The Knitcircus Newsletter addresses weekly topics such as:

• The Garter Tab Cast On Photo Tutorial
• Short Row Heel Photo Tutorial
• Brownies and Blondies (Gluten Free) Recipe
• Short Rows Three Ways with Amy Detjen
• Indie Dyer And Designer Katie Franceschi

To Subscribe to the Knitcircus Weekly Newsletter click here, Like Knitcircus on Facebook here, and follow Knitcircus on Twitter here.

Marinette Cowl by Jaala Spiro

Jaala generously agreed to sit down for an interview this week and I hope you enjoy the results below. See the bottom of this post for information on how to win a copy of Knitting Recipes: Hats and Cowls!

How long have you been owner and operator of Knitcircus?

Knitcircus began when a friend and I decided to let go of the literary
magazine we’d been publishing, and turn to something a little more fun, and
less intense. It’s been five years (?!) since the first issue, which was
printed on paper and hand-bound with yarn. It’s just kept growing since
then; we went online with Issue #9 and grew to 26 patterns and 4 articles by
Issue #16, with more than 200 thousand viewers.

How has your vision for your company changed since its inception?

At first it was just for fun, then it gathered speed and became a real business, with multiple staff members, professional graphic design, and patterns from all over North America and Europe. Issue #16 marked the last magazine, and we’ve rolled with the economic punches to re-focus as a weekly newsletter, with articles, interviews and techniques that is free each week.

Definitely Hers Hat Pattern is a pattern in the Knitting Recipes: Hats and Cowls collection

This last change has let me start publishing books of my own designs; Knitting
Recipes: Hats and Cowls will be out this August! Designing is a lot of
work, but my satisfaction levels have shot through the roof. I didn’t
realize I’d been holding back all of these pattern ideas while I was editing
the magazine.

Another new project this year has been the Knitcircus Podcast: Amy Detjen,
the amazing knitting teacher and author of Knitting with Two Colors (along
with Meg Swansen) graciously agreed to co-host, so we get together and crack
each other up every two weeks. Well, mostly she cracks me up, because she’s
brilliant and funny and knows everything about knitting.

What’s something unique or fun about your company that people don’t know?

Being self-employed is the best when your kids are in school and you get to
go work at The Sow’s Ear yarn and coffee shop. That’s when it all pays off.

And I’ve got more books up my sleeve. Watch for some Best of Knitcircus collections coming this fall! 

–Jaala Spiro, Owner of Knitcircus

Visit the Knitcircus Blog for a chance to win a copy of Knitting Recipes: Hats and Cowls by Jaala Spiro, good through Monday, May 21st, 2012.

Please join me in welcoming Lisa, the newest freelancer to join Fickle Knitter Design! Lisa will be answering questions and heading up Customer Service for knitters with a Fickle Knitter Design knitting question and can be reached at fickleknitter_customerservice@yahoo.com.

Lisa also moderates the Fickle Knitter Design group on Ravelry under the handle Charlottesmom, and her responsibilities include running the bi-monthly Knit Alongs in the group, and providing test and sample knitting duties as well.

Necklaces Made to Order by Lisa

Not content until she’s consistently overachieving, Lisa also creates beautiful necklaces you can find in her etsy shop.

Lisa’s new gig with Fickle Knitter Design allows her to continue to stay at home with her little girl while giving her time to work on her knitting and to continue creating her beautiful beaded necklaces which are available in her Etsy Shop. You won’t find the one featured in the post though, because I snapped it up as soon as it hit the shelves.

What does Lisa have to say about her new position with Fickle Knitter Design?

I am a SAHM and one who knits and spins and is addicted to your patterns since my first test knit.  You brought me over to the dark side of spinning and now I am knitting accessories and making jewelry along with being your virtual assistant to make ends meet. 

Welcome Lisa, and thank you for all you do!

