If you’ve fallen in love with a particular yarn and you’re wanting to knit up a new project, your best option is to find a pattern designed using that specific yarn. Hopefully the yarn you’ve chosen will have lots of patterns associated with it, so you’ll have a few options to choose from. But if you can’t find a pattern in that yarn, then your next option may be to find another pattern which uses a similar yarn, that has the same “Gauge”. If you don’t match the gauge, then your knitted project is going to come out a different size to the one in the pattern.
So what exactly is “Gauge” then…
Gauge is also sometimes known as tension, and it is the number of stitches and rows over 4 square inches or 10 square centimeters, when using a specified yarn. The size of the needles used, and the type of knitting stitch will also be detailed as part of the gauge.
If you choose to go with a different yarn to what is specified in a pattern, but the two yarns have the same gauge, it is important to note that this doesn’t guarantee that the knitted pattern will turn out exactly as designed. Just because two yarns have the same gauge, it doesn’t mean that they can substitute for each other in any pattern. Often two yarns can have the same gauge, but have quite different yarn qualities and characteristics and therefore the final garment could look and feel quite different from the one in an intended pattern. The way the garment will hang, or drape and the feel of it, can really change depending on how tightly spun the yarn is, the fiber content that the yarn is made of, and even the dye used to color it.
Often you will find in yarn shops, they’ll have knitted samples or swatches, so that you can see how the yarn looks and feels when it is knitted. It can be surprising how different this can be, as compared to looking or touching the yarn on the ball.
We hope this article has helped you in better understanding the importance of “Gauge” in knitting.
