Knitt.

Transcription

1 G g n i Knitt l a i r to u T e aug ll e B a d n by Bre

2 The Basics Recommended Tools & Supplies Metal ruler Calculator (or pencil & paper) Main yarn Contrasting waste yarn Blocking pins or wires (optional) I believe gauge is the most important knitting concept because it is the sole principal that determines whether a knitted item will be the right size when it is finished. For an afghan, you have a bit of leeway in that a slightly smaller or slightly larger afghan is still acceptable. For a sweater however, a mere 1/8" inch difference between the pattern gauge and your knitting gauge is enough to cause an improper fit. Knit a swatch that's at least 5 inches wide and 7 inches long. The larger your swatch, the more accurate your gauge calculation will be. Block and finish the swatch exactly as you will block and finish the knitted article. If you are going to wash and dry the garment, you must also wash and dry the swatch before taking your gauge measurement. Measure the swatch to determine gauge after blocking and finishing. If you've always believed that knitting a swatch is a waste of yarn, think again... you'll waste a lot more yarn knitting an entire sweater that ends up being 3" too small. All Original Content 2004 Brenda A. Bell You may republish this content in any free publication or collection provided that is it accompanied by this copyright notice. This document was originally published at knitfits.theotherbell.com/gauge-how-to.htm on July 22, Page 1

3 Hints & Tips If you're working with a particular yarn for the first time and can't approximate the number of stitches and rows required for your 5 x 7 swatch, try 30 stitches by 90 rows for fine yarns, 40 stitches by 60 rows for medium yarns and 50 stitches by 40 rows for bulky yarns. Measure the swatch to determine gauge after blocking and finishing. Different types of stitches -- stockinette, rib, lace, cables and others -- will have different gauges. If the pattern specifies the gauge for stockinette, your swatch should also be stockinette. Otherwise, your swatchshould incorporate the stitches used in the pattern. Do not include the selvages or cast-on/ bind-off edges when you measure your swatch because they may distort your measurements. Always use a knitting ruler or highquality metal ruler to measure your swatch. Inexpensive wooden and plastic rulers are often inaccurate and tape measures have been known to stretch and shrink with the seasons. I use a metal drafting ruler that provides accurate measurements to the nearest 1/16 or 1mm. If you're using a yarn or pattern that may stretch in length due to gravity, you may want to knit a longer swatch and let it hang from a clothes hanger for hours before measuring. Try attaching a 50gm ball of the same yarn to the bottom of the swatch to simulate the weight of a hung garment. Always take measurements to the nearest 1/16". Page 2

4 The Never-Fail Method These instructions will work on any gauge machine. Use the first number for the bulky, the second for the midgauge and the third for the standard. Cast on stitches with the main yarn and knit rows. Knit one or two rows of a constrasting yarn that is the same size and fiber content as the main yarn. Knit rows in the main yarn. Mark the fifth stitch from each edge with a small length of contrasting yarn. Knit rows in the main yarn. Knit one or two rows of constrasting yarn. Knit rows in the main yarn. After blocking and finishing, measure between the contrasting rows to obtain rows per inch and between the markers to obtain stitches per inch. This avoids use of the edge stitches and usually results in a more accurate measurement. Calculating Gauge The number of stitches the width of the swatch = stitches per inch. Example: The distance between the marker stitches on my swatch is 5" and there are 20 stitches between the markers = 4 Gauge: 4 st = 1 The number of rows the length of the swatch = rows per inch. Example: The distance between the contrasting rows on my swatch is 5" and there are 30 rows between the markers = 6 Gauge: 6 r = 1" When calculating stitch or row gauge, you may want to round to the nearest 1/4. Example: 20 stitches 6 = 3.33 stitches per inch. You can use 3.25 or 3.50 depending on whether you want a bit of negative or positive ease. Page 3