Why Isn’t Knitting Free Dammit?
Yarn and knitting needles are not free. I’ve never gone into a yarn shop and demanded to have yarn and knitting needles for free (although I would have loved to do so many times), and the same goes for knitting patterns, books and literature that I’ve read and utilized in my knitting over the years. You pay your electrician, your dentist, your doctor, your plumber, and your yarn bills as they come due. And unless you write your own patterns or rely on those that do write free patterns, you spend a certain amount on books and knitting patterns each month so that you have something to knit with those beautiful yarns that you bought.

So What goes into a Fickle Knitter Design Pattern?
First and foremost, I wouldn’t be able to write any pattern without the technical background I have in physics, mathematics (including many years of studying calculus), computer science, and experience that I gained in college, graduate school, and working in the defense industry. How much does that cost?

Undergraduate Education 2003
$50,000 (Although I had to work three jobs while attending full time, and I got approximately half of my tuition paid for because I was a minority in physics who maintained good grades while putting myself through college). This does not include living expenses.

Graduate Education in Physics for a Masters Degree in 2010
$25,000 (No discount on this one, folks).

Years of Experience learning Excel, Word, Powerpoint and all that Math
This one is hard to price, because how much do we value expertise and experience? For argument’s sake lets say all my experience and time is worth only $30,000.

The Cost of being a Small Business
Okay so now we’ve racked up a debt of $105,000 getting me ready to write knitting patterns. Let’s include the fact that since I own my knitting design business I’m not able to also work in the defense industry where I’d make anywhere from $65,000-$85,000 yearly as a physicist with a Masters Degree who has excellent work experience, plus some pedigree from working for Sally Ride and other prestigious collegiate institutions during the short months in between full time schooling each year.

I’ve been working in the knitting industry instead of defense since 2008. We’ll take the lower end of the salary spectrum to be conservative which leaves us $65,000 times four years. That’s another $260,000. Now we’re at a personal cost TO ME of $365,000 to be able to write the knitting patterns that I sell to shops and knitters.

Well what about all the people who contribute to the publication of a knitting pattern? If my knitting patterns are free, what do they get paid?

To produce my first book I paid for:

• Professional Photography
• Professional Tech Editing
• Printing
• Sample Knitting
• Graphic Design
• Test Knitting
• Computer that can handle the demands of publishing
• Adobe Publishing Suite

For a total personal cost of approximately $12,000-$15,000 to bring the products to press. And this was using frugality, doing as many things as possible myself! I spent six months researching publishing before I went to press, which costs a mere $32,500 at my billable rate as a physicist. So totaling that column, Leaves, Fickle Knitter Design, Volume 1 cost me $44,500 and that doesn’t include all the labor spent on designing and knitting the patterns that went into the book!

What do you get when you buy a Fickle Knitter Pattern? And why must I pay for it?

For every pattern I publish I do the following:

• Professional Tech Editing
• Test Knitting
• Sample Knitting (for many patterns)
• Professional Photography (for most patterns)
• Graphic Design Costs
• Printing
• Yarn Support

What this argument doesn’t take into account is all the money spent to STAY in business as a knitting designer these days. This year alone I’m traveling to a minimum of 20 separate knitting events, which costs me time, money, and resources to get myself there, money spent to bring products to market, and money lost from time missed at work while making appearances.

Additionally, each bullet point that goes into Fickle Knitter Design pattern publishing helps support OTHER small businesses stay afloat. For each line item another woman owned business is making money so they can stay in business during these tough economic times. So by taking money away from my business by making patterns “Free”, you’re also negatively affecting small businesses in the knitting industry! And if we keep taking money away from these small businesses because we are hellbent on free products, there won’t be anything left to buy or give away. So who is affected if I give away my work? Farmers who grow the sheep who make the wool, dyers who dye the wool, yarn shops who sell the wool, graphic designers, photographers, sample knitters, test knitters, tech editors, and knitting designers as well as the families of all these individuals who depend upon the income however small or large it may be.

