So, if I am swatching in the round my understanding is I have to cut the treads across the back so the swatch can lay flat and thus give an accurate gauge. Would this not make anything swatched in the round unusable in the garment if you run short of yarn?
Unfortunately - yes. Unless you are really motivated to spit splice all the threads - not really a very pleasant thought. I am on my third swatch with Paisley, but I have only attempted the third one beacause I know I have extra yarn coming. This is another good reason to make sure you have enough yarn to make a your garment. I always make sure I have an extra skein/ball when I am buying yarn for a big/important project. When you are buying kits, that's a bit trickier. Luckily most people making kits allow some extra yarn to accommodate knitter's differences in gauge etc. I think I will talk about this in the next podcast. It's a good question and there is more to say about this. There are also lots of solutions if you do think you will run out of yarn and are truly stuck.
Thanks for the feedback @Kim Doherty-Smith! So the good news is I am swatching, the bad news is I didn't make gauge and I am loath to use up more of my Bramble Selkirk Worsted on another swatch.
I will be knitting The Weekender which calls for 18sts / 27 rows = 4" on US9. The gauge I achieved (knitting in the round and blocking) came to 4.5". Given that this is mainly a stockinette sweater with 10" of positive ease I am considering just going down a full needle size and casting on without swatching again (if it were cables or colorwork I would definitly swatch again).
I am feeling this is a low risk solution to swatching again but would love to know what you think.... I won't hold you accountable if things go wrong 😅
Jenn.
@Jennifer Hanley Okay - as long as I am not accountable. If you like the fabric in your swatch, just figure out how many stitches give you the measurement you need for your sweater size. Your swatch is 4 stitches per inch (18/4.5 = 4). Look at the pattern measurements for the size you want to make. Lets say you need 40 inches to make the size sweater you are knitting. 40x4=160 stitches. Next check if any of the sizes have a 160 stitches and then knit that size. Take a look at the gauge tutorials I did for a longer explanation and how to. In other words, it's the knowing what your gauge is that's important, not that you make the same gauge as the designer, using a different yarn. Also, you are right, if your pattern has 10" of ease, you have lots of room to play with the sizing.
I didn't love the fabric as it was and I was so loath to swatch again that I decided to go down 1 needle size and chose the size one less than the 10 inch positive ease recommended (as I didn't want it too big and read lots of review on the size recommendation). Wish me luck! (is it obvious my name is Jennifer... it will be fine! lol)
@Jennifer Hanley Ha! Two peas in a pod, I think! LOL
