Gauge Knitting--What Happens When Knitting Gauge Is Too Loose?

Yikes, your knitting gauge is loose as a...er, um.

Photo courtesy of Cyron

Two things happen when your knitting gauge is too loose. One is critical as it determines how large your finished garment or project turns out. The other may or may not be critical as your fabric itself will change from what your pattern expects. How much too big is big? How will fabric behave if it’s looser than expected?

Big, bigger, biggest project.

If your pattern calls for five stitches per inch and you knit four stitches per inch, your gauge is looser than your pattern calls for. If you cast on 200 stitches for a sweater that’s supposed to measure 40 inches around the chest, but knit it with a looser gauge, your sweater will turn out bigger than your pattern expects.

At four stitches per inch, those 200 stitches create a sweater that measures 50 inches instead of 40 inches. I call a ten-inch difference in size critical. How about you?

Happy, not so happy, unhappy knitted fabric.

If your pattern calls for a certain gauge, it expects a certain kind of fabric. Maybe it expects a firm fabric for heavy wear, like in socks. Maybe it’s mid-range for a sweater. Maybe it’s loose and drapey for a scarf.

If your yarn and needle create a looser fabric than your pattern expects, but you like how the fabric looks and feels, consider whether this different fabric will still behave well with your pattern. If you knit fewer stitches per inch in socks, they’ll wear out much faster.

Why? With a looser gauge, each stitch has neighbors that are farther away, instead of standing shoulder to shoulder, thus each stitch suffers more stress and strain. You might see your skin through your stitches when you put the socks on. See how your toes stretch out the knitting?

Same with a looser gauge in a sweater. Perhaps you don’t mind if it’s less warm. Will a fabric that’s looser in structure behave well with your pattern? It might or might not. Don’t be surprised if elbows wear out quickly, shoulder seams sag or the neckline stretches out.

If you prefer the fabric at the looser gauge and think it will work well with your pattern, you must rework your pattern numbers to reflect your changed gauge. Where your pattern expects five stitches, you’ll have four.

Time for knitting math.

Instead of casting on 200 stitches for a 40-inch sweater, you’ll need fewer stitches so your sweater will turn out the correct size. Your pattern says 5 stitches times 40 inches equals 200 stitches. Your looser gauge says 4 stitches times 40 inches equals 160 stitches. Do the same math for everything: sleeves, neckline width, cuffs, armhole width and shoulders.

Better yet, go down in needle size until you get gauge.

Now you can knit your sweater as written with no worries about your finished project turning out loosey-goosey, too big or saggy-baggy. When you get gauge or gauge knitting well, your hours of knitting are worry-free and yield a finished project that fits.

Best,

Karen

P.S.

Are you ever confused that smaller needles make more stitches and larger needles make fewer stitches? Here’s the trick: Smaller needles make smaller stitches for tighter gauge knitting. Larger needles make larger stitches for looser gauge knitting. Hope this helps!