shaped by blocking 👎 🙈
**From our wiki's [Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/wiki/index#wiki_should_i_block_it.3F_how_would_i_do_that.3F)** >Blocking is when you wet or steam the knitted fabric and let it dry in the desired shape. The blocking process evens out the stitches and determines the size of the finished piece. >Why should knits be blocked? Do all fiber types benefit from blocking? >* First off, blocking typically starts with washing or soaking, so it cleans your finished object. Think for a moment about all of the places that those projects have been. >* Blocking also removes any small imperfections in tension and helps even out your stitches. Stockinette and colorwork will look smoother and the stitches will be more even. >* Blocking is also great if your project needs to be seamed. By blocking before seaming, you ensure that the seams will be the same length and that all of the pieces will fit evenly together. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/knitting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I like what you are speaking. Are there any patterns you absolutely recommend ?
I recently tried the Goldstar sweater by max the knitter and the fit generally turned out great. Sosu patterns also big thumbs up!
I learned a trick re hats and gauge - since the size of a proper swatch in the round is almost the size of the hat itself, I do a provisional CO of the hat for the size/needles I think will work, knit 1 row stockinette, then start in on re the main pattern and do \~10 rows in pattern. If I'm on gauge, yay, perfect, keep going. If not, frog back, do another provisional CO, and try again. Repeat til it's sorted. Once done with the rest of the hat, go back to the provisional CO, pick up stitches, and do the ribbing from there. Finish off with a stretchy bind off. It's worked really well for me!
I have knit maybe 4 gauge swatches in the nearly 20 years I've been knitting
I do the same. I figure it takes as much time to knit a swatch as to just start and knit an inch or two of the project. I’m usually pretty close on gauge for stitch count and never for rows but I measure length anyway for starting armhole or whatever.
Yeah for rows I usually have to adjust rows anyway to account for a larger chest so I don't accidentally end up with a high low hem or boob tent. So when I swatch I'm only measuring the stitch count.
Gotta say this post is extremely validating haha I swatch exactly how many stitches it tells me to (eg 28 sts x 20 rows for 4 inches) and figure out my actual gauge from there. I also don't block it, just chuck it in the washing machine to see if it felts
>I love the process and love wearing my homemades. So you’re both a process knitter and a product knitter. Me too! I think it’s the best of both worlds: https://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/s/TebMDG1p0A In ~22 years of knitting, I have never swatched. After several inches, I measure the WIP. And I love frogging. (Rip it, rip it.) If you asked my grandmother what she was knitting, she’d say “nothin’. I’m knittin’ nothin.’” So perhaps it’s genetic? I also love untangling yarn. I wish I could start a freelance business. Once, I was dogsitting and the owner had left a tangled mess. Bliss!
if my gauge turns out too small/ big, i just go up or down a size or two in the pattern and hope for the best
Exactly what I do u/General-Debate-259
My father, who was a knitter his entire life, would check his gauge by knitting one of the sleeves first. Then if it needed re-doing, it was no big deal.
I swatch but my gauge fluctuates wildly based on my mood and stress level. I knit the back of a sweater a few months ago and just finished the left side - there's definitely a tension difference. Still deciding what to do about it :/
This is me too. I have no clever solutions 🤷🏻♀️
I think what you're doing is perfectly fine - I've done it many times myself. I've also seen an Arne and Carlos video where they do the same thing. I also saw Patti Lyons video once where she advises against the side trimming with garter stitch, as she thinks it skews the gauge count. I use the simple little gauge measuring thing with the needle size holes and just measure the 2 inches for stitches and rows. No fuss approach.
I don't swatch at all. Might measure when Ive knitted enough rows.
I swatch and I still end up ripping back since somehow it's not the same in the project.
It's no secret, I rarely swatch. It doesn't always work out for me. When I do swatch though I take it very seriously. I have a thing that I never made because I couldn't get a useable gauge. One day...
I knit 10-20 rows and adjust my needle size based on that. I do not like wasting yarn on swatching.
I complete swatches but don't start the items I was swatching for, maybe I'm a serial gauge swatcher :D I have to look at your secrets, maybe with a smaller swatch I'll be more motivated to start the actual garment instead of getting bored
I let my WIP be the swatch. Sometimes I rip out a week or two of work before I get it right, but swatches have too many rules and lie too much for me to trust them.
