We've had a few patterns published using our yarn where the yardage required is close enough to the yardage in our skeins that gauge really can make the difference between whether or not the project can be completed as written. We all know gauge varies from knitter to knitter, but how much can it really vary? Quite a lot, as it turns out!
Inspired by the test described in this blog post, the knitters at the Miss Babs studio decided to conduct our own test. Babs, Jen, Veronica, Carmen, Helen, and Ivy each knit a swatch using the same skein of yarn and same pair of needles. Each swatch is 28 stitches wide, and 30 rows tall (including the bind off row).
Once all six swatches were knit, we blocked them by soaking them, squeezing out the water, and patting them flat to dry. In addition to the gauge differences described in the original experiment, we were also interested in how much yardage each swatch used.
Our finished swatches ranged from 5x4.5" to 5.75x4.75", and about 14 yds to 19 yds.
That's not a big deal in a small swatch like this, but if we were all to knit a project ten times this size, we would use 140 to 190 yds (a 50 yd difference), and if it were something even larger like a big shawl, a poncho or sweater that had 100 times the number of stitches in our swatches, we would have a 500 yd difference.
Swatching really does matter--even in small projects--if your yardage is tight!!
Swatch Details:
| Swatch | Dimensions | Area | Estimated Yardage |
| 1 | 5.625x4.75" | 26.72 sq. inches | 17.5 yds |
| 2 | 5.75x4.675" | 26.59 sq. inches | 17.5 yds |
| 3 | 5.75x4.75" | 27.31 sq. inches | 19 yds |
| 4 | 5x4.25" | 21.25 sq. inches | 14 yds |
| 5 | 5.5x4.5" | 24.75 sq. inches | 15.5 yds |
| 6 | 5.5x4.75" | 26.13 sq. inches | 17.5 yds |
6 comments
Fascinating. Thanks so much for posting this. I’ve been swatch-resistant but – one sweater in – I am now a believer. So interesting how you can have six different results – and even though three used the same yardage, their gauge was not the same! I recently swatched Yowza, and found that I got the same gauge from two different sized needles (7&8, I think). For a minute there I thought I’d go crazy measuring and remeasuring to see if I was imagining it, but it was true. Fortunately, I found the correct gauge for my project with size 6 and have been able to move on :-).