tension and guage

lglk135 · 01-24-2008, 11:05 AM

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have been knitting off and on for years but have always had trouble with guage. Now that I have "retired" I have more time and patience and want to improve. I'm tired of knitting scarves.

If I knit with the needle size the yarn package recommends my swatch is way too big-- one half to three fourths of an inch in a four inch swatch. I just used size 7 needle when a 10 was called for, and it is still a quarter inch too big. My tension is nice and snug and my stitches are even.

I can't believe I am that far off without doing something wrong. Do other stitches find that they have to go down 3 or even 4 needle sizes?

Jan in CA · 01-24-2008, 04:28 PM

Are you using the yarn recommended? Or at least yarn that is the same weight and gauge?

suzeeq · 01-24-2008, 05:51 PM

Picking or throwing by itself may not make for looser or tighter gauge; I throw and my gauge is correct. As Jan said, you need to use yarn of a similar gauge as the pattern and the needles in the pattern, not what's on the label. The label gauge is really there to show the yarn weight - 18 sts/4" on size 8 = worsted - and not so much which needles you should use.

knittingymnast · 01-24-2008, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by suzeeq

Picking or throwing by itself may not make for looser or tighter gauge; I throw and my gauge is correct. As Jan said, you need to use yarn of a similar gauge as the pattern and the needles in the pattern, not what's on the label. The label gauge is really there to show the yarn weight - 18 sts/4" on size 8 = worsted - and not so much which needles you should use.

yep!

fibrenut · 01-25-2008, 03:21 AM

Hmmm, I was just goin on personal experience there ladies. Not necessarily any gospel truths of any sort. Just what I did to correct MY lopsided gauge issues. And, yes, using the correct needle for the yarn is of utmost importance.

The previous post has been deleted.

suzeeq · 01-25-2008, 03:25 AM

Sure, for an individual, changing how they hold or carry the yarn is going to make a different in tension. But it's not a universal thing that switching from conti to english or vice versa will make a difference.