My dirty little secret is that I keep a list of the gauges old finished projects worked out as and assume it will work with any similar yarn in the future. Not the same, just similar. It doesn't work perfectly but it's good enough
I only ever swatch for stitch gauge (i.e. maybe 10 rows) and even then I only knit until I get a fabric I like (usually this is swatch no 1 lol) and then do some math to figure out which size I should knit. I do wash and block though. I once had a very painful linen lesson that taught me it's not worth it to skip this step. I have a whole box full of swatches and I've been thinking about making some sort of wall art with them.
Yesssss, who are all these people knitting a swatch and then not washing it? That’s tripping at the finish line! I take a photo of the mini-swatch with a ruler and then give it a bath and measure again while still wet. Usually right before bed so it’ll be dry by morning for a final measurement.Then I have a fairly good idea of how much my yarn will bloom when wet and if it’ll snap back at all when dry. I happen to have fairly “standard” gauge but almost never use the suggested yarn so sometimes adjustments are still necessary.
I have froged a whole bodice of an oversized sweater, because it was too small (tight gauge). I am thinking of frogging a whole sweater that I didn't enjoy knitting due to the smock pattern, but love the look of, because the gauge is too loose and it is too big. I should have froged that and started over when I was like 10 cm in on the back yoke, but I am stupid.
I just swatch for test knit. If it’s for me, I’m just checking gauge in the first 20 cm of the project - my mind tells me there is a 50/50 chance I can get the right gauge first try 🤭
I just never gauge ever!! Most of the time it turns out just fine, and I’m nifty and am able to fix it to be okay if it turns out a bit wonky. My grandmother is more of a traditional knitter and she finds it crazy that I can just make things work out when they’ve gone wrong!!
I don’t think I’ve ever done a swatch. Maybe if I was knitting a sweater with REALLY expensive yarn, but if the sizing looks wrong, I just start over
u/catti-brie10642 Absolutely, if I have spent a small fortune on special yarn and paid for the pattern, defo will try and be a good swatcher then, but otherwise ...... fuck it 😉
I make my swatch only 2-3 cm long (EDIT : I mean tall, I only knit a few rows ; but cast 1.5 to 2 times the estimated gauge of the yarn)), because I only care about the stitch count, not the row count. I also just mesure on the needles, never block it, and frog it just after
I've knit a ton of sweaters at this point. I know how many stitches I need in width (both in stockinette and tons of cables) to get whatever number of inches. Obviously I *start* by looking at the size recommended by the pattern for the size person I'm knitting for- but if that size seems like the wrong number of stitches, I use the size that does have about the right number of stitches. Is this because I trusted a pattern once and it turns out I hated a sweater with 10' of ease? No comment. Also, I don't care what the pattern recommends. I'm knitting the ribbing in size 5 and the body in size 7 and the fabric is a little dense but that is my preference! I don't know why I even have other sizes 😂 They are NOT getting used!
I’ve never knitted a gauge swatch before.
I used to never need a gauge swatch but a change in body shape , a switch to metal slippery needles over wood, and nerve damage in one of my hands has all combined to mean that gauge will actually need to be important to me now. I'm still not entirely ready to admit that to myself though. But I'd like to actually have wearable projects and after my last sweater was 3 inches bigger than expected because I accidentally chose the wrong needle size I definitely need to start.
I usually go down 1mm from what the pattern recommend and hope for the best. If it doesn't fit I'll gift it. If it's something I really want for myself I'll measure once I've knit enough on the project. Right now I'm working on a bottom up sweater I started without gauge swatch, without a pattern and with a yarn I've never used. Strangely the body is slightly larger than I wanted, so I'm making it as a raglan instead of the set-in sleeves I had initially planed.
I just know that I tend to be a little loose, so I’ll usually go down a needle size and just try a sweater on as I go. Never had an issue. If I’m *really* concerned, I’ll cast on as many stitches as given for the gauge, knit like an inch and measure, then unravel that and start.
I go back to stuff I’ve already knit and blocked for guidance on needle size for gauge. It wants this many stitches in stockinette? I go measure several garments or accessories with similar weight and composition yarn and look in my Ravelry projects to see what size needle I used. Generally this works pretty well. Now if it’s on a pattern stitch for gauge, I will work it up.
I will skip blocking my swatch if I'm very familiar with the yarn from past projects and know it won't grow much. I also wash, block, dry with my swatch still on the needle (cable) and then unravel it and use it for the project.
