How to Read a Gauge Swatch (Even in Colorful Yarn)

How many knitters know we should knit a gauge swatch? All of us.

How many knitters actually swatch? Somewhat less than that.

But what if you knit a swatch and still can’t see what your gauge is?

You know that knit stitches are shaped like V’s and purl stitches look like dashes or horizontal bars. With a marled yarn, the plies and twist of the yarn can make a single knit stitch look more like a stack of V’s, so it’s difficult to tell one stitch from another or, even more difficult, one row from another. Your gauge swatch can’t do you much good if you can’t see the stitches. (We’re looking at a swatch worked in a marled yarn here, but the same advice applies to speckled, fuzzy, or just dark yarn.)

Knitting teachers and dedicated swatchers Jenny Monteleone and Lily M. Chin have some advice to help you read your swatch loud and clear.

Get Out Your Pointer

If your eyes aren’t able to tell one stitch or row from the next, your fingers probably can. Using a short knitting needle, crochet hook, or other slightly pointy item, touch the knitted fabric and probe to feel the center of a stitch. Move over one stitch or row and repeat. The feel of the stitches and holes through the pointer makes it easier to tell one stitch from the next. Count the number of stitches in a particular width or length, usually 4" or 10 cm, and compare it with the pattern gauge.

Watch Jenny demonstrate how she counts stitches in her swatches:

See Through Your Swatch

One of Lily M. Chin’s clever tricks for counting stitches in a gauge swatch is to get your swatch off the table and hold it against a window or light box. Removing the shadows cast by the yarn and replacing them with light streaming through the center of each stitch lets you see—and count—clearly.

Backlight makes it easier to see the outlines of knit stitches and count the number of stitches and rows in your gauge swatch.

Knitting a good swatch is the hardest part of measuring gauge, but you need to count stitches accurately to see the benefits. With Jenny’s and Lily’s tips, you can count the stitches in your swatch and start off your knitting project right.