Yarn Label Gauge vs Pattern Gauge and How They Affect Your Knitting

[@MaureenPetit-o1p]

Thank you for not talking on and on about nothing and repeating yourself and wasting everyone’s time. So many you tubers take forever to get to the point! I appreciate your ability to know how to teach!,,❤

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

I try my best and admit sometimes I do repeat myself. I try to stay mostly focused. Thanks for your kind words.

[@kat1984]

That's the clearest explanation I've seen for this. This would have helped a ton when I was first starting out a decade ago

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

I'm sorry I'm too late for you, but I hope it helps others LOL! And I am so glad it made sense. It is sort of a weird concept to wrap your head around.

[@rebeccamercado6254]

I didn’t know people did this. I always thought the gauge on a ball band was helping to show what the recommended needle/hook might be for that size yarn. I rarely ever look at it though. Pattern gauge is telling us the amount of stitches and rows the designer got for their dimensions so that we can tell if our piece will be the right size/fabric. I think you did a great job with your explanation.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Yeah, I rarely pay attention to it either LOL.

[@catlady743]

Yup, that was the hardest and most important lesson I've learned in all my knitting years - only the gauge on the pattern really matters.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

As much as I try and avoid making sweeping statements - I pretty much agree with you LOL.

[@cw8011]

I enjoy your videos because I feel as if I'm in a classroom, sometimes learning something new and sometimes rehashing something that I forgot about. The information you provide, in such detail, is actually information any knitter, I believe, will benefit from. Comparing the yarn gauge to the pattern gauge is something that all knitters should understand. You covered this topic perfectly! Thank you Barbara!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Thank you for your awesome feedback. I do tend to go into "teaching" mode and I try my best to mix in videos that are less lecture-y. But I can't help that I love talking about knitting LOL.

[@sabrinab2631]

When you revealed the measurements and the difference in how much the balls weighed after the swatches blew my mind! It suddenly clicked, look how much was used of each ball and why it's important to keep in mind the weight of the yarn for patterns. Thank you for your lovely video! Your videos are always helpful and a wonderful treat!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Honestly, I was expecting a difference but what happened surprised me too! Yarn weight is so important.

[@FreyjaHighUpNorse]

That. Was. Awesome! 😎👏🏻 Thank you, Dr. Benson Y/S! (Yarnology/Stitchology) 😉

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

LOL! Thank you!

[@heather7862]

Great video! I always go off of weight and type/types of fiber. Glad to know I’ve done it right this whole time lol!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Yay! Whenever anyone asks me what the stitch gauge of a yarn is I'm always like ....uh, I don't know.

[@nancybwilborn6752]

Barbara what would we do without you?! You always make sure that we get such great info to help us be successful knitters. I am going to watch this video a time or two more. Thank you again for sharing your brain with us!😻

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Wow, thank you!

[@raye5072]

Thank you for taking time to explain this. Ii feel more relaxed about my decisions because of you

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

That is great to hear. Knitting shouldn't be stressful.

[@janedaniel7288]

Good clear explanation of the differences in yarn weight. Riker must be warm in his shawl! Sat here with the fan on me, casting on my very first pair of socks!!!!!!! Scary and I'm using 9 inch circular needles too. Take care and keep safe.xxJane

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

I cannot use 9 inch needles for the life of me! You go!

[@angeljohnson7147]

Thank you! I finally get gauge and why it is sooo important!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

I am so glad I have converted you! LOL

[@atrinka1]

well, the confusion gets worst in countries like Argentina or Spain where until recently the yarn weight was associated only with needle size! For example, if you were going to buy yarn to knit a sweater you'd have to say: I need yarn to knit with needle size X and that was it! My mother-in-law was always frustrated with the store's associates because their suggestions were always wrong and she had to make the yarn work with her pattern. Thanks for the video!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Oh my, that would be super frustrating!

[@comette4u]

Very subtle differences, but also helpful!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Glad it was helpful!

[@eugeniaread2724]

Thank you so much for such a terrific explanation. I know now my yarn won't work for the pattern.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, but glad I probably saved you time!