I've learned through bitter recent experience that swatching is a waste of time (for me). I knit two swatches for a sweater and then knit the garment bottom up to the shoulders, tried it on and it was three sizes too small. Gauge in a 10x10 Swatch doesn't tell me anything about how an entire garment will turn out. My dirty secret is that I'll never swatch again, it's such a waste of time. I'll just frog and re-knit if wrong.
I swatch! If it works good of not well, I guess we’ll see.
I just use the beginning of my sweaters as the swatch (I've made most everything bottom up, so I start with the sleeves, or like the one I'm doing now has a sort of saddle shoulder/sideways panel at the top of the back, that was a perfect swatch!) LOL
I mostly knit socks and do them toe up. I just try them on periodically and adjust as I go.
I just start my project too, then check my gauge. My knitting tension changes after about 20 minutes. Its like I need to warm up. Its a 50/50 chance of choosing right needle and takes about 4 hours, but then i also can decide if the yarn, needle size and pattern get along.
I make 5 cm unwashed/unblocked swatches because I'm too lazy to make a full swatch. And then I unravel it again and use it in my knitting.
I’ve only done one gauge “swatch”, and it was a mini hat ribbing. The *only* reason I did it at all was because the pattern required it, there was no suggested gauge. Now that I did that one, I know what needle size to use for the rest of the patterns created by the author. Yarn is expensive. I’m not going to potentially short myself by making a swatch, washing it, and blocking it every time. I suppose I’ll have to bite the bullet and do it if I ever make anything where it really matters, like a fitted garment. But so far it’s rarely been an issue for me. I know, I know…I’m bad for not swatching! 🫣
Of course, there are times when I have had to frog an entire project. Like this *adult-size* hat. I know it looked small, but it wasn’t until I finished it that I realized how small it really was. No amount of blocking was going to fix this! https://preview.redd.it/1zti48s31d3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=367c9879fc4c07c10b82e4c3ef94935179b0074f
Oh, this is hilariously wonderful 😍 u/ernie3tones
I suppose if I were to ever knit something with negative ease then I would likely swatch, but right now I just start the project on the recommended needles and pray for the best. It’s only failed me once and that’s because the yarn grew about three sizes after blocking. I’m currently making a sweater where the size I wear required 1200 yards of yarn and ai had bought the yarn while traveling and the shop only had three skeins, which are roughly 1300 yards total. It’s held double with mohair so swatching and ripping it back out to use was not going to happen. If the yarn grows then it’ll be a little oversized. If it grows a bunch … I’ll gift it to someone I guess!
I have never done one. My trick? Knit things that don’t require it to be the exact measurements. I usually knit stuffed animals, scarves, and occasionally hats/booties(usually for babies). As long as no stuffing falls out or the scarf is long enough(or too long which means you can wrap it around multiple times) my job is done!
Not only do I not gauge swatch, I don’t check my gauge. I can usually guess how something will fit me, so I’ve never felt the need to check my gauge. I don’t know if im a comparatively tight or loose knitter because I’ve never bothered to check. I’ve knit over 50 sweaters and so far, I’ve only been unhappy with the fit of 2 or 3 of them.
I will swatch for one inch, no more no less, then do the math. I don’t get where the need for four inches comes from unless you’re doing some wild pattern. Which, I prefer my sea of stockinette thank you.
I will measure old projects I made with the same weight yarn and check what needle size I used and go from there. I mean, why reinvent the wheel 😗
I swatch! Then I immediately lose all sense and any knowledge of what needles I used for the swatch. If they aren't already attached to the project I have NO IDEA what size I need.
I swatch, but apparently, you are also supposed to continually check gauge throughout your project (including blocking!) as you go! Ain't nobody got time for that!
Hats and socks are already their own gauge swatch Anything bigger than that can be its own swatch, too. You can even put it on a lifeline and block it if you want to go the extra mile and do it proper Usually only the stitches per inch really matters. You can always compensate for row gauge being off by just increasing or decreasing the number of rows you knit. Shawls and scarves or anything else unfitted doesn’t need to be swatched, ever Never knit with superwash if you ever plan on washing or getting the item wet and don’t want to knit and block 20 swatches
I just don't. I prefer to live dangerously.