Owning a small business is a juggling act where you must constantly rearrange yourself and your work to make a shoestring budget work. This is year four of Fickle Knitter Design as a professional business and I still haven’t made a profit! What does that mean? It means that I put more of my own personal resources into my business than I get back out. And believe me, plane tickets, hotels, and all the other behind-the-scenes costs are not cheap.

So why do I do it? Because I have a passion for knitting and teaching and want my experiences with others to be TEACHABLE moments. I want you to have knitting patterns that you can TRUST so that you can walk to your own personal stash, pull out a skein of yarn and have a beautifully hand knit garment when you’re finished. I want you to learn something new, stretch yourself in ways you didn’t imagine possible, and feel like a better person at the end. I want knitters to feel as great as I did when we cast off our last stitches and block an amazing lace garment for the first time.

So basically what does all this boil down to?
That for the bargain price of $7 you can have an enjoyable experience assuming you get gauge where you can rely on the instructions, sit back, relax with your favorite skein of yarn and just knit. And for the cases where there is a small error which is not uncommon when generating 1500+ word documents, I send out a corrected version as soon as possible. For a mere $7 you also get hands on support in the Fickle Knitter Design Group on Raverly as well as additional help via fickleknitter_customerservice@yahoo.com when you need it. And please, let’s not forget the shops who stock my patterns. They are your number one resource when it comes to seeking knitting help, buying local, and the community atmosphere that knitting helps create.

If you’ve gotten anything from this long missive of mine I hope it’s that

1. Designers are not drying our tears with $1000 dollar bills
2. Shop at your Local Yarn Shops
3. Support a Designer and support the whole Knitting Industry
4. Turn your knitting experience into teachable moments

Until next time, Knit Like No One is Watching,
Michelle
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I hope that you’ve enjoyed my tutorial on Why Knitting Isn’t Free! You may also be interested in reading How to Knit a Gauge Swatch, How To Block Lace Shawls, Lace Triangle Construction, or How To Knit With Beads.

Interested in buying Michelle’s knitting patterns? Visit her online shop, ravelry shop, or etsy shop to buy one now. Each pattern purchased helps keep the lights on and gives Michelle time and resources to write more about knitting.

The Silver Spoon One Skein Shawl is knit in one skein of Tilli Tomas Artisan Sock in the St Tropez color way and is suitable for a beginning lace knitter. If you’re new to lace and need a little extra help please join us over at the Fickle Knitter Design group on Ravelry where we’ll answer questions and make sure you stay on track while working up a Fickle Knitter Pattern.

I had a lot of fun designing Silver Spoon and it’s name comes from the edging, which reminds me of the delicate scrollwork detailing on you guessed it, Silver Spoons. The shawl is knit from the center neck down to the wide edge of the shawl, and The Silver Spoon One Skein Shawl has a knit-on border which means it’s not necessary to bind off 185+ stitches at once! The bold knit-on edging is worked back and forth over 19 stitches and a k2tog with the main body stitches every other row eliminates the large bind off stitch by stitch.

I’m a huge fan of Tilli Tomas Artisan Sock. It says merino but feels like cashmere and holds up extremely well. My Flambe sample has literally traveled tens of thousands of miles cross country and back multiple times and looks great. After all that handling you can hit it with a sweater shaver but chances are that your shawls aren’t going to see the mileage and hands that mine do when traveling with me to trunk shows all over the US.

You can find additional details about Silver Spoon below or click Buy Now to buy your copy today.

Description
This quick-to-knit triangle lace shawlette is simple and elegant with its lovely, knit-on lace edging.

Needles
Size US 7/4.5 mm Knitting Needles, or size needed to get gauge.

Yarn
One 100 gram ball of Tilli Tomas Sock 90% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon. 440 yards/404 meters. Total yardage: 330 yards/ 303 meters.

Gauge
16 stitches and 20 rows over 4 inches in Main Body Stitch

Finished Pattern Measurements
50 inches wide by 22 inches long after blocking.

Supplies
Removable stitch marker, yarn needle (for weaving in ends), blocking aids (optional)

Please drop by Hank & Purl’s next time you find yourself in Rochester, Minnesota. Please tell Deb, Hank and Purl that Fickle Knitter sent you!

Hank & Purl’s Creative Nook and Knittery

Hank & Purl’s
Like Hank & Purl’s on Facebook
Owned and Operated by Deb Zipse
1615 North Broadway
Rochester, Minnesota 55901
(507) 226-8045

Welcome to Hank & Purl’s!

Deb, how long have you been in business?
Hank & Purl’s opened its doors November 22, 2011! As a new shop, I am so grateful for the warm reception the shop has received from all my knitting and crocheting customers. Hank & Purl’s continues to grow with each passing week and is looking forward to many, many knitting and crocheting days to come!

What do you love most about being a yarn shop owner?
What do I love most? That’s a really tough question…I love so many things about being a LYS! I love starting each day surrounded by the vibrant yarn colors and textures. I love greeting customers as they come in the door and hearing their knitting stories, seeing their show and tell, and most of all sharing a giggle or two. I actually enjoy all the business pieces as well.

Meet Purl
?

What is the biggest misconception about owning a yarn shop?
Biggest Misconception: To own a yarn shop you had to have learned to knit as a child. I grew up with a mother that crocheted, aunts and grandmother who knitted and crocheted but it didn’t “take”. I could crochet stitches in a pattern that my mother showed me but I really didn’t know what I was doing nor could I read a pattern. It wasn’t until my daughter learned to knit in college that I pursued being taught by her to knit and shall we say…the rest is history!

The other misconception is that owning a yarn shop is buying yarn, knitting, and visiting with customers…being a business owner is so much more! Those things differentiate the business as a yarn business but as an owner you need to be ready to do all the other aspects of running a business successfully. I know that this is a good fit for me as it doesn’t feel like work but it is energizing for me. I wake up looking forward to each and every “shop day”.

And Meet Hank

How has knitting touched your life?
How has knitting touched my life? I would never have guessed that owning a yarn shop would be such a great fit for me. If I had not learned to knit & crochet, I probably would never have realized the dream I am living.

What makes Hank & Purl’s unique?
Something unique about my business: The most unique thing is probably the name. Knitters get the “hank” and “purl” concept but for non-knitters we have two sheep named Hank & Purl. Purl is actually knitting right off of Hank. I am glad she is a slow knitter as Hank’s boxers are already showing a bit! Hank & Purl also have a Hall of Fame which includes pictures of many famous celebrity sheep (Wool Smith, Marilyn Monwool, Brad Knit & Angelina Woolie, Woolie Nelson, Lady BaBa, etc.) Hank & Purl’s is a yarn shop with a touch of whimsy and loads of laughter. The mission of Hank & Purl’s is “Knitting Friendships, One Stitch at a Time.”

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Are you a Yarn Shop interested in stocking Fickle Knitter Design knitting patterns and having your shop featured in an interview? Contact Michelle today at fickleknitterdesign@yahoo.com for more information.

I have a few new blog posts coming up so I’ll recap Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival first, and then will talk about teaching at The Yarn Club in Virginia Beach, I’ll formally introduce Lisa Bacon, the talented new addition to the Fickle Knitter Team (she’ll be answering email, continuing to run Knit Alongs and moderating the Fickle Knitter Group on Ravelry), and talk about the amazing inclusion of Leaves, Fickle Knitter Design Volume 1 in the Clara Parkes column titled the Booklet which can be found in the Summer 2012 issue of Interweave Knits. Also please stay tuned for a new series of interviews with some special yarn shops around the US, starting with Hank and Purl’s Creative Nook and Knittery located in Rochester, Minnesota.

