Ask Mary: Do I Have To Do a Gauge Swatch?

Q:  Do I have to make a gauge swatch for all of my projects?  If I do need to make a gauge swatch, how do I do it?

A:  First off, no… you don’t have to make a swatch.  For some items where it doesn’t matter what size something is you can get by without making a swatch.  Scarves, shawls, wraps and afghans are the main things that I rarely do gauge swatches for, since as long as these items are close then they will be good enough.

However, even when making an item where the exact size isn’t important, you may still want to make a gauge swatch to make sure you are in the ballpark at least.  It would be horrible to spend hours on what is supposed to be a king size afghan and it comes out twice the size and too heavy to use or it comes out queen sized and adding a border to make it bigger will ruin the design.

Do a gauge swatch is the same regardless of whether you crochet, knit with needles or loom knit.

Designing a Pattern Yourself
When you want to design an item to be an exact size you need to figure out your gauge to ensure your finished item is the size you want.  I usually try to make my swatch about 4 to 5 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches long so that I have enough to measure to get an accurate count.

A good starting place is looking at the yarn label to see what it says should be the length and width of a swatch done with the size hook or needles suggested.  When you are making your own pattern, it doesn’t matter if your gauge matches what the yarn label states, you can just use those numbers as a starting place.
I almost always cast on or chain at least 20 stitches and then work back and forth in rows until I have a little over 4 inches in length.  When you are finished with the little square you are ready to measure and do a small amount of math to determine how many stitches and rows you need to make for your item.

Measure how many stitches and rows you get in 4 inches, then divide each number by 4 to see how many stiches or rows you get per inch.  You may be thinking:  “Well why don’t I just measure an inch and see how many stitches?”  You can do it that way, but you will get a more accurate gauge by using at least 4 inches or more.

When figuring how many stitches or rows per inch make sure to include half stitches and half rows.  If you come up with 18 stitches in 4 inches, that means you have 4 1/2 stitches per inch, those 1/2 stitches will add up over a few inches and will throw off the overall size.  This is another reason to make a swatch of at least 4 inches, if you only make a swatch of about an inch you may end up not noticing the partial or fraction of a stitch and will end up with something much larger than you intended.

Ok, so now you know exactly how many stitches and rows you get per inch, you can multiply that by the total number of inches needed.  So, if you need something 35 inches wide by 50 inches long and you figure out that you have 3.25 stitches and 3.5 rows per inch, multiply how many stitches and rows by the total number of inches needed.

     35 X 3.25 = 122.5  (cast on or chain 123 stitches)
     50 X 3.5 = 175 (work this many rows)

NOTE:  Make sure you don’t get your numbers mixed up!  Make sure you are multiplying by how many stitches you get in ONE inch rather than the starting number that you have in four inches.  Also, determine which way you want to work (side to side, bottom up, or top down) and don’t get the length and width mixed up. 

Using a Pattern with Gauge Info Included
If you are using a pattern that has the gauge included, then just do a small square in the stitch indicated in the gauge area of the pattern.  If the gauge says something like:  20 sts X 28 rows = 4 inches   I will usually do exactly what it says and then measure.

If you have more stitches per inch than the pattern states try a larger hook or needle.  If you have less stitches per inch than the pattern states try a smaller hook or needle.  If you just can’t get the gauge right, you can follow the general pattern and using the method above (for designing your own pattern) to determine your own overall number of stitches and rows needed.

Now that you know how to do gauge swatches, what do you do with all those little squares?  I used to keep my gauge swatches and attach a note to them with the yarn, hook size (and brand), and stitch information.   I ended up with way too many swatches to sort through all the time, so I took all of those and made them into an afghan to donate.  Now, I make my swatch, take a picture of it and keep it electronically with all the information for reference.  Once I have taken the picture and recorded everything I need to know about it, I rip the swatch out and re-use that yarn for the actual project.  This is just what I do with mine, what do you do with your gauge swatches?

 If you have a question you would like for me to answer in my weekly Ask Mary series, please send your question to:  insidemarysworld@gmail.com.  Put ASK MARY in the subject line to make sure that I don't over look your question.

Ask Mary: How to Translate Needle Knitting Pattern to Loom Knitting

Q:  Can I use needle knitting patterns for loom knitting?  If so how?

A:  The short answer is yes, needle patterns can be used for loom knitting.  It isn't overly difficult to translate the pattern, but to cut down on the frustration of it not looking right, there are a few things to take into consideration.

If the needle knitting pattern is written for knitting in the round, no changes are needed.  All you have to do at that point is figure out your gauge and which loom to use or how many pegs to cast on.  You can't always follow the stitch and row count of a needle knitting pattern exactly, unless your gauge is exactly the same.

TIP:  Find needle knit patterns for circular needles and work them as flat panels on a loom to create something that is not round or a tube.  Such as, you really like a hat or cowl pattern that is worked on circular needles... no one said you can only make a hat or cowl with it.  Work the pattern back and forth without connecting the ends to make a scarf or shawl.  The only thing to figure out then will be your gauge and how many times to repeat the pattern to achieve the desired size.

Speaking of gauge, when you first start doing your own pattern translations it is easy to forget that one minor thing that will actually make or break your project expectations.  GAUGE!!!  Check it!!  Yes it is a needle pattern, but it should tell you what yarn and needles to use.  Use that information to cross check it using the chart I posted on Knitting Loom Gauge and Size.  This will at least give you a starting point.