5 I Can t Get Gauge! Now What? You already know from the explanation above that gauge is merely a means of making sure a knitted article ends up being a particular size. So when you're having trouble getting gauge or contemplating using a substitute yarn, it helps to think of things in terms of inches instead of stitches and rows. Let's assume that my favorite v-neck croptop calls for a medium weight yarn that yields 20 stitches and 24 rows over 4" (or 10 cm). I can't obtain the recommended yarn, but I have another yummy yarn in my stash that I think would be just fabulous. After knitting, blocking and finishing my swatch, I learn that I get 18 stitches and 21 rows over 4". I might be able to match the gauge more closely by changing my needle size, but I've decided I really like the way the swatch feels as it is and I don't want to give up a softer fabric by switching to smaller needles. So I grab the calculator and start writing my own version of the pattern to work with my yarn and my gauge. Determining The Number of Stitches to Cast On First, I need to know how wide the item is supposed to be on the needles. If the pattern contains a schematic that gives me the width, I'm all set. If the pattern gives me gauge and the number of stitches to cast on, I can calculate the width: # stitches stitches per inch = width In my case, my pattern only says I need to cast on 88 stitches for the front of the sweater... so I need to figure out how wide the piece is supposed to be: 20 4 = 5 st per inch 88 st 5 st per inch = 17.6" Now that I know the width, I can figure out how many stitches I need to cast on to make the front of my sweater the same size as the pattern using my gauge: 18 4 = 4.5 st per inch 4.5 st per inch x 17.6 = 79.2 stitches Since the number of stitches must be a whole number, I need to cast on either 79 or 80 stitches. If my sweater has a special stitch pattern that must be centered across the front of the sweater, I need to round up to 80 stitches because the original pattern calls for casting on an even number of stitches. Since we should probably have the V centered on the two center stitches, I'm going to cast on 80 stitches. The very next thing I'm going to do is take another look at my pattern. Did you know you can sometimes use the wrong size pattern to make the right size garment? Page 4

6 If my pattern provides instructions for different sizes and has instructions that call for casting on 80 stitches, those instructions will knit the width I want using my gauge. I'll simply follow those instructions for everything having to do with the number of stitches: cast on, bind off, number of stitches to decrease or increase, etc. Since this is a basic pullover with a standard amount of ease, I could use any size on the pattern that's close -- casting on 78 or 82 stitches, for example. Next, I need to know how long the item is supposed to be. Again, if the pattern contains a schematic that gives me the length, I'm all set. Otherwise, I need to calculate the length in exactly the same way I calculated with width: # rows rows per inch = length In my case, the pattern doesn't give me row gauge nor does it have schematics, but it does tell me to "knit until the piece measures 14 1/4 inches" and that's all I need to figure out how many rows I need to knit: length rows per inch = # rows 21 r 4 = 5.25 r per inch 5.25 r per inch x 15 = r Again, I'll round to the nearest whole number and knit 79 rows. At this point, we've taken care of all the simple calculations. But, how are we supposed to handle arm and neckline shaping or those gradual decreases required for a tapered sleeve? We'll continue to apply what we've learned above to shape the garment. To illustrate this, I'm going to use a schematic because that will make explaining things a little easier. After we get through an exercise with the schematic, we'll talk about what you do when you don't have one. Page 5

7 Here's the schematic for the front of my sweater. To keep things as simple as possible, we're just going to concentrate on the body of the sweater and not worry about the ribbing that goes around the waist, armholes and neckline: I'm going to knit this sweater from the bottom up, starting at the waist line and working our way to the shoulders. Shaping The Waist The pattern tells me that my width needs to increase from 17 1/2" at the bottom edge to 19 1/4" over 3 of length. I know that length rows per inch = # rows, so 3" of length is 16 rows (15.75 rounded up). I also know that width stitches per inch = # stitches, so 19 1/4" of width is 86 stitches ( rounded down). If I had cast on an odd number of stitches, I would have rounded up to 87. I now know we need to increase from 80 to 86 stitches over 16 rows. Since I need to increase on both sides, we'll increase 3 stitches on each side. There's nothing of interest for the next 5" (the distance between the top of the waist and the bottom of the v-neck) so we'll simply knit straight for 26 rows (5.25 x 5 = rounded to nearest whole number). Page 6

8 Shaping The V-Neck If you're already thinking you know how to do this, you're probably right -- I m going to use the exact same method to shape one side of the neck, putting the other side on hold until we're ready for it. We're not going to go into all the details, but I'll give you a few measurements to start you off: The distance between the bottom of the v- neck and just below the shoulder is 5 1/4. The pullover is 14 1/4" long (11 1/4" + 3 ). The v-neck shaping starts 8" from the bottom of the waist and stops 1" below the shoulder. The distance between the side of the pullover and the center of the pullover is 9 5/8": 19 1/4" 2. You now know you need to decrease from 9 5/8" to 6 1/4" on one side over 5 1/4". Try doing the calculations yourself using the waistline shaping instructions as a guide A+ if you came up with "decrease 16 stitches evenly over 28 rows! Page 7