What is Gauge and Why is it so Important?

Tutorials
Written By OdeKnitwear

So you’re ready to knit your very first pattern, or you have knit a few patterns but can’t seem to get the correct measurements in your finished piece. It’s time to talk about gauge.

What is Gauge?

Gauge is basically how many stitches and rows on your knit fabric fit into a certain measurement. Typically, patterns will have you measure gauge by counting how many stitches are within 1 inch, 4 inches, or 10cm.

Why Gauge Matters?

Gauge is the foundation to making sure that your knitting is going to come out the correct measurements. Because you are creating your fabric from scratch when you knit, you need to have control over the measurements that fabric is coming out.

Take for example a simple pullover sweater. Say the circumference of the body should be 40” when finished. If you have 120 stitches on the needles for the body, then your gauge should be 3 stitches per inch (or 12 stitches per 4”). Depending on how tightly you hold the yarn when you knit, your gauge might be tighter or looser, so you will need to adjust your needle size to get the correct measurements. So, if you were knitting this sweater and your gauge was coming out to 2 stitches per inch, then your finished measurements would come out to 60” and your sweater would end up way too big for you. At the end of the tutorial I have some useful tips to adjust your gauge so that you can ensure your garments are going to fit you.

How to Get Perfect Gauge

Step 1:

Knit a gauge swatch. Starting with your yarn and the suggested needle size. Then, working in the same stitch that the pattern calls for, knit a square that will turn out to at least 5” X 5” once blocked.

An unblocked knit swatch on a wooden table. It is knit with a light purple wool yarn with a marl effect. The edges of the swatch are curling in.

Step 2:

Block your swatch the same way you’ll block the pattern. Meaning, if you will be hand washing your finished pattern, hand wash the gauge swatch. If you’ll be machine washing it, then do the same for the swatch.

Step 3:

Once the swatch is dry, lay it flat and lay a tape measure horizontally on top so it neatly follows a row of stitches. Now, count how many stitches are within 4” (or the measurement the pattern states).

A light purple knit gauge swatch lying flat on a dark brown wooden table. An orange measuring tape is horizontally on top of the swatch and numbers 1 through 6 are visible in the photo.

This swatch is 17 sts = 4 inches.

Step 4:

Repeat the above step but this time measure vertically and count the number of rows.

A light purple knit gauge swatch lying flat on a dark brown wooden table. An orange measuring tape is vertically on top of the swatch and numbers 1 through 5 are visible in the photo.

This swatch is 27 rows = 4 inches.

And that’s it! So the gauge of this swatch is 17 sts = 4 inches X 27 rows = 4 inches.

Tricks to Get Better Gauge

  • If you have too many stitches in your gauge swatch, then go up a needle size until you match gauge.

  • If you have too few stitches, go down a needle size.

  • Always knit the gauge swatch in the same stitch as the main part of the fabric in the pattern.

  • Always block your gauge swatch before measuring.

  • Most patterns only ask for stitch gauge, but row gauge is very useful for projects such as bottom-up sweaters, or hats. Anything where the length is hard to adjust or the pattern isn’t easy to try on when it’s still on the needles.

OdeKnitwear
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