GAUGE.....most knitters or crocheters DON'T GAUGE. Why? I don't know. We have customers come into the shop and say 'my sweater didn't fit' OR 'why is this baby sweater so small?' Well, the answer is they didn't gauge their work. Steve took a crochet class last year and the question was posed to the teacher: "Is gauge important?" Her answer was: "If you want it to fit!!" Sometimes it's easier just to take the 2 sticks or the hook and stitch. But..will it fit? Get out your crystal ball and ask it because no one is going to know if it will until it's done. And...you may be sorry that you didn't take the time to gauge it! So...what is gauge? For those who don't know...read on! For those who do know...READ ON too!! Your project may read: 20 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches or
20 single crochets and 24 rows = 4 inches. Take the time to gauge it. The proper way to achieving gauge is to hang your swatch on a clothesline or onto something similar. Why? Because you don't wear your sweater lying down, so you don't check a gauge that has been sitting on a table. Others say that it should be washed AND dried so that you can see what happens to the yarn AFTER it has been laundered. Both make sense. Well, the choice is yours...to Gauge or Not to Gauge...will it FIT????
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A great post - I have almost always checked my gauge (don't do it on afghans, but do for sweaters). But I learned something new - never would have thought of hanging up a piece... Wish I would have thought of that before making my (ex) favorite sweater out of bamboo yarn - it grew on me to about triple the size by the end of the first day of wearing it - even tried to "shrink" it in the washer and dryer - fat chance there. Take heed - adding this extra step would have saved me at least 8 hours of work!
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