How Swatches Lie or We lie to Ourselves

I hear it all the time "swatches lie". Unfortunately I think the real problem is that we lie to ourselves. We are in a big hurry, we are excited and we have to start the project now. We forget how differently we all produce fabric. I show two swatches at the beginning of every class I teach to remind students of just how much our work varies from knitter to knitter. You can see them here. We all have differences in knitting technique, how we tension the yarn, and how we form our stitches.

Then we introduce different yarns to the equation. Many experienced knitters have commented to me how standards are changing. Yarns labelled as DK could be closer to worsted or sport weight. More ball bands give ranges of gauge instead of a single number as was more likely in the past.

The photos above show two different yarns that knit to the same gauge. One is 100% wool the other has some silk and cotton blended with the wool. The first photo is before blocking, the second shows both after blocking. Do you see how very different they are? Notice that they do block out to the same size.

Recently my tech editor was checking measurements on a shawl. I measured  the shawl immediately after blocking it and noted the details in the pattern. She remeasured about two weeks later after I had already worn the shawl. Guess what? The measurements are a little smaller now. This is not a problem for a shawl but it can be on a garment.

Swatching Tips

• Use the same needles on the swatch as on the project. 
• The needle material and type can affect gauge. I've read that in general, sticky needles like wood, bamboo or plastic will give you the shortest stitches, and slippery metal will give you stitches that appear a little more stretched out. This will impact your row gauge.
• Swatch in the round for knitting in the round. Most knitters have gauge differences between knitting and purling. Knitting in the round may mean no purling, therefore different gauge.  
• Let your swatch rest before measuring.
• Hang it up if the yarn is a fibre that has drape like bamboo or silk.
  
• Know that the same yarn in a different colour may knit to a different gauge.  
• Check the gauge of different stitches in a single pattern. I work with two sample knitters who both have discovered they may match my gauge on one stitch pattern and not another. We have had to adjust stitch counts or needle sizes to correct this variation.  
• Consider the fabric you are creating. Is it too stiff or too floppy? Will you like that in the finished project?
• Launder the swatch according to the instructions on the ball band. Block it. You do want to know what will happen when you wash your project.

We've come a long way.

I've been doing some spring cleaning which has included a knitting magazine reorganization. I started flipping through a few of the oldest ones including the premier issue of Vogue Knitting Fall/Winter 1982.

I ended up reading an article on gauge swatches and things have really changed a lot since it was written. The article is uncredited but the designs on the editorial pages do credit the designers. I did find this a little odd but standards change over time.

The article states that gauge is not measured in half stitches but it does not explain why.  It has the swatch cast on as an exact multiple of the stitches required for 4 inches wide of knitting. The gauge is measured over 1 inch in the center of the swatch for both rows and stitches. The unnamed writer also recommends pulling the yarn tighter as you knit if you are having trouble getting stitch gauge but are getting row gauge. (I'm not sure I could maintain that knitting style change throughout an entire project). There is absolutely no mention of blocking the swatch. One of the reasons I ended up designing all of my own garments was my inability to get gauge. I think I now understand why that was happening. 

I currently knit much larger swatches, that are carefully blocked. I measure more than once in different spots on the swatch, over more than 4 inches and I average the results. I do an outline of the swatch on graph paper before blocking to compare to post blocking results to check for shrinkage changes in either width or length. I recheck gauge on the garment back after knitting about 6 inches if blocking did not create any gauge changes. If the fiber I'm working with lacks elasticity I also hang the swatch and recheck for stretching after 24 - 28 hours.

It is interesting that such a basic part of knitting instruction has changed so much in 29 years.