KNITmuch | Issue 07

A wider swatch will also tell you a
bit more about the yarn – whether
it will develop a nice halo, for
example, if it’s a mohair yarn, or
whether it will shed or pill.
As well, when you knit a larger
gauge swatch, if your tension IS
out, it will be more noticeable:
an 8″ square will be noticeably
larger or smaller than a 4″
counterpart, even if your gauge
is only out by a stitch or two.
Am I now suggesting that I fill a
box with 8″ or 10” squares? Not
at all.
Once our swatches have lived
out their useful purpose, they
can go on to do honorable
service.
In 2006, my Mom wrote an
article about a knitting basket
she found at Sunnybrook hospital
when she was there waiting
for my Dad at a specialist’s
appointment. Fast forward 12
years and now it’s me waiting for
Dad at our local cancer center. In
the appointment waiting room,
there’s a basket with a pair of
scissors tied to it. It’s brimming
with balls of yarn and a few pairs
of knitting needles. Beside it is a
sign that says, “Knit an 8″ square
while you wait. We’ll turn them
into blankets for our chemo
patients!” Isn’t that a great idea?
For chemo blankets, the yarn
has to be really washable.
Papyrus squeaks in, as the
care recommendation for it is
machine wash in cold water.
Eight inches [20cm] seems to be
the standard for charity project
squares, which is convenient for
us knitters: all we have to do is
double the number of stitches
given for 4″ on the ball band.
Papyrus’ ideal tension is 21 sts to
4″ [10cm], so I cast on 42 stitches.
Now, normally I get pretty
close to tension. Wouldn’t you
know that today’s not normal
for me. But this is why, it is SO
IMPORTANT to DO a gauge
swatch, no matter how long
you’ve been knitting!
Instead of getting 21 sts to 4″
[10cm] – I’m getting 23 sts. The
result of this seemingly tiny
discrepancy means that my 8″
swatch now measures a modest
7¼” [18.5 cm]. Worse, it means
that if I had blindly cast on for
a sweater for myself, it would
come up at least 5″ [11.5 cm] shy
of the desired finished size. To
make it come up to the proper
finished size I’d need another 23
stitches if I continue to use US
6/4mm needles.
This tension swatch is a bit too
tiny for any 8″ square charity
project, but hey, my heart was in
the right place, and your tension
swatch might be perfect!
Don’t give away your swatch
away too quickly, though. They’re
handy to keep around in case
you need those few yards of
yarn to finish your neckband or
lengthen the cuffs of a young
person’s sleeves. Some knitters
even keep their swatches and
wash them every time they wash
the sweater. That way, if the piece
ever requires mending, the yarn
from the tension swatch will
match it very very closely. The
charity of your choice will never
know what year your swatch was
made when you donate it!
The plan is to find some
summery patterns for Papyrus
and create a little sundress for a
little girl. The plan WAS to make
a little tunic for moi, but the time
got away on me! It appears as
though this is not my week!
This photo is so close, you can check my gauge
for me! The only thing is that the curve of the
photo lens on the iPad makes it appear as
though the ruler extends a little beyond the first
and last stitch of the 0 and 4'' markings.
The knitting tension for Papyrus is 21 stitches to 4''
[10cm], so 42 stitches should make an 8'' [20cm]
wide piece. It should.
24 KNITmuch | issue 7