Now on to how to take a straight needle knit pattern and make that item on the loom as a flat knit piece.  The simple way to do it is to change every other row to the opposite of what it says.  Pick either the even rows or the odd rows, and write it all out before you start, then work from your written pattern.

For example for simple stockinette stitch:

Needle pattern:  Row 1: Knit every stitch
                           Row 2: Purl every stitch
                           Continue repeating Row 1 & 2

Loom pattern:  Row 1:  Knit every stitch
                         Row 2:  Knit every stitch
                         Continue repeating Row 1 & 2

NOTE:  If a needle pattern calls for you to 'work in garter stitch' for so many inches or rows, on needles that means knit every row... but on the loom it means to work a row of knit then a row of purl.

Sometimes I will convert all the odd rows (which usually are considered the Wrong Side (WS) in needle patterns.  This is simply so that I don't confuse myself.  However, occasionally I run across a project where it is easier to convert the even rows.  Let's look at the needle version of the Old Shale Stitch (which by the way, is actually the Old Shale stitch, but most refer to as the Fan & Feather Stitch.  For a close look at the two and the difference take a look at the post:  Knitting Techniques:  Old Shale Stitch over on the Craftsy Blog.)

Usually written as:
Multiples of 18
Row 1:  (Right Side) Knit across
Row 2:  Purl across
Row 3:  *(K2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times; repeat from * across
Row 4:  Knit across
Repeat Rows 1-4

In this case the only difficult line is Row 3, so rather than trying to do the opposite of that I simply do the opposite of the even rows.
Looks like this:
Multiples of 18
Row 1:  (Right Side) Knit across
Row 2:  Knit across
Row 3:  *(K2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times; repeat from * across
Row 4:  Purl across
Repeat Rows 1-4

I want to point out that when I say do the opposite of what the needle pattern says, I don't mean work the row backwards.  I mean do the opposite stitch.  Knits and Purls are the opposite of each other.  In the example above IF for whatever reason you wanted to stick to converting the Odd Rows it would look like this:
Multiples of 18
Row 1:  (Right Side) Purl across
Row 2:  Purl across
Row 3:  *(P2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (p2tog) 3 times; repeat from * across
Row 4:  Knit across
Repeat Rows 1-4

That to me is WAY too much purling!  That's why I use the Even Rows to do the opposite on this one.

If you run across a pattern that has a lot of yarn overs and k2tog (like above), you will have to be patient while you learn the stitch.  You may have to move your stitches around on your loom as you are working (so the yarn doesn't get so tight you can't keep going) or you may have to use stitch holders like when making cables.  Some needle patterns are just too fiddly or time consuming to even worry with... for me anyway.

Keep in mind that needle knitting with straight needles requires you to turn your work at the end of each row and go back the other direction.  With loom knitting you don't turn you work, you simply just go the other direction while your knitting is still facing the same way.

I hope this will help you to get started in translating patterns!  It takes time and effort, but with a little patience you can make just about anything on a loom that is made on needles.

If you have a question you would like for me to answer in my weekly Ask Mary series, please send your question to:  insidemarysworld@gmail.com.  Put ASK MARY in the subject line to make sure that I don't over look your question.

Ask Mary: Can I make this?

Something I get asked a lot is if a certain item can be crocheted, knitted or loom knitted.  Usually there is an accompanying picture, but not always.  Most of the time it is either a crocheter wanting to make something that was knitted or a knitter wanting make something that was crocheted.  Another scenario where I am asked this question is someone wondering if they can make an item they have never seen a pattern for.

First of all if you can imagine it or think of it, then yes you can make it.  That doesn't mean it will be easy to figure out or that someone else already has a pattern written that you can follow.  But, if you can think of something then you can make it if you take the time to put in the effort of figuring out how to make it.  One other small point along these same lines:  If you are a beginner at your craft and see a pattern for something marked expert or advanced don't be afraid of it.  You can still make it.  Take your time, read all the directions first and look up the things you don't know and make notes.  Then when you actually start to work on the item take it one step at a time, you will be surprised at what you are capable of doing!

Now onto "Can I crochet this knit item?" and "Can I knit this crochet item?"  The simple answer is:  You can make something very close, but not something identical.  There are a few stitches in crochet that are mock knit stitches and a few stitches in knit that are mock crochet stitches.  But, in general if you want something that looks identical to the picture then use the craft and methods that the item in the picture was made with.  If you want an item that in general is close to the item in the picture then sure you can make it with a different craft but the exact stitches won't be the same.

There are a few books that I have seen over the years that will help you translate crochet into knitting and knitting into crochet.  There is also a club (Annie's Hook and Needle Kit Club) ran by Annie's Attic that will send you a project each month that has the yarn and instructions for making an item that has the pattern written for knitting and crochet.

Another question I am asked frequently is if needle knit patterns and stitches can be converted to loom knitting, and if so how.   Next week I will be answering the question of how to convert needle knit patterns to loom knitting.

If you have a question you would like for me to answer in my weekly Ask Mary series please send your question to:  insidemarysworld@gmail.com  Put ASK MARY in the subject line to make sure that I don't over look your question.