Gauge is important to makers, but also to designers and tech editors. This post is written with an audience of makers in mind, but I will share some resources that will also he helpful to designers or tech editors in the resources section below.
To swatch or not to swatch? That is the question, or more like the internal struggle. In general, a swatch is only necessary if the size of the finished object is important. For things like shawls, blankets, or amigurumi, a specific gauge is not usually needed, so it is fine to skip the swatch as long as you are happy with the fabric that you end up with. For garments on the other hand, it is absolutely crucial to know your gauge, so a swatch is required in order to achieve a garment that fits and is wearable. Note that it is not always necessary to achieve the exact gauge specified in the pattern, as long as you are willing to do some math to figure out what size you should actually be making - I will go over this in more detail in a future blog post. The exception to the rule about precision with garments would be those items that are for children - if you intentionally make a sweater a bit bigger than they are currently, they will grow into it at some point.
[Image description: A close up photograph of a stockinette swatch, which is a marled gradient from creamy white, to a cool beige, into a turquoise reminiscent of a tropical sea. Resting on the edge of the fabric are three yarn cakes, the foremost a pure white, the next a cool toned beige, and the farthest a light turquoise.]
There are some items that fall into a grey area, like socks and hats. Socks must fit precisely, but it is pretty common to assume your stitch gauge and just cast on a standard number. Then you can measure as you go for length/row gauge. This shortcut has occasionally caught me out though, and I have had to rip back a few socks and start again, so be cautious with yarns that are new to you! It is also common to skip a gauge swatch with hats, because the stretch of the ribbing will accommodate minor differences in gauge. However, if you are substituting yarn, you should really consider doing a swatch (unless you like living dangerously and don't mind ripping back). With hats that are started from the top, it is very easy to adjust on the fly by changing the number of increases, and modify for a better fit.
Do gauge swatches lie? This is a complaint that you will often hear from makers, but this article by Modern Daily Knitting does a great job articulating how we let (or make) our swatches lie to us. It is truly a wonderful read (although it is knitting specific), so I encourage you to go through it yourself, but the gist of it is that we often set out to swatch in ways that do not replicate the way we knit or crochet, and therefore, our swatch is fundamentally different than our finished garment. Some examples of this are: not making a large enough swatch, leaving it on the needle, swatching flat versus in the round, adding a border, not blocking the same way we plan to block our FO, and more. Keep in mind, this suggests that an accurate swatch is much larger than 4"/10 cm, and that we would get the best results measuring over a length perhaps double or triple that amount.
[Image description: A photograph from above of an almost finished dish cloth lying on a wooden laminate floor, with two small pieces of pottery resting above. The stitch pattern is a honeycomb shape, and the crochet hook is halfway through a row of Tunisian crochet, having finished the first pass but not started the second. The yarn is variegated, and the colours are pooling such that there are stripes of purple, green, and blue zig zagging across a white background. The remainder of the yarn ball lies on the edge of the dish cloth. At the upper right of the frame is a small ceramic dish with a bright teal glaze, while to the upper left is a small ceramic vase with a dark glaze on the inside and a peach glaze on the outside. Inside the vase is a small pink flower spike.]
When I make a swatch, I look at the number of stitches per 4"/10 cm given in the pattern, and I cast on 150% of that number. Correspondingly, I will knit or crochet 150% of the rows specified. This ensures that I will have enough fabric in the middle of the swatch that is undistorted by the edges in order to get a clean measurement. It is very important to create your swatch in the same stitch pattern that the majority of your project will be made in. This might be stockinette or lace, single crochet, or double crochet through the back loop, but regardless, it should be specified in the pattern. I don't add a border, because the border itself will change the gauge, and you will have to cast on even more stitches to give yourself that undistorted section. Some makers with mark the size needle they used with purl stitches, or the hook size by making picots around the edge. Just remember that the area around any extra stitches will be distorted, so don't measure there. Once I have cast off, I do not weave in the end. I will then wash and block the swatch in the manner that I intend to treat the garment (putting it through the washing machine, gently soaking, steaming, laying flat to dry, pinning out lace, etc.).
Once it is dry, comes the hardest part for me, the measuring. I have poor vision, so I find this part quite tricky. I take my time, and take multiple measurements to make sure I am getting an accurate count. I do use a measuring tape, but the most accurate results will come from a ruler (i.e. something that is a firm edge, not a flexible tape). I also have a magnifying lamp that I will employ if needed (especially if I am working with a dark yarn). You need to look very carefully at your rows, and lay out the ruler so that it follows along one row. This can be a bit difficult if your swatch dried not perfectly square, so you may need to try a few different spots to find a row that is straight (this is why it is a good idea to make a big swatch!). Once you have the ruler in place, you have a few options. You can either count along the edge of the ruler (I like to use a the point of a knitting needle to keep track of where I am), or you can mark out two points (4" or 10 cm apart) and then weave a contrast thread through the stitches between them. At that point you can count the stitches without worrying about your ruler slipping around. I generally take the first option (it's less work!). Then I will repeat these steps for the row gauge by finding a column of stitches that is aligned fairly straight, and so on. Once I am satisfied with my numbers, I almost always unravel my swatch. I don't like to keep my swatches, as they have served their purpose once I have recorded my gauge, and I prefer to repurpose that yarn. However, some makers who keep a portfolio or a database where they log their projects like to have their swatches as well. It really is up to you and your style.
How do you swatch, or do you at all? Do you find that your swatch gauge ends up different from your finished object's gauge? I would love to hear from you in the comments.
Resources: