Do I really have to swatch my knitting project?

Is swatching really necessary?

I usually answer with, "Only if you want your garment to fit." But it's actually a little more complicated than that. There are times your gauge is irrelevant, and there are times it matters. When should you take the time to swatch, and when should you skip it and live dangerously?

You should swatch if the fit is important.

If you're making something where the fit is important, such as a sweater with a specific amount of ease, or lots of shaping, you should absolutely take the time to swatch. Spending 2 hours knitting and frogging a square is way better than getting to the sleeve separation, trying it on, and realizing you have to start over again.

You should swatch to ensure you like the fabric you've made.

Maybe you got gauge with a Sport weight yarn and size 5 needles, but you hate the way the fabric looks. Maybe you were able to hold two fingering weight threads together on size 9 and get gauge, but it looks chunky and doesn't move the way you want it to. Swatching can help you see how certain yarns interact with each other, how the yarn knits up, and whether the pattern you've chosen is the right pattern for the yarn you're working with.

You should swatch if you're close on yardage.

Most knitting patterns are calculated with a certain amount of overage. This is to ensure you have enough to finish your project, even if your gauge isn't perfect. However, not all designers do that, and many won't tell you if they have or haven't. If your pattern calls for 780 yards, and you have exactly 785 yards of hand-dyed yarn, or a unique dye lot that you can't get more of, you should really swatch. If your swatch is giving you fewer stitches per 4" than the designer, you may run out of yarn, or need to go down a needle size to have enough to finish.

You should swatch if you're concerned about the fiber type against your skin.

Haley has super sensitive baby skin, so swatches every new yarn she buys and tucks the square into her bra or waistband for a few hours. It might feel soft to the touch against the face or arm, but if you wear a garment for 2 hours and end up with a rash because your skin doesn't like it, you're going to regret all that time spent knitting it. (Guess where Haley's habit of fiber-testing came from. That's right. A whole sweater she couldn't wear. Good times.)

You should swatch if you're worried the colors will bleed.

Wouldn't it suck to make a beautiful fair isle hat, block it, and end up with all that colorwork ruined because the dyer didn't use enough citric acid in their dyes? Yeah, that would suck. Knit a tiny square of some stranded colorwork and block it to ensure the colors won't ruin each other. If it does bleed, soak the whole skein in cool water and vinegar to set the dye. Do this a few times until it's color-fast, then re-swatch to check your bleeding.

You should swatch if you're going to felt something on purpose.

Are you planning on a cute felted bag or a pair of clogs? Did you know that not all wool has the same shrinkage rate? You will learn that very quickly if you knit two different kinds of felting wool together in stripes, and they felt at different rates.

So how do you knit the best gauge swatch for your project? What went wrong if your gauge swatch is different from your project? Stay tuned for another article soon!