
Gauge is Everything but it's also Simply a Suggestion.
I hear it all the time from students.
"I hate knitting a gauge swatch!"
And they hear this back...
"If you want to be surprised at the fit, if you want to have wasted 30 or 40 hours knitting a sweater that the recipient can never wear, then don't knit a gauge swatch.
This little icon appears on every label of yarn. It's a suggestion from the manufacturer. This one says that the manufacturer thinks this yarn looks best at 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch which can be achieved on size US 8 (5mm) needles. The only way to know if this is true for you is to knit up a 4 inch square of stockinette on size US 8 (5mm) needles. If you get 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch, great. If you get fewer stitches and rows you need to go down a needle size and try again. If you get more than 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch then you need to up a needle size.