Yarn Art Studio

It’s no secret that attending MDSW is one of the highlights of my year. I love being a guest in the Yarn Art Studio booth and meeting all the enthusiastic East Coast spinners and knitters. Jacki Lee, owner of Yarn Art Studio has exemplary taste in fiber. She has cashmere merino, 100% silk and pretty much ever blend you’d want to spin. This year she outdid herself with the wall of angelina fiber. I spent my trunk show weekend signing books in the booth and it was so nice to talk with everyone who stopped by.

The Pocket Wheel

Jon McCoy is the maker of the extremely clever Pocket Wheel. Jon and Carla spent the weekend demonstrating their beautiful wheels to the throngs of knitters, spinners and weavers who trooped past the Yarn Art Studio booth.

This is the lovely Carla McCoy sitting at the Pocket Wheel. Carla and Jon live an idyllic farm life on an island in the Pacific North West. Jon uses his expertise in the shop to create his wheels to order out of high end woods and is so busy he has a 13 month waiting list! Carla is a talented spinner and Art Teacher with a gift for interacting with folks from all over. She’s also an artist herself. Jon and Carla update their Facebook regularly with the goings on around the farm and you may see those here.

We spent the weekend not begin annoying at ALL by playing with Jacki’s Baaaaa Sheep. If you walked past the booth you probably heard the herd all weekend.

I love visiting the East Coast because not only do I get to visit where I grew up but I get to see some of my favorite knitters. Kalysa has been test knitting Fickle Knitter patterns for years and I was so happy to get to see her in person again this year.

I also got to visit with my Gauge Junkies, Cece and Theresa who drove down all the way from Jersey to see the Sheep.

It was so nice to see Andrea before I made the drive down to Virginia Beach and I’m glad she got to take a much deserved break from working her patootie off at The Yarn Club.

Farewell MDSW 2012

I had a wonderful time at the show and I’m so looking forward to going back next year. To all that stopped by this year, thank you! I hope to see you again in 2013.

Yarn Art Studio is hosting a Fickle Knitter Trunk Show during the weekend and I’ll be signing books Saturday and Sunday! Stop on by, I hope to see ya’ll there!

Other Very Important People to See at MDSW:

• Stop by the Tilli Tomas Booth to pick up some lovelies to take home.
• Amy Detjen and Jennie the Potter in the Jennie the Potter Booth with all the pottery I want.
• Clara Parkes will be signing books from 10-2 in the Information Tent on Sunday.

(The sheep with the glowy eyes will be in a different tent).

Okay TWO walls of yarn!

Here’s a little update on my upcoming classes at The Yarn Club in Virginia Beach!

We’ll talk about designing lace:

Including what software to use, and my favorite photography tips, and swatching and sketching for publication.

We’ll talk about knitting lace:

And I’ll walk you through the steps you need to knit a triangle! If you can yarn over, knit, purl, k2tog, and ssk then you are ready to knit lace.

and We’ll talk about designing hats:

I’m going to put you in the driver’s seat on this one. We’ll work on some exercises to get you ready to launch your own hat designs!

And I can’t wait! I hope that you’ll join me at The Yarn Club on Tuesday and Wednesday to have some fun and learn some new techniques. If you’ve had questions on your mind about the knitting industry or techniques in general this will be a great opportunity to get them answered. Only 6 more days til Virginia Beach! Somebody set aside a can of Old Bay for me, will ya?

You know I’ll be hugging the yarn when nobody is looking.

• Use a Size 6 bead for Sock Weight yarn.
• Use a Size 8 bead for Lace Weight yarn.
• A 1mm crochet hook will work with Size 6 beads.
• If you don’t have a crochet hook small enough about 3-4 inches of unwaxed, thin dental floss will do.
• You’ll also need Knitting Needles
• And Yarn

Using a Crochet Hook to Add Beads
I find the crochet hook method to be less intrusive when knitting. Your mileage may vary. If you find that the Crochet Hook method doesn’t work for you or your bead is too small to fit over the hook give the dental floss method a try. You’ll find the Fickle Knitter Approved Dental Floss Bead Method below the crochet hook portion of the Fickle Knitter’s Guide to Knitting with Beads Tutorial.

