Swatching

I DO swatch! Honestly! When I substituting yarns, this is exactly what I need to do. I don't use exactly yarn in the pattern. Swatching is a little like sketching. It's a chance to try out ideas, to get a feel for what I am working with and to dream about the project. If the pattern involves a stitch pattern or technique I am unfamiliar with, it can be a great idea to try it out on a swatch in order to become comfortable with a small sample isolated from other considerations like shaping. Knitting a sweater is such a leap of faith, nothing at all like purchasing a garment I have tried on, but a swatch can help predict how it will turn out. A sample piece of fabric to play with can tell me a lot about how that fabric will behave in a full garment and the effect washing and wear will have. I am making my swatches at least 6" / 15 cm square. There are a few reasons for this: The edges will be a little distorted, so I will need enough room in the middle to accurately count 4" / 10 cm worth of stitches and rows in order to measure gauge.

To check my gauge/tension about which I am loose or tight knitter. To play with my swatches to know what to do with the yarn: feel, thin. bulky, split thread, and how well I hold the yarn.

Swatches are beautiful to do! I play and pet them. If I have so many of swatches, I can sew them together to make a huge afghan. :)

The swatches do have a lot information to tell me about them. I take some time to do the swatch. I am not in rush to get the project to started. I want to have a well fitted garment. I want to have enjoy knitting and wearing. Before I started learning to knitting. I was like 'Oh why swatch!" Then more time to come and I realized that it is most important in the knitting projects. I love swatching. :)