I have been plodding away on my Stash Dash goals and instead of staying focused on one task, I’ve decided to start working on the design for the sweater I have in my head. This sweater design would also be part of Stash Dash so it’s not really like I’m easily distracted . . .
In any case, I’m planning on using this fantastic alpaca yarn my cousin, Ana, sent me from Peru. I believe she gets this yarn at the local artisan market. It is called the Mercado de Indios and is located on the Avenida Petit Thouars in Miraflores, Lima. It’s a great spot. If you’re ever in Lima, Peru, you should check it out. While I’m plugging Lima, I should add that my fantastic prima (cousin) has a wonderful B&B in Lima called the Residencial Miraflores. It was recently, very positively reviewed in The Guardian and is listed as one of the ten best B&B’s in Lima. Go, Ana! She's the best! I could go on about Ana, she certainly deserves lavish praise, but I did intend to write about gauge swatching so I'll get back to that. (You see, I'm not easily distracted.)
I’ve been knitting for about 15 years now, but this is the first time I noticed the difference in gauge from knitting flat and knitting in the round. It was eye-opening. I’d read this before and had done my gauge swatches in the round when called for, but I hadn’t actually taken the time to really observe and feel the difference.
In any case, I’m planning on using this fantastic alpaca yarn my cousin, Ana, sent me from Peru. I believe she gets this yarn at the local artisan market. It is called the Mercado de Indios and is located on the Avenida Petit Thouars in Miraflores, Lima. It’s a great spot. If you’re ever in Lima, Peru, you should check it out. While I’m plugging Lima, I should add that my fantastic prima (cousin) has a wonderful B&B in Lima called the Residencial Miraflores. It was recently, very positively reviewed in The Guardian and is listed as one of the ten best B&B’s in Lima. Go, Ana! She's the best! I could go on about Ana, she certainly deserves lavish praise, but I did intend to write about gauge swatching so I'll get back to that. (You see, I'm not easily distracted.)
I’ve been knitting for about 15 years now, but this is the first time I noticed the difference in gauge from knitting flat and knitting in the round. It was eye-opening. I’d read this before and had done my gauge swatches in the round when called for, but I hadn’t actually taken the time to really observe and feel the difference.
I cast on 30 stitches and started knitting back and forth in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row) using size 6/4mm needles. I measured the number of stitches and determined that my gauge was about 4.5 stitches per inch. Because I am planning to knit this sweater in the round, I joined the yarn to knit in the round. I wanted to feel the fabric I'd knit on my wrist to get a sense of how it would wear. I am so glad I did. As I was knitting, I could feel a difference in the stitches. After a few rounds, I felt that the fabric I was knitting felt denser and heavier. I knit about 8 rounds and did another gauge measurement. I was stunned to find that the swatch measured 5.25 stitches per inch. That created a fabric that was about 1 whole inch smaller in width. It also felt much heavier. You can see the difference in the picture on the left and and in the photo below. I switched to knitting in the round after about 8 rows, so if you look about eight rows up from the cast-on edge or bottom where the knitting needle is, that is where I switched knitting style to knitting in the round.
I didn't like this denser, heavier fabric, so I purled a row and switched to size 7/4.5 mm needles. I knit another 8 rounds, but also felt like the fabric was still a little dense and heavy. The gauge was now 5 stitches per inch. I purled another round and went up another needle size to size 8/5 mm. The fabric still didn't look or feel the same so I measured again and the gauge was 4.75 stitches per inch. Again, I purled a round and went up a needle size to size 9/5.5 mm. Finally, the fabric felt the way I wanted it to feel. It took going up three needle sizes to get back to the original gauge of 4.5 stitches per inch. What a difference! I didn't realize how lucky I'd been to have mindlessly knit my gauge swatches in the way they would be knit! I'd never understood why someone's sweater couldn't fit properly if they'd swatched and matched the gauge called for in the pattern, but in this case, if I'd assumed that the size 6 needles while knitting flat was the correct needle size, I could have ended up with a denser and heavier sweater without the drape I wanted even though I'd done a swatch with a gauge of 4.5 stitches per inch. So, knitters, make sure you always knit your gauge swatch in the same manner you intend to make the item! If you plan to knit something in the round, knit your swatch in the round. If you plan to knit the item back and forth, knit your swatch back and forth. The evidence is right here.
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