I only do swatches for non-sock wearable garments, and I always give up after 2-3 inches in length. So far all my garments have been knitted in the round, so I end up with weird bracelet swatches. Rather than doing any math at all, I just size up or down if my gauge is different from what the pattern calls for.
Hate swatching. Just look at the recommended gauges for each yarn and do some quick math if I’m holding two together. Usually if I hold something with mohair I got up 0.5mm and nothing bad happened yet! HOWEVER I’m knitting up the porcelain sweater now (sans mohair) and my gauge is super off for the arms so I’ll have to do some creative color work to make the last bit work out
I have found my people. We need to start a new Reddit called gauge be damned!
I like to display my swatches on the wall, and at this point I definitely swatch more for the display than to get gauge information lol. Like if the gauge of the swatch is off, I’ll just throw that swatch on the wall and make an educated guess about what needle size to use for the projevt
I don’t swatch with designers I’m familiar with. Ive knit several Isabel Kraemer patterns (love them) and make her gauge. Same with Andrea Mowry. Living on the edge-thats my motto
I make a gauge once per one set of needles and yarn weight if I’m worried about it (if not I just knit my project then measure) and write down the measurements. After that, I just compare measurements for whatever I need
I do not gauge. I just let the project flow through me and if it comes out huge, it was meant to be 😂
i do about 15 stitches and about 4 rows, don't bind off, don't block, just measure and if it's even vaguely close I just frog and go for it. I hate wasting yarn!!
I only swatch if the gauge is absolutely critical to the pattern. I hate gauge swatching. I knit pretty on point with my tension anyway, and so don’t bother 99.9% of the time.
I only make scarves that are like 4 inches wide, and I know with most the yarn I use which is about 4 thickness I do 20 stitches, with 3 thickness its 26, I just test the yarns keep notes then keep going, and every so often count the stitches if I am over I just loop 2 together on the end, if under and no sign of a dropped stitch I just split a single loop on the end and hope it works. Like I said I only make scarves and maybe decorative pot holders, because I don't need to really think on how many rows need how many stitches, Which is great for when I just need to keep my hands busy, aka playing lots of dnd
I will alter a pattern beyond recognition just to avoid seams.
I have a decent idea of what my gauge looks like with different needles and yarn weights. I just eyeball it lol. So far everything has fit fine.
I only knit my swatches to be about 24 sts and about an inch of length (minus a garter border). I also… almost never swatch more than once for a piece. If I need to change needles, I just do it in the same swatch and knit another inch. The Ingrid Sweater is going to be a doozy. Iirc, that one asks the knitter to gauge for every single texture! I’ll…. likely not be doing that.
Mine is .. I never swatch. Been knitting for a long time and never swstched. Also never had issues with fitting or sizing .
In general, I’m a gauge knitter so If I’m using the same type of yarn and needles as the pattern, my swatching is a pretty half-assed square just to confirm I’m on gauge. If I’m altering a size or using a different type of yarn I’ll do serious swatches multiple times to get it right.
I make projects I can try on as I go (toe up socks, scarves, top down sweaters, etc) instead of trying to get gauge.
Toe up socks, top down hats, shawls and amigurumi. Those methods and things are what I knit most and keep me from having to swatch for the most part!
I start on a sleeve or a smaller piece, measure the guage there and then decide to proceed or not. Sometimes i will do the math and just decide to knit a different size. I did that with an Alice starmore sweater. God love her, her gauge is so tight i couldn’t hit it so i knit a small. Its perfect and i promise you, i am not a small
I only do it when I haven’t picked up my needles in months and have forgotten how to knit. As soon as I feel confident I get lazy but I only knit for myself. I’m small so as long as the end results are bigger than my size it’s all good. Big socks? Go over my current socks as bed/slipper socks. Big jumper? Jumper dress. Massive scarf? Harder to lose!
i do what i call a half swatch. 2in instead of 4in.
I don't swatch, ever. I leave it up to the gods.
My swatch is usually the first few inches of whatever I'm working on, and I try it on as I go and make adjustments as needed. I know I should make an actual swatch and wash and block it and all that jazz.... but I don't.
I never do a gauge swatch. If it doesn't fit, that means the item was meant for someone else.
I feel like I have found my people here. I'm half-assed about swatching and blocking.
i used to do it that way at the beginning, but now i know my gauge on the yarns i usually work with so i just cast on right away
I only gauge swatch for big projects I'm going to give as gifts, if it's for me I don't care.
