The Knitting Fiend

As you can see, I’ve been swatching. This is not standard swatching to check gauge; it’s “design process” swatching.

So, how are the two different? If I want to recreate someone else’s design based on their published pattern, (which I now rarely do) I buy the specified yarn and just swatch to figure out the needle size required to achieve the stated gauge. Once I’ve done that, I cast on and follow the directions. Often, I knit exactly 1 swatch because I can generally guess what needle size I need to get the published gauge. (I my case, this is usually 2 needle sizes smaller than stated in the pattern directions.)

But, as you know, I am designing my own sweater. I did have an idea what I wanted to make when I bought the yarn, but the idea wasn’t precise. In fact, when I entered the Stephanie’s Knitting Olympics site I described it as “A Yoke Sweater”. ( I probably deserve a prize for the most boring sounding entry in “The Knitting Olympics”.)

At the time, I didn’t know if I’d be making a fine or heavy gauge sweater, only that it would have a yoke! Later I decided to buy from a company I had never heard of; this adds additional challenge because it means I don’t quite know the properties of the yarn. Will it be tightly or loosely spun? Fuzzy or smooth? Will cables pop, or will it knit into a more “fluid drapey” type fabric? Will I want to use it single thickness or double? I couldn’t know these things.

So, when deciding how much to order, I decided to assume I would use the yarn double which gave me the upperbound on the amount of yarn I would require. So, I estimated I need 7-8 skein. I added an extra skein to use for swatching. I bought 9.

As you can see, I’ve now knit 4 swatches. So, I’m definitely using that extra yarn!

Two of the swatches use the yarn 1 strand at a time. Since this yarn doesn’t indicate a suggested gauge, I had to guess the needles I would need to knit. Eyeballing, it looked “fingering” to “very light sport”. It’s noticably thinner than Plymouth Galway, which I knit with US 6 needles. (The manufacturer recommends size 8, but I tend to knit loosely so I always use smaller needles.)

So, I figured, I should use size 3 for this yarn. But, wanting the cables to truly pop, I figured I wanted a very firm knit. So, I used the size 1’s which were right there at hand.

I got a 28 st= 4″ gauge. I also knit “Bobbled Cable” stitch pattern single stranded to how cables look in this yarn. I like the fabric and the cable. But, that at this fine gauge, that cable is a more delicate that I want in the design I have planned “in my head”. In my mind’s eye, I am planning one decorative element which will make the sweater deserve the name “Olympic Circle”. I want the decorative element to be bold.

What to do? I decided to try the yarn double stranded.¹

Ok, back to what I actually did! Once I decided to knit two strands at a time, I had to knit more swatches. To explore how the yarn knits over a range of gauges, I changed needle tips as I knit. I began knitting with US size 5 and progressively increased to US size 8. So, the stitch gauge on that swatch ranges from 4.5 st/inch to 3.5 st/inch. I’ll decide what needle size will use after I wash the swatches and see how the fabric feels.

Notice I also knit a second cable swatch this time double stranded. I’ve decided I definitely like that! I also tested picking up stitches along one edge of the cable panel as will be required for my design.

Next: Wash my swatches then decide how I like these swatches after they are washed and dried. I know some people are surprised that I wash my swatches, but I always do. That’s because I want my sweaters to fit after I wash them.

1. I promised readers some suggestions on yarn gauge for this yarn. For those wondering, if I had decided to use this yarn single stranded, I’d probably knit a second swatch on US size 2 or 3 needles. Because I do want fairly firm fabric, I’d aim for 26 st = 4 inch. If I were knitting a sweater in pure stockinette, I’d aim for 24 st = 4″. If I were knitting a shawl, I’d aim for 22 st/inch.