1. Place bead onto Crochet Hook.

There is no fancy way to do this. Sometimes I use my fingers to place the bead onto the hook and sometimes I capriciously dip the hook into a pile of beads hoping to snag one on the way back up.

2. Knit the Stitch where you’d like your bead.

You don’t want to add the bead until after the stitch has been knit so this requires allowing the knit stitch to be in limbo, hovering in between the left and right knitting needle for a while. If you’re nervous about this technique or are using a slippery yarn, pinch the stitch at it’s base to keep the stitch from dropping and laddering. If the stitch does drop and ladder have no fear. You have a handy crochet hook right beside you to pick that sucker right back up.

3. Use the hook part of the crochet hook to grab the stitch in limbo.

This part is fairly easy unless you are nearsighted like I am.

4. Push the bead from the crochet hook to the stitch in limbo.

You’ll get a feel for how much force to use when doing the bead transfer after adding beads to your knitting a few times. Remember that you can add extra yarn to the stitch during this part of the process since you are beading a “working” stitch. Ie if you give too much slack in the stitch in limbo, simply pull the working yarn to tighten.

5. Place the stitch with the bead back onto your right hand knitting needle and continue knitting.

Repeat Steps 1-5 as many times as you’d like to add a bead!

Dental Floss Bead Transfer Method for Knitting with Beads

1. Go ahead and Knit the stitch where you’d like to add a bead.

2. Drop the stitch off of the Right Hand Needle and run the floss through the stitch.

3. Slide the bead over BOTH ends of the dental floss and slide down to the top of the stitch.

Then push the bead off of the floss and onto the knit stitch.  Works like magic!

4. Remove the dental floss and place the stitch with the bead back on the Right Hand Needle. Continue Knitting.

Repeat for each stitch you wish to have a bead on it.

Beads for this tutorial were generously provided by Earthfaire. I’m not a paid advertiser, just a happy fan.

Beads from Left to Right:
1. 8/0 Lilac Lined Crystal Triangles AB, Miyuki with Soft Corners.
2. 4x4mm Silver Lined Crystal Cubes AB.
3. 5/0 Sparkling Purple Lined Aqua Luster Triangles.
4. 8/0 Silver Crystal Triangles, Toho with Sharp Corners.
5. 8/0 Gold Lustered Lilac Beads.
6. 6/0 Violet Gold Luster Beads.
7. 4mmx7mm Fuchsia Lined Smokey Amethyst AB Megatamas Beads.
8. 4mm Silver Lined Crystal Megatamas Beads.
9. 3mmx3mm Silver Lined Teal Cubes.

Stay tuned for a bevy of beaded Fickle Knitter Design patterns coming soon!

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I hope that you’ve found my tutorial on How To Knit With Beads! You may also be interested in reading How To Block Lace Shawls, Gauge, A Story, or Lace Triangle Construction.

Interested in buying Michelle’s knitting patterns? Visit her online shop, ravelry shop, or etsy shop to buy one now. Each pattern purchased helps keep the lights on and gives Michelle time and resources to write more about knitting.

So many things can go wrong with your knitting if you don’t meet the gauge specified in your knitting pattern. Your sweater can be to small, or comically large. Your one skein knitting projects can turn into two skein knitting projects, dipping into your knitting budget. Your hat pattern sized to fit an adult can be suited only for a newborn. The first defense against ill fitting knitting project is to swatch for your project. Below I’ve written the key factors in creating a gauge swatch. If you’d like to read more about gauge please read my article on Gauge: How one project knit by two different knitters equals two different FOs. A story. here.

1. Locate the knitting needle, yarn and gauge information on your pattern.

For Example:
Needles
Size US 5/3.75 mm Knitting Needles, or size needed to get gauge.

Yarn One 100 gram ball of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk Single [75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere, 10% Silk]. 774 yards/803 meters. Total yardage: 740 yards/ 710 meters.

