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So, you've found a pattern and you've purchased the yarn. Your needles are raring to go and you can't wait to get started.

Stop!

Before you do anything else, check the gauge. As a knitter and designer of knitwear, I cannot stress enough the importance of gauge. I can, however, attest to the disastrous results that not checking gauge can have on a knitting project. Gauge is simply the means by which one determines beforehand what the final result will be. It is intrinsic to knitting success!

Somewhere on your pattern, usually in italics, is a note that tells you what the proper gauge should be. Rest assured that the designer has spent considerable time and effort in determining this equation. The whole project rests on this seemingly minor bit of information and to ignore it is asking for trouble.

The gauge is determined by the weight of the yarn and the size of the needles. It is expressed as X number of stitches and X number of rows equals 4". Four inches is the standard in determining gauge as it is neither too big, nor too small. To create a mere 4" X 4" test swatch is not terribly time consuming, but it provides invaluable information to the designer as well as the knitter.

The thing to keep in mind is that gauge depends very heavily on a little matter called tension. Every knitter knits at her or his own tension. Some knitters knit quite tightly and others knit quite loosely. So, if you don't follow the cardinal rule of knitting and take the time to make sure that your gauge matches that of the designer, you could very well end up with a project that is not the right size or shape. And that is very discouraging! It is not wise to just trust that the needle size and yarn weight recommended by the designer will work unconditionally. The designer will have knit the original at a specific tension, which could be very different than yours.

You can easily adjust to match the proper gauge by first knitting a test swatch using the recommended needles and yarn weight cited in your pattern. To see if your test swatch is a match, lay out the swatch, place a ruler across the work and count the number of stitches there are over a four inch area. Do the same lengthwise and count the number of rows. Be careful not to stretch the swatch; it must lie naturally. If it is a match you can feel free to begin your project. If it isn't, then you will need to decide whether larger or smaller needles are going to be necessary. If you knit loosely you will have too few stitches and

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