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Anyone who's ever ended up with a woolen circus tent or socks that wouldn't fit a kitten can tell you why gauge is important, but the quickest way to make it crystal clear is to say that without the right gauge, nothing will fit. Fortunately, this is an easy fact to work with.

So what is gauge? It's the number of stitches or rows it takes to make a given length of knitting. Patterns measured in inches will usually give gauge in stitches/rows per four inches; those using the metric system tend to give ten centimeters. You'll generally note that the stitch gauge and the row gauge aren't the same; this is because plain stockinette stitches are taller than they are wide, and almost all gauges are given over stockinette.

Determining gauge means doing the dreaded swatch. It's a little boring, but it's worth it. Cast on about twice the number of stitches the pattern says it should take to make 4"/10cm, knit a few rows of garter stitch, then continue with a 5-stitch border of garter at the sides and do the rest in stockinette, again for about twice as many rows as the pattern specifies. Add another few rows of garter at the top, and bind off. Wash and block the swatch like you plan to do for the sweater, and then you can measure your gauge. It's a delay in starting a lovely new project, but it's better than finishing and discovering your product just isn't right.

It's pretty important that your gauge be close to the pattern's; otherwise you're just asking for trouble. Being off even a bit will lead to problems, especially on fine gauges or large stitch counts; large disparities can cause your fabric to not have the same properties as the example-too large a gauge, and that firm fabric is suddenly floppy and drapey. Fortunately, there are all sorts of ways to deal with incorrect gauge.

The simplest (though not necessarily the easiest) is to just change the tension of your knitting. If your stitches are too small (more stitches than called for), loosen up a bit; if they're too large, tighten. This can be awfully hard to maintain over an entire project, though, and you'll have a tendency to return to the tension you're most comfortable with.

Changing needle sizes is the usual method for adjusting gauge. Remember that what's printed in the pattern is not holy writ; it's a suggestion, that worked for the test knitters. Picking a needle size that works for you is the only important thing.

Last but not least is simply rolling with it. As long as your gauge isn't so off as to change the character of the fabric, just work with what you've got. If your gauge is too loose, make the pattern using the numbers for the next size down; if it's too tight, make the next size up instead. For that matter, if there's a pattern you love that doesn't come in your size, you can sometimes compensate by changing the needle size just a little in the direction you need-bigger needles make for a bigger sweater, and smaller needles a smaller one.

The thing to remember about gauge is that it's important, but not something to be scared of. It's easy to get an idea of whether you're a tight or loose knitter, and to generally try your first swatch with slightly smaller or larger needles, and really, a swatch isn't that much of a time investment. The payoff in finished items that fit on the first try will be well worth it.

Learn more about this author, Carrie Schutrick.
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