Gauge
28 stitches and 30 rows over 4 inches in Stockinette Stitch.

2. Cast on for your swatch.

Using the above information that means you’d cast on 28 stitches with a US 5 Knitting Needle, a skein of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk and knit 30 rows in Stockinette Stitch.

If you’re concerned that you may not have enough yarn, instead of binding off the swatch try putting the end stitches of your swatch on waste yarn. That way you can undo the swatch if you need the extra yarn.

3. Soak your swatch in wool wash.

I like Euclan but there are a few options available like Soak and Kookaburra.

4. Press your swatch dry with a dry towel.

Do not wring the water out! That can damage the knit fabric.

5. Block your swatch exactly how you normally block your shawls since that’s how you’ll treat this one when it’s done!

Read more about how to block a lace shawl here.

6. Measure your swatch.

From the Gauge information above your swatch should measure 4 inches from side to side and 4 inches from top to bottom. If the swatch is shorter than 4 inches repeat steps 1-6 with a larger needle. If your swatch is longer than 4 inches repeat steps 1-6 with a smaller needle.

Row gauge can affect your yarn usage! You should do your best to get close to row gauge. If you are off and are soaking up more yarn than the stated gauge you could run out before your knitting project is finished.

Something to keep in mind is that many knitters use up more yarn on a purl row than a knit row.

Gauge Short Cuts, Quick and Dirty Knitting Methods
If you want the finished item to be smaller try knitting with smaller yarn and needles. For example, if original pattern calls for US 9 Needle and Bulky yarn, try US 7 and Worsted yarn. Wash swatch and measure gauge.

If you want the finished item to be larger try knitting with larger needles and yarn. For example, if original pattern calls for US 5 Needle and DK yarn, try US 7 and Worsted yarn. Wash swatch and measure gauge.

If you like the fabric with a particular yarn and needle but the finished garment is too small, you can try knitting a larger size. Or if the finished garment is too large you can try knitting a smaller size.

For example if the pattern comes in (32, 34, 36) inch chest measurements and the size 34 is too small with your gauge, try the 36. If you knit the 34 inch size and it is too big, try knitting the 32 size.

Special note: If you change yarns to a heavier yarn (i.e. go from sport weight to bulky weight) you will need more ease in the pattern. So go up a size or two.

Gauge Math
If you’ve tried different yarns and needles and just can’t get the right gauge you have the option of recalculating the pattern to fit the gauge you get with the needles and yarn of your choice.
The basic equation is:

Your gauge                                 x
__________       =        __________ ;
Pattern gauge        Pattern Stitch Number

Example:
Your gauge is 5 st/in. The stated pattern gauge is 6 st/in. The hat pattern calls for 64 stitches cast on. Since your gauge is different but you want the same finished size, plug everything into the equation where x becomes the new number to cast on.
5         x
__ = __ ;
6       64

Rearrange to solve for x.

x = (5*64)/6 = 53.33

Round the answer down to 53 from 53.33. The hat pattern starts with a 2 by 2 rib. So the cast on number must be divisible by 4. 53/4 is not an even number, but 52/4 is even. Meaning it is divisible by 4 and will work with 2 by 2 rib.

You can redo every pattern number in this manner, no matter if it’s a sweater, hat, or sock. The method works because it uses ratios and proportions.

A simplified version of the original equation is:

(Your Gauge*Pattern Stitch Number)/ Pattern Gauge = x.

All you need to do is plug in the numbers for each section to solve for the new numbers based on your gauge.

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I hope that you’ve found my tutorial on How To Knit A Gauge Swatch informative! You may also be interested in reading How To Block Lace Shawls, Gauge, A Story, or Lace Triangle Construction.

Interested in buying Michelle’s knitting patterns? Visit her online shop, ravelry shop, or etsy shop to buy one now. Each pattern purchased helps keep the lights on and gives Michelle time and resources to write more about knitting.