Gauge (knitting) - Factors That Affect Knitting Gauge

Factors That Affect Knitting Gauge

The gauge of a knitted fabric depends on the pattern of stitches in the fabric, the kind of yarn, the size of knitting needles, and the tension of the individual knitter (i.e., how much yarn he or she allows between stitches).

• For example, ribbing and cable patterns tend to "pull in," giving more stitches over an identical width than stockinette, garter, or seed stitch. Even the same stitch produced in two different ways may produce a different gauge; for example, a swatch of stockinette stitch may not have the same gauge as one knit in reverse stockinette stitch.

• Thicker yarns with less loft generally produce larger stitches than thinner yarns (reducing the number of stitches per width and length).

• Larger knitting needles also produce larger stitches, giving fewer stitches and rows per inch; changing needle size is the best way to control one's own gauge for a given pattern and yarn.

• Finally, the knitter's tension, or how tightly one knits, can affect the gauge significantly. The gauge can even vary within a single garment, typically with beginning knitters; as knitters become more familiar with a stitch pattern, they become more relaxed and make the stitch differently, producing a different gauge.

Sometimes the gauge is deliberately altered within a garment, usually by changing needle size; for example, smaller stitches are often made at the collar, sleeve cuffs, hemline ribbing or pocket edges.