Mastery Minute: The Importance of Swatching Your Knits

Many knitters dislike knitting gauge or stitch swatches, but the practice keeps you from experiencing unexpected, and often times disappointing, surprises when you finish a knit project.
00:00 Introduction
02:11 Join our pack!
02:28 Swatching Overview
02:37 What is a swatch?
05:13 Why you should swatch
05:56 Take time to ensure success!
06:25 Final Notes
-- Featured in this Tutorial --
Pattern: Wallflower Sweater - shop.thechillydog.com/product...
-- Skillful Knitting Unleashed --
Find your next knitting project in our pattern shop:
shop.thechillydog.com
Become a member of our pack to access our complete learning library, get a behind the scenes peek in our journal and more:
www.thechillydog.com
#thechillydog #WallflowerSweater #knittingtips

[@maryjones1]

Thanks for these gauge/swatch facts. Personally, I dislike doing searches, and avoid them whenever possible, which sometimes it is not.

[@tammihackley4349]

Never knew gauge was the gauge after blocking? That’s confusing. Maybe patterns should have 2 gauges- one during knitting & one after blocked

[@thechillydog]

That's a good idea in theory. However, if you substitute yarns for something different than indicated in the pattern (especially if it has a different fiber content, ply, or twist) it's possible that you could end up with the same after blocking gauge but would have a very different before blocking gauge.