Multiple factors affect the size of your knitting.
*Knitting needle size and type of needle (wood or metal).
*The thickness and weight and number ply of the yarn you use from a lace weight to super bulky. Best to stick to pattern guidelines and suggestions or be prepared to do some tricky math calculations. And pray.
*Your inner tension- yes- there are loose knitters and tight knitters and those in between. Some people go UP a needle size or two and some knitters go DOWN a needle size or two to get the correct gauge. You knit the way you knit and it isn’t easy to alter the tension. Everyone is different. You get to know pretty soon where you fall on the gauge continuum.
*Checking gauge is crucial for successful outcomes. Once I knit a sweater for a high school bf and the woman at the yarn store ripped out the ENTIRE SWEATER in front of my eyes. I am not kidding.
*At the beginning of a pattern you can see the requirements for yarn type, needle size and the gauge is – how many stitches per inch, how many rows per inch.
Here’s a quote from Craftsy site (and you can click it for more info about knitting gauge adjustment)
Gauge is the number that determines how big or small your knitted project will turn out, so learning how to make adjustments to your gauge is necessary if you want to avoid ripping out your project and starting all over again.
Today after the sad task of attending a funeral together, two friends and I went to lunch on Carson Street on the South Side.
Deb brought her knitted Christmas stockings.
The smaller one was knit 32 years ago for her daughter and Deb added the little knitted skirt to the original pattern. The second one was knit this Christmas for her daughter’s new husband. A different needle size. Ooops!
Plus, Deb noticed that the first stocking she knit was going a different direction than the one she made for her daughter’s husband. Double Ooops!
I asked if I could photograph the stockings and she agreed- as long as I didn’t put her in the pic.
Deb used a different needle size for sure. She’s already started another one.
And now she has to make the pattern in reverse so the stocking will hang the same direction. Thanks Deb for allowing me to photograph the stockings you knit as an illustration for gauge today. Nicely knit!
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