Knitting gauge too many stitches per inch

Swatching! A skill every knitter needs. A gauge swatch is an essential step in the process of knitting a garment or doing a project you’ve never done before.

How to knit a swatch in the round

In this blog post, I answer what swatching means, how to knit a gauge swatch, and much more. Here is my complete guide to swatching knitting.

Table Of Contents

I reviewed, fact checked and updated this post on May 28, 2023.

What Is A Swatch In Knitting?

A swatch in knitting is a sample knitted piece of a bigger project or garment.

Think of it as a prototype or first attempt before tackling the real thing. It resembles a piece of the finished fabric as closely as possible to ensure everything is working properly.

Benefits Of Swatching

You should swatch because it saves you a lot of pain and time as you test out the yarn and pattern, to get familiar with it and how it works.

Every knitter also has a different gauge, and to properly knit something, your gauge needs to fit with the pattern gauge stitch pattern you’re working from.

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