Let's Talk About Swatch For a Minute...

Let's talk about Swatch for a minute!
Well how do you think

 it feels about what's been going on?
Let's talk about swatch for a minute!
Well how do you think
it feels about what's gone wrong????...

 

Face it, every knitter at some point has said "My swatch lied!"

 

Well I, for one, am going to tell you that the poor (innocent) swatch didn't lie. 

 

 

Let's talk about dreams,
I never learned to read the signs.
Let's think about what it all means.....

 

Sometimes, when knitters swatch, they fool themselves by making the following rookie mistakes.... 

The swatch they made, wasn't made with the exact yarn and needles they planned for the project!  

Even a little thing like switching from blue to green or one needle brand to another (or even different length circular needles in the same brand) can change how the knitting behaves.

The swatch wasn't big enough!  If you are aiming for a gauge of (say) 32 stitches to 4 inches (10 cm) do not cast on 32 or even 42 stitches.  Cast on at least twice that many, and knit for at least half again as many rows for the row gauge.

The swatch has a border on it that the knitting project doesn't!  That pretty garter stitch border pulls the knitting to being more "square" than it will be with out it...Just say no to borders...unless...your finished project is going to have that *same* border.

The swatch was knit flat when the project is to be knit in the round...well there are ways to get around that one, but for me...if I am swatching for an in the round pattern, I swatch in the round.

And the worst mistake yet...Not swatching!

I never seem to have the time....

 

This past week all I seem to have knit are swatches!

 

Would you like to see some?

 

 

 I have one more on the needles...it might take the full 400 yards of sock yarn before I know if it will ever grow up to be anything!

How do you feel about swatching?

~M