Gauge you say, get gauge or risk frogging

Intellectually I know that gauge matters, I know that if my stitches take up less or more room than the ones in the pattern then what I'm making won't be the  size the item in the pattern is supposed to be. I know this, I've taught this, and I've made decisions based on the gauge before. I've weighed up the implications of calculating gauge - and at times decided not to. Gauge has always been a considered decision in my knitting, if the size of the finished article didn't really matter, I felt free to ignore any gauge recommendations and to knit to a tension that suited me, my knit style and the yarn. If the article could be modified as it was worked, like a top down sweater or knit to fit hot water bottle cover - there usually is no need to calculate gauge. After all in those cases knowing the exact number of stitches per inch wasn't part of making and shaping my knitting, those decisions were much more fluid and impetuous.

 Mostly I can knit, and fit and make and things turn out fine .. but these Sanquhar gloves are not working out like most of my knitting. This time I don't have gauge - and no I didn't do a gauge swatch. I swatch along the lines of my favorite knitting guru's, like Elizabeth Zimmerman, who start the project and then a few inches in measure the gauge or fit the knitting to see if it is the right size or gauge. I completely agree with EZ's sentiments that working a gauge swatch is not as exciting as knitting something you will wear and so the first few inches of whatever you are knitting can in themselves be the gauge swatch.That is what I did this time. And the first few inches were fine, I tried on the glove and the wrist fit ... well ... like a glove should. So I kept knitting. I assumed all was well - and it wasn't.

 Now I'm at the point of dividing up for the fingers, and I've worked the thumb gusset, and I find that my Sanquhar glove is roomy. There is a good inch and a half, or 4cm on one side of extra fabric and room.

 And extra fabric and room on the other side. I've trouble shooted all the obvious things, the pattern calls for only one size of needle, the size that gives you gauge. That means I didn't forget to switch from the cuff needle to the glove needle size - as it is all knit on the same size needle. There are increases in the stitch count between the cuff and the palm, but only increasing 3 stitches - so not a great change in size from adding three stitches.

So that only left to check my gauge,and I did. My gauge is way off as I knit the palm but was spot on or even too tight as I knit the cuff. Not surprisingly as the cuff is corrugated ribbing and the palm stocking stitch - I can understand how each would have a slightly different tension. I have 20.8 stitches in 2 inches and to knit something to fit my hand I should have 27 or maybe 25 stitches in 2 inches. As result my glove is 20% larger than it should be.
Now I'm knitting on size 1.75mm needles, that is a US size of #00, or a UK size of 15. Those are small needles, and it looks like I'm going to have to drop to a size 1.5mm or 1.25mm (not sure I have a set of those) to get gauge.
My other option is to knit tighter ... and I'm not sure that I can do that consistently for the rest of the glove, and for a second glove.

I love the colours, the brown grey with the pink, and the look of these. So tonight I will frog, back to the cuff and wind up the two yarns into butterflies to tuck into their respective balls of yarn. Then I will contemplate my options and I'll let you know after the weekend what direction I have taken.

In behind all of this is a sense of rising excitement at the Unwind event this weekend, starting with attendees being invited to join the Take Back the Knit group for social knitting Thursday (tomorrow), and a day off work Friday so I can fully participate for the entire weekend. I'm not sure how blogging will go ... but hope to have lots to report next week.

Take care
Knit some - where ever you are, and maybe even consider checking the gauge, just maybe, if the fit might be important.  
Stella

Oh... ... .. .. . .

I see, gauge ... one of those 'important' things. Really really important if you want to knit things that fit, or if you want to knit pairs that are the same size. That is what I want to do, knit matched pairs.
Lots of things can throw off a knitters gauge.

1. Yarn, some yarns slide easily into place, others catch and snag and drag and make uneven stitches more likely.
2. Needles, likewise some needles catch and snag and drag and make knitting evenly difficult
3. Distractions, being stressed, or relaxed (or other in other states of being, hurt, angry, tired ....) can alter the tightness of your knitting, enough said.
4. Experience
   The longer one has been knitting, the more chance one has of achieving consistent tension or gauge (the British call it tension, the Americans gauge - I'm an international knitter so swing between the two).
   Conversely the less experience one has the more the risk of changes to the tension

Number 4, that is my problem right now. I would consider myself an 'experienced knitter', but I freely admit I am not an experience double knitter. I should have seen this coming, that as I knit my way through the pair of mittens using a new-to-me technique my knitting would settle into regularity.

Bother, nothing for it now but to continue on the second mitten, finish it, compare the two and start a third if I have enough yarn left over, then frog the first if I need more yarn. My only wish is that my gauge has settled down and will not change more, or there could be a fourth and possibly even a fifth mitten required to solve this problem. I like the firmer feel and look of the second mitten - otherwise I would just go up a needle size and start the second mitten again.

I wonder if the gloss will have gone off this technique before I reach the end of the third mitten?

The good news is that with every mitten my skill level increases. The result is always better when you have to work something again because you are able to use what you learned the first time around to make it better. The even better news is this does not upset me - once it would have, but for some reason I'd rather these were a matched finished pair than just finished. Truly it is about the knitting .....

Happy Easter ... if that is something you celebrate,
Relaxing weekend to all irregardless of what you do with the days.

na Stella