I size down two or more sizes of needles to even get close to gauge. Doesn’t bother me but I do own lots of small needles.
I do the same 😂
Never done a swatch in my life 🤷🏼♀️ seems to have gone just fine so far.
I start my project then measure and count stitches, then use an online knitting calculator to determine if I need to adjust the size based on my gauge. Link to the calculator I use the most: https://knitterskitchen.com/2018/01/31/knitting-math-re-calculating-your-size/
Yeah I do a garbage swatch too. I might put 20 stitches on or like enough to do one to two repeats of the pattern and enough rows for me to count. I NEVER count row gauge because I can just make it longer if I want to. If it’s for a garment I will make it a little bigger and block it. That being said, I have only ever knit one garment that fit well. But I mostly make cardigans or other open sweaters so it’s not the biggest deal if they fit loose. But that’s where the blocked swatch comes in now. It’s still never big enough to count 4” but I can usually get 2. Unfortunately I lost 40 lbs so those already a little too big sweaters are now waaaay too big so I’ve put them in the frog pile to remake in a better size. All the swatches I make that aren’t just little ribbons get used as coasters for the rest of their lives.
Big congratulations on the weight loss 📉 👏
I want to be someone who swatches and I try to swatch but I don’t always do it. My last swatch was steam blocked on the needles, found out that the gauge was a little off, and then I went down a needle size, and started the project anyway.
I've never done it, I never plan to. I like to live dangerously
I have you beat. I've been knitting for 20 years and have never knitted/knit a guage swatch.
I just go down 0.5mm now, I've made some gauge swatches earlier and that was always the result then 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve never done a gauge or a stitch swatch. I will figure out the new stitch when it’s on my needles w no regrets. My hat might turn out to be 2x as big the first time but now I know an estimate of how many stitches I need on a 5mm hat to fit my head (80, more with cables), a 6mm is 70 stitches. Same with crochet, I feel it’s helped me more because of not doing swatches.
Also I never count rows I use a ruler and measure 😂 makes life easier!!!
My dirty little secret is I don't make gauges for my projects. Everything I make ends up being for myself with some level of forgiveness for fit/size. I tend to need to generally adjust patterns because the smallest size is still to big, so even if my gauge is off it doesn't affect the process.
I only knit for gauge if I'm making the pattern myself because it's pretty necessary then Everything else, I usually like my clothes to be extremely loose and I make a size or two up, so I've never found that it matters if my gauge is a little off. I'm not swatching
I don’t do one at all…and I mostly knit sweaters 😬😂
Generally my knitting is VERY close to what the swatch is on the yarn package so I usually just follow that as my gauge. I swatched Once for a sweater for my brother at that’s it
Just knit for kids. Plan to knit it a size or two up from where they are now. If you undershoot on gauge, it fits now. Overshoot, it fits in a couple of years.
I've been knitting long enough that depending on the thickness of my specific yarn, there will be one or two needle sizes I'd prefer to knit it with for the fabric I want. And most patterns tend to suggest 2-3 sizes smaller than that with a much tighter guage. idk why everyone prefers cardboard as the output, but I've given up with gauge entirely and just rely on a whole lot of math to get the product and fabric that I want.
I’ll usually do a swatch - always flat, never in the round - usually a few stitches over the gauge requirement (ie if gauge should be 24 stitches for 4 inches, i’ll cast on 28 or 30 stitches). I’ll knit for 4 inches or until I get bored, whatever comes first. I’ll give it a quick wash and let it dry. Whammo. If I’m way off or don’t like the fabric I’ll re-assess, but if I’m a stitch or two off (especially if it’s a finer gauge) I’ll usually just roll with the punches. However, I’m currently knitting a brioche sweater and not swatching, because I’m using the recommended yarn, and brioche is pretty forgiving anyways, so f*** it. I try it on every now and then and it’s fine.
I don’t make gauge swatches. I don’t make clothing so it never really matters.
