Beginner knitting tutorial for knitting a gauge swatch. If you want your knitted project to have the same size as is expected by a knitting pattern, it is always a good idea to swatch - check whether your knitting tension is exactly the same as your pattern requires. Follow this step-by-step instruction to learn how to knit gauge swatch.
You can download the Knitting Club sweater pattern here:
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Chapters
The video has no chapters on YouTube, so these timestamps are approximate:
- What a gauge is (0:28)
- Why you need to swatch (1:10)
- Flat or in the round? (3:35)
- How many stitches to cast on (4:52)
- The garter stitch border (6:16)
- Knitting the swatch "in the round" on a flat piece (8:03)
- Purl edges that stop the rolling (10:19)
- How to measure the swatch (12:39)
- Wash it before you measure (13:46)
- Stitch gauge and row gauge (14:20)
- What to do if your gauge doesn't match (16:02)
What a gauge is
If you look into a pattern, you will find a gauge section. For my Knitting Club Sweater it says: 18 stitches x 26 rows = 10 x 10 cm / 4 x 4". This means that in 10 cm / 4" of fabric you should have 18 stitches widthwise (those V-shaped things) and 26 rows heightwise. To get that, I used 4 mm (US 6) needles for the main fabric.
A swatch is a small test piece that you knit before the project, to check how many stitches and rows you get.
Why you need to swatch
Even if you use the same needles and the same yarn as I did, there is a chance that you will not get the same numbers. All people knit differently, with a different tension.
Here is an example. The yarn I'm using is Peer Gynt from Sandnes Garn. On the label, the recommended needles are 3.5 mm to 4 mm (US 4 to US 6), and you are expected to get approximately 22 stitches in 10 cm / 4". I used 4 mm (US 6) needles, and I get 18 stitches. Quite far from 22!
Many people skip the swatch, because it is a little bit boring. They want to jump into the project right away. But if your gauge is different from the pattern, your garment might end up too small or too big. So if you want your sweater to come out the same, or very similar, to the designer's one, I strongly encourage you to swatch.
Flat or in the round?
You can knit a swatch back and forth, or you can knit it in the round. The most accurate swatch is knit in the same way as the project itself.
- The Knitting Club Sweater is knit in the round, so you only ever make knit stitches. The swatch should be made the same way, with knit stitches only.
- If you are making something that is knit flat, for example a cardigan, swatch flat: knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side.
The good news: you don't need to knit a tube to swatch in the round. There is a trick with strands of yarn behind the work, and I show it below.
What you need
- The yarn you are planning to use for the project
- The needles you are planning to use (circular needles, or any needles with two points, because you will slide the stitches from one end to the other)
- A gauge measuring tool, a measuring tape, or whatever you have to measure stuff. My gauge tool is number 4 in my top 10 knitting tools.
How to knit the swatch in the round, step by step
- Cast on more stitches than the gauge says. The edges of a swatch always look a bit wonky, and measuring on the very edge gives you incorrect numbers. You want a margin on both sides that you can ignore. The gauge here is 18 stitches, so I cast on 26. I use the long-tail cast-on.
- Knit 3 or 4 rows of garter stitch. Knit one row, turn the work, and knit again, so you knit on both the right and the wrong side. Stockinette rolls on itself, and this border stops the bottom edge from rolling. These rows are not a part of the measurement.
- Knit one row on the right side. Just knit all the stitches.
- Don't turn the work. Instead, slide all the stitches back to the other end of the needle, so the right side is facing you again. Now your working yarn is at the wrong end of the row. That's okay!
- Bring the yarn across the back, loosely. Leave a long strand behind the work, a bit longer than the width of the swatch, and start knitting the next row with it. If the strand is too short, the swatch gets scrunched and can't lie flat.
- Knit the row, slide, and repeat. The first stitches of each row will look messy. It is expected. Pull the strand behind a little bit to tidy them up. It doesn't matter anyway, because those are the margins that you will ignore.
- Nice to have: purl edges. On every other row, purl the first two and the last two stitches, and knit all the rest. It is not necessary, but it keeps the sides from rolling, so the swatch lies flat.
- Continue until the swatch is about 10 cm / 4" high.
- Finish with several rows of garter stitch, so the top doesn't roll either, and bind off. Here is the easiest way to cast off.
In the end you want a nice square, without rolls on the sides, the top or the bottom.
Wash it before you measure
Some people skip this step as well. But to be really precise, wash your swatch in the same way as you will wash your future sweater, with the same wool detergent. Lay it flat to dry, and measure it once it is fully dry. This is the most precise way to know how many stitches you get in 10 cm / 4".
How to measure the swatch
Place your gauge tool or measuring tape on top of the swatch. Stay away from the edges: leave several stitches out at the beginning and at the end. Then go stitch by stitch and count how many you have in 10 cm / 4". In my case it is 18.
I don't count in only one row. I move the tool a little bit up and down and count again, to get something average. You never know, maybe something went wrong in one row.
Stitch gauge and row gauge
The pattern says 18 stitches and 26 rows. The stitches are the horizontal number, and the rows are the vertical one. You measure the rows in the same way.
The stitch gauge is crucial. The row gauge is good to have, but normally it is not as important. In the Knitting Club Sweater, almost everything in the instructions is given as a length, like "knit 15 cm", so it doesn't matter much if you don't have exactly 26 rows.
For some patterns it matters more. For example, when a colorwork chart takes up the whole yoke of a sweater. If your row gauge is different, you might finish the chart and still not have enough depth in the yoke. In cases like this, try to match the row gauge too.
What to do if your gauge doesn't match
I have good news and bad news for you. The good news: you get more knitting! The bad news: you need to knit the swatch again, with a different needle size.
- You have more stitches than the pattern, let's say 20 instead of 18. Your knitting is tighter than mine, and your garment would come out smaller. Go up a needle size.
- You have fewer stitches than the pattern, let's say 15 or 16. Your knitting is looser, and your garment would come out bigger. Go down a needle size.
What if the needle size you need is not in your set? It happens, for example when a pattern is written in millimeters and your set follows the US sizes. I wrote a guide about it: what to do when a pattern asks for a 3 mm needle.
Swatching is not required. But it will save you time, effort, and some possible frustration in the future!
Ready for the real thing? Here is the full Knitting Club Sweater tutorial, from cast on to bind off.
Do you swatch, or do you jump right into the project? Let me know in the comments!
