October 1, and the weather is appropriately chilly and brisk. Fall knitting season has begun!
I, um, anticipated it (ie, gave in to startitis) by making a swatch for a cardigan early last month (a cardigan is a type of sweater, so I'm counting it as an S - my blog, my rules).
I had some Knit Picks Merino Style DK weight yarn in the Edamame colorway in my stash. It's a cleverly named colorway, I think. It looks like the color of steamed soybeans. It also reminds me of the horseradish you get with sushi (hence the Sushi Sweater nickname).
I hunted for a pattern on ravelry, found one I liked, and cast on for the swatch.* If I have to adjust needle size to get gauge, I usually only have to go up or down one size. This time, it was more like four needle sizes, which seemed odd to me and resulted in a swatch of overly loose-looking stitches. I didn't like the way it looked at all.
I did more research on ravelry and started reading posts by other knitters who had made this project. Apparently, the yarn the test knitter used for the prototype was a worsted weight yarn, even though it was labeled DK weight (DK is thinner than worsted). Lots of knitters were using true DK weight yarn and were having the same gauge-getting problems I was.
I had a choice: I could change out the yarn for a worsted weight yarn so I could still use the pattern, or I could change the pattern so I could still use the DK weight yarn. I chose the latter option.
Back to pattern searching on ravelry. Found another pattern I liked, double-checked that DK weight yarn would work, and swatched again. (I just added to the previous swatch, but with a different needle size.)
I'm still working on a 4 x 4 swatch of garter stitch just to be sure, but so far, the gauge is correct.
This is the Greenfield Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre from the book New England Knits. Top-down (meaning start at the neck), garter stitch, with a nice leaf motif along the bottom for some visual interest and to break up all that garter stitch. And the prototype is green, so I have a fair idea of what mine will look like in a similar colorway.
I'm going to make the neck slightly more narrow, and I'm going to make full-length sleeves. I don't look good in three-quarter sleeves - they make my arms look stubby. I may do buttons all the way down.
I'm hoping this knits up as fast as I think it will.
I'm also nearly done with the Fallberry scarf and the Late-for-Spring shawl. Hope to show one or both of those off the needles and blocked next week.
*For non-knitters, a swatch is 4-inch by 4-inch (or preferably larger) sample knitted piece using the yarn and needles you intend to use for a larger project. Patterns list a suggested yarn weight and needle size. You knit a sample with those to see what you get and adjust from there.
A swatch serves three purposes. First, it lets you see how the yarn you've chosen knits up, so you can decide sooner rather than later if you like how it looks and if the yarn or needles annoys you in any way. Nothing worse than bitching your way through an entire project because you don't like the materials you' re using. All that frustration ends up knitted into the garment and gives it bad energy, so you don't want to see it or wear it, even after all the work you put into it.
Second, you can try out any stitch patterns used in the garment to get a sense of how easy or hard they are, and if you like doing them. You'll be committed to doing them on a larger area if you decide to go ahead with the pattern, so best to find out early what you're in for.
Third, a swatch helps you determine gauge - how many stitches per inch you get with a certain yarn weight and needle size combination. This is important when you choose the size of garment you're going to make. Most knitted garment patterns will list what the gauge should be for the sizes of that project. However, gauge is individual to the knitter - some knit more tightly or loosely than others. So whoever knit the prototype for the pattern then used their gauge for all the measurements and stitch counts listed in the pattern.
Bottom line: you must get the gauge listed in the pattern to have any hope in Hades of a properly sized garment. If you have too many stitches per inch compared to the listed gauge in the pattern, your garment will end up bigger. Fewer stitches per inch compared to listed gauge will make the garment smaller. To get it just right, you often have to go up or down a needle size or two (or more) depending on how tightly or loosely you knit compared to the test knitter.
Lots of things affect gauge. If you're tense or tired when you knit your swatch, you may end up knitting more tightly or loosely than you normally do. If the pattern's test knitter used wood needles, and you're using plastic or metal needles, the drag of the yarn on the different needle types may cause slightly more or less yarn to get into each stitch. If the prototype was made with wool yarn, and you're using acrylic or cotton or some sort of fiber blend, the stretchiness, or lack thereof, of the yarn can change the gauge.
A swatch tells you volumes before you even start in on the project proper. Always worth doing, as it helps you avoid a lot of frustration and gives you a sense of what the project will be like.
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