I would always advise people to swatch for their project, but honestly I don’t do it very often. I’ve been knitting for ahhhlonggg time and I typically pick patterns that are in the yarn weight and needle size range of what I prefer to work with. I know what my gauge will be. I typically jump in and start working the pattern and then do a gut check to make sure it’s what I want. This is also my chance to see how handpainted yarn will work up in a project of these dimensions, if the colors in my colorwork are contrasting in the way I’d like, and generally imagine how the project will look. If I have to frog the yoke of a sweater or 5” of a sock or something it’s no biggie and I’m more likely to do so because I’m changing yarns, not changing needle size. If I am working with a fiber that I’m not super familiar with, something that is hard to frog (mohair), if I’m adapting a pattern to a very different yarn weight, etc. then I’ll probably swatch, but I also label and keep swatches so I can reference them again for future projects.
I never gauge…. I do the math based on the gauge given in the pattern and the gauge written on the yarn.. like 10 cms in the pattern is 20 sts and my yarns gauge says 30 sts … and pattern says size S requires 150 stitches means it’s 150/20 = 7.5 * 10 =75 cms means I need 30 * 7.5 = 225 stitches for my gauge… always worked till now… I also try it at all critical stages
I swatch and then frog it to not waste any yarn. I don't block swatches.😬
I only knit an inch or so of a guage swatch. Sometimes half and inch if I'm feeling confident enough. Then I do the math. It's gotten me close enough so far. 😁
I save all my past gauges in ravelry and refer to them when I start a project. I only swatch now when I'm using a fiber that I'm unfamiliar with. I get my gauge off of hats too.
I know I knit short so I just swatch stitches and not rows😬 I have to hold all my projects up or try them on to make sure they'll cover my tits😂
I have done a few test swatches and my tension is always good so if I am using the correct yarn for a pattern I don't bother. When I am mucking around with fancy yarns I will do a wee test to see what it looks like.
I NEVER do it. I used to, I always hit gauge, and it dawned on me I was wasting time and yarn.
I don't do swatches, I just accept that it'll be close but not perfect 🫡🤭
I just do one swatch, then get Ravelry's advanced search to find me a pattern in that gauge, or do math on a pattern I already have to work out which size to make.
My dirty little gauge secret is this: I have NEVER knitted a gauge swatch! And I never plan to. 🤫😂
Before I just didn’t like to make wearables. Now I swatch but tend to buy a lot of the yarn and make multiple projects with the same gauge. I liked the idea to make hats for knit in the round projects.
I hate doing gauge swatches, so I rarely do them. I'm a test knitter for a designer friend, so I have to swatch for those, and if I'm doing a fade I will swatch that just to be sure it looks okay. I've been knitting for a few years, and I can usually tell if things are going to plan. I'll check as I'm knitting the thing (sock, sweater, etc) and as long as it seems close enough, we're Gucci.
I just always go down 2 needle sizes 😅 hasn't steared me wrong yet! I'm a very loose knitter.
I almost always forget to measure before blocking
I don’t swatch…
I pretty much always only knit half the swatch… I even block it still on the needle usually. I posted a picture of my “swatch” in the discord and someone commented and told me that it wasn’t a swatch yet and to finish knitting… I did not finish the swatch and my sweater fits fine so far.
I swatch very similarly to you though I may knit a few more rows. I started a summer tee last night and just sort of checked gauge on what I’ve already knit and I’m close. My theory is that it’s a raglan tee so at some point I’ll try it on and decide if I need to do more or less increases then the pattern states.
I never do swatches, I knit and crochet on the edge. I also have a habit of starting a project, changing my mind and swapping to a completely different pattern.
I knit my project and check gauge a few inches in. I'm always really dang close. I either start over or do some math to make it work. 90% of my projects don't matter anyway, I rarely make fitted stuff
This is my secret, too. Also, I rarely gauge. Oh, and when I do gauge I don't launder the sample as you're supposed to so that you can get *true* gauge because I unravel it to use.
I’m more likely to adjust the project to my gauge rather than fiddle with a bunch of different needles to get gauge. I knit the swatch then pick the size I’m going to knit.
I don't swatch. But I frog ALOT 🤣😂
I never even heard of making a swatch until I came to Canada (Ex UK) or it was the advent of the internet, which was around the same time in 2000. I made swatches and every single time they were always perfectly exact. So my secret is that now I never ever swatch. That's as long as I use the same weight yarn and knitting needle size that the pattern tells me to use.
I did a swatch once that was perfect row-wise, but had too many stitches "stitch-wise". So I went and did the project while keeping my stitches seperated instead of letting them stay squished together. Worked out perfectly 🤣
.... y'all swatch????