How to Knit a Stockinette Gauge Swatch // Technique Tuesday
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2024
- This video demonstrates how to knit a stockinette gauge swatch such that washing, blocking and measuring are made easier.
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To jump to a specific point in the video, click on the adjacent time-stamped link:
Introduction: 0:00
Intro to the gauge swatch: 0:14
How many stitches are needed for a gauge swatch? 1:40
Transition from garter stitch border to stockinette with some increases: 3:09
Preliminary gauge measurement (checking if needle size adjustment is needed): 8:29
Transition from stockinette to garter stitch with some decreases: 12:32
Measure, wash and block, measure again: 13:11
My knitting designs: www.ravelry.com/designers/rox...
Needles used in video demonstration: Chiaogoo bamboo dpns
Yarn used in video demonstration: Brown Sheep Company Nature Spun worsted weight wool.
My Ravelry project page for the sweater I'm wearing: www.ravelry.com/projects/Rox/...
If you have questions about this video, or suggestions for future videos, please let me know down in the comments or on social media.
Rox Rocks Ravelry group: www.ravelry.com/groups/rox-rocks
Facebook: / roxknits
Twitter: / roxmpls - Навчання та стиль
I love diving into the basics!
Thank you for your detailed explanation some swatching. I don't like having to do swatching, but it saves you from a lot of frustration for your project. You're an important asset to the knit community. 👏🏼👍🏼🧶🤗
Thank you, this is one of the best explinations I have seen of how and why to do a swatch!
That's the best and clearest explanation for gauge which put into light some details for me! great
Thank you! You answered so many questions I have right now about swatching and blocking -. I have just begun trying out patterns from Barbara Walker's first stitch dictionary, and after knitting my first one today I didn't know what to do next, to fully understand the resulting swatch. x
Thanks for the information about gauges. I'm about to start a sweater and know this part is so important to get the correct size. Well work a gauge through.
Great explanation and I'll be adding a few stitches to my swatch also!
I learned a lot from this! I do gauge swatches, but I'm also looking for how the stitches look and the fabric behaves. When I knit socks, I'm looking for what looks the best with which size needle. Some yarns look and feel better using smaller needles and some look better with slightly larger needles. I'm only talking about socks here. I've knit enough socks, that I can always adjust my total stitches for socks, and just use whatever size needle makes the stitches look the best.
Thank you for a good overview. I can't get gauge across a swatch but my rows seem to be OK. I'm happy to know how to correctly knit and block a swatch now.
Great video. I'd love to see a video about stretch at the selvedges. How firm should it be? Should selvedges stretch as much as the center of the piece, or should they be slightly stiffer?
Thank you Roxanne, this is quite useful. I really like swatching now. I find it quite informative.
I would like to ask a question abour another topic : why do some patterns suggest to weave in the ends after blocking. I did that on my Ossa pattern (many ends to weave) but I ended up having to reblock the longer side after weaving the ends because it had become quite uneven. What would you do ?
Hi Roxanne, thx for explaining. I still have hard time to measure when I’m knitting cables. I can’t figure it out how many stitches I need, and many times is too big or too small 😕 interested to see how you do it.
Hi Roxanne. I just bought your Reversible Cable Scarf off ravelry (after seeing your videos on it) & the yarn I’ll be using is an acrylic yarn. Does the blocking portion of swatching change when using acrylic yarn or is it the same? If it does, what would I do differently please? Thank you for such great tutorials!
Great video & instruction. Do you label and keep your gauge swatches for future reference?
I don't but some people do. I typically create a Ravelry page for the project, which contains needle and yarn information that I can refer to, if needed.
@@RoxanneRichardson Ah yes, technology. Much better idea.
This video was phenomenal! I have never watched or had swatching explained as well or thoroughly as this video does! My question is, about the yarn you use for swatching. Can it be reused if you find that you need it for your project? I’m tempted to wash my swatch and not cut it off of the main skein and then use it to begin my project. Thank you for a great explanation and video! I’m definitely following you!
Yes, you can re-use it. You may want to lightly steam it after frogging, to relax the crimp. You don't have to, but the fabric will look less smooth as you knit it if you don't, which some people don't like. (The yarn will relax when you give it the final wash and block, if you choose not to steam it.) I typically keep the swatch as it is, and cast on with fresh yarn. If I need the yarn at the end of the project, then I'll just take out the BO and knit right from the swatch. There are often things you might want to experiment with on the swatch itself, while you're knitting the project, like picking up sts for neck bands or front bands. Like all things in knitting, it's your choice for what to do, but it's good to know what the choices are.
@@RoxanneRichardson thank you so much for your reply!
Quick question... Do you find that your gauge differs (knitting flat stockinette) between knitting and purling? And if so, how do you remedy it? Thanks.
Hi Rox, do you only knit with wool fibers?
