Massachusetts gnomi and the Quest for the Elusive Gauge

[gnomi]

I set out on Monday to do the prep work for a sweater I plan to make for myself, and my first step was to knit a gauge swatch (I don't swatch for all projects, only the ones where gauge actually matters). But using the needles and yarn recommended by the pattern (a pattern, I note, from the company that produces said yarn), I could not get the swatch to come out at the correct gauge (my gauge was too tight). As I have a track record, as long as I'm using bamboo or other wooden needles, getting gauge on the first shot, this was frustrating. So, using the same yarn, I pulled out the next size up of needle and tried again. And, again, I had too many stitches to the inch.

To add a complication, the yarn I bought for my sweater is black, so I was having a hard time counting stitches. So on Tuesday, I went out and bought identical yarn in a different color, and last night I resolved to keep trying until I found the combination that will give me gauge.

Gauge Swatch...and swatch...and swatch...

So here's the thing. The ball band on the yarn says 18 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches. So why does the pattern say 16 inches and 32 rows = 4 in inches using the same #8 needle. I'm glad I figured out the combination I need to get gauge, but it would help if the yarn and the pattern didn't contradict each other so wildly.

Comments

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Possibly there is an error in the pattern? Would it help to contact the yarn company and ask?

[introverte.livejournal.com]

Did you wash the swatches the way you'll wash the sweater and re-measure? I find that sometimes changes my gauge dramatically.

[introverte.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I always try to do my swatches just before I finish the previous project, because we hates them, we do. That way when the previous project is complete, I know my gauge and can jump in. Also, I keep a project specifically for working on in that in-between period, because I hate being without.

I'm a little obsessed...

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

I always have two or three projects on active needles (and six or seven in the "put aside but never completely abandoned" category) at any given time, so taking a swatching break is never a big hassle for me (I hate it, too, but it's a necessary evil).

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I do block my swatches, sometimes no. In this case, though, since I had to go up many needle sizes (from an 8 to a 10.5) in order to get gauge, I'm not convinced that blocking the swatch would do me any good. Now I just have to get myself a 29" 10.5 circ, and life is good. :-)

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

It's possible it's an error, but the pattern's been around for a while and they report "no corrections" to it. I might get in touch with them; more likely, I'll just knit the sweater on the larger needles.

[gem225.livejournal.com]

I've found that one yarn-producing company's patterns (initials are L.B. *g*) are often wrong about what needles are needed to achieve the required gauge. I don't know what's up with that, but it's very frustrating.

I'm glad that you found the needle size that'll work for this project and that you're going to knit yourself a sweater. Cool!

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

And,wouldn't you know, it is, indeed, one of their patterns. Their yarn, too. I like the yarn a lot; the wacky gauge I could definitely live without.

[lordavon.livejournal.com]

Ah.

Gauge.

Pesky.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Makes me go "grr."

It is for this reason that I frequently knit things for which gauge doesn't overly-overly matter.