I was wondering how to incorporate some yards of not natural embellishment yarn with blended natural fibers: wool, bamboo, cotton, and silk.
Should I even try to incorporate the not natural embellishment yarn because I have noticed they don’t have body or stretch like wool or stretchy acrylic yarns?
Because of this and a desire to bust my stash , I am reorganizing my skeins in stretch/ no stretch and natural / not natural.
Thank you.
I mostly knit with wool and other natural fibers. If I wanted to mix fibers and textures, I would think about the qualities of each yarn (such as drape and how they work with different stitch patterns), as well as how they are to be washed/cared for. If the item is a garment, these considerations are really important. If the item is something decorative that won't be worn or washed, then combining various yarns could result in some really creative items.
What do you do with your swatches when you are done with them.
Do you unravel and use later?
It kinda seems like a waste of material to me haha
I haven’t been able to make myself do swatches but I also haven’t started knitting garments yet.
The purpose of swatching is to gain information. Once you've gained that information, you can use the swatch or the yarn for whatever you wish. For complex projects with many stitch patterns, I may make several different swatches in order to compare and evaluate what to do. For basic stockinette, I'm usually just trying to find a needle size. I know enough about my own knitting to know what I have to do vs what I can skip doing. That might mean working a smaller swatch than I would recommend for someone who is new to swatching, and then just rip it out and cast on. It all depends on what the purpose of the swatch is.
Hi, would you want to change the number of increases for different yarn weights, or would that not make a difference ? Like, if you're looking for 8 or 9 stitches per inch swatching with fingering, would you still do 1inc per 10 stitches, or would more be good? I can't seem to think this through!
Thank you!
If you're working at 8 sts/in, then your initial CO for the stockinette would be 32 sts plus 6 for the borders. So you would inc about 3 sts. If you were working at 9 sts/in, you'd CO 38 plus 6, so you would inc about 4 sts. The more sts you start with, the more you will need to increase. THe point is to offset the difference between garter and stockinette. It doesn't have to be exact.
@@RoxanneRichardson
So it remains about 1 stitch per 10 stitches cast on to compensate for the offset, regardless of yarn weight, if I understand correctly. Thank you!
Sorry for this question if it sounds silly. Why do you need to knit so many rows to measure only a tiny bit of it? Thanks in advance.
A sweater pattern that I want to knit calls for my gauge to be 18 stitches + 24 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch. How many stitches would I need to knit the swatch and knit a border around it with the increases like you did in this video?
In most cases, you want to be able to measure *at least* 4'' across, away from edges/borders. so at least 4'' worth of sts, plus however many you want for your border, with maybe a couple extra thrown in for good measure.
@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you. Will this method work well using wool yarn?
@@pamrose843 I was using wool in the video, so, yes. It should work with any fiber.
Thank you...I really needed this technique segment. One day, I was knitting swatches to meet gauge and regardless ref my needle exchange, I always came up 1 short. Is 1 short critical in, let's say, making socks? Also, I have RA in one wrist and on and off finger joint pain. Could this have caused my gauge to always come up short? Thanks so very much! Today, I gauge everything, knitting or crocheting. Your technique segments are worth their wgt in gold...yarn, that is! 🐈
I don't know what you mean by "one short"? Are you saying you were getting 1 st fewer that required over 4'', or do you mean 1 st per inch? Gauge in socks is critical, because they are supposed to be knit smaller than your foot/leg and stretch to fit, but there is typically still some leeway. 1 st over 4'' is only 2 sts for the entire sock, and it's common to CO 2 more or 2 less than the exact number "needed" in order to get the right stitch count for the pattern repeat. Usually, when you hit a wall in your gauge where changing needle sizes doesn't change your gauge, then there is something that needs to change about the way you are tensioning the yarn.
@@RoxanneRichardson Sorry! I always come up a stitch short in a 4" gauge swatch...I can't seem to get gauge. Would 1 st short cause me any major issues. Note: My knitting level is below intermediate...but getting better. Thanks
I don't understand how much I'm supposed to increase. I cast on 18 stitches for the stockinette portion, so how many am I supposed to add?
Add a couple more. I usually add 1 per 10 sts I cast on for the stockinette. You obviously can't CO 1.8 sts, so round up to 2. The point is to offset the difference between garter and stockinette gauge so that the garter doesn't flare. You don't have to be exact. You're just helping things out by compensating a bit.
@@RoxanneRichardson Okay, thank you!
But if you wady your gauge then the measurement will be diffrent and probably lewa than 20stitches.
If your gauge changes when you wash your swatch, it's going to change in your finished item, as well. The finished size indicated in your pattern is the size you want after the item has been washed and blocked.
No help
Am I the only one who feels like this is crazy? Just knit a swatch, get gauge, and knit. Why so OCD about it?