[@sekwa75]

I have started a “master” swatch project. One long strip of yarn fabric with multiple needle sizes used. I have several interchangeable sets, and I will repeat the process with each set and different yarn weights. This way, I can refer to the master swatch when needed instead of having to make a new swatch each time.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

I think you’ll learn a lot making a big swatch like that. But unless you’re using the exact same yarn as the one in your swatch, you’ll still need to do a gauge swatch. Yarns vary significantly within weight category and behave differently based on fiber content and structure. Gauge is the interaction of the specific yarn, specific needle, and specific stitch pattern. Other factors that affect gauge are the material of the needle and knitting flat vs in the round.

[@laurenmiller3886]

Brilliant video!!! Thank you, thank you and thank you 🙏

[@heatherallen9881]

As per usual great information and so well explained. I love your videos.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Thank you so much!

[@beverlygarner7996]

Best visual understanding, so important! Thx

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Glad it was helpful!

[@misticrow4534]

Very helpful...thank you 😊

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

My pleasure.

[@IslandLady76]

Excellent video information. I had only heard of Aaron sweaters but never Aaron yarn so that confused me. I had also seen that chart before but never really understood how to use it. I hardly ever have the yarn called for so this will help me to figure it out better.Thank you very much for this video.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Substituting yarn is such a complex issue, but it sounds like you're on the right track!

[@ArtemisMaelstrom]

Great video (master class level)! Wished I had a better understanding of this when I first started, it would have averted many tears. My poor knitting decisions opened my eyes to draping and effects of different fabric choices when substituting the yarn called for in the pattern (mistakes are great learning experiences 🥰).

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Averting tears is one of my goals. I too have made many mistakes, and if sharing what I have learned helps people then I'm all in.

[@millieo.5325]

Thank you...🤗

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

My pleasure!

[@mireillekulisz8530]

So informative and comprehensible! Thanks!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Glad it was helpful!

[@susanday7323]

Thanks! This is very helpful info!

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Fantastic!

[@Icy.847]

After watching this excellent treatment of why one needs to confirm gauge... I will now affirm that I will make a swatch (nearly) every time I knit a different pattern or yarn. The guilt is too much. But you showed why. So, swatching will precede the projects, nonetheless. Near the end, you checked the number of stitches with a wonderful tool … it looked like Lucite with a giant plus-sign cut out that allowed you to count the number of stitches in a row and across. Would you advise as to the name of the tool & where it can be purchased? I’d love to have one for myself . Thanks very much, Barbara.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

That is a gauge measure from Akerworks. www.akerworks.com/ The one I used is also branded to the yarn store I work and and we sell them.

[@Icy.847]

@@WatchBarbaraKnit Thanks very much for the info. I checked out the one on Akerworks; now I’d like to see the one where you work. I know Sarasota is the last word in the name, but that’s all I remember. Would you mind sending the name or a link?

[@bsfb3ar]

Barbara Why all gauge tutorial are base on stocking knit , I did but for lace top it came out to be almost twice the size.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Probably because it is the easiest to demonstrate. Doing a gauge in pattern is a more complicated process that can be unique to the specific stitch used. And doing gauge in lace is particularly finicky. You have to check the pattern and if it says that the gauge is in pattern you have to swatch in that pattern.

[@ddgamble2199]

First, the pattern you show says the easiest shawl to knit is a bottom-up triangle, but then it says you add two stitches for every row. That does not compute.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

I'm uncertain what precisely your question is? The text you are seeing is what is known as the "romance language" and it isn't actually the instructions that you work from. The text reads "One of the simplest shawl shapes to make is a bottom up triangle." A pretty standard way to make a bottom up triangle shawl is to increase two stitches every right side row. Another way to achieve pretty much the same shape is to increase at the beginning (or end) of every row. Whichever you choose, the net result is a two stitch increase every two rows. You can also make a more elongated triangle by increasing two stitches every row. So many different ways to make a triangle!

[@KittenWAW]

GAUGE: Whilst in other contexts it pertains to measurement - very precise and exacting measurement, in many disciplines - this is not so in knitting. A rather self-important species, most Humans believe we are the originators of knitting. Not so! Knitting is not even indigenous to this planet. Proof of this can be seen in the Pyramids, which emulate the stable-based and easily unraveled yarn of the Great Ones. Not for them roly-poly balls, collapsing cakes or yarn-barfing skeins! Alas, we can only achieve those glorious shapes with hard, inflexible material like stone. But, I digress. Naturally, beings that can bend space, time and reality to their whims, can also achieve perfectly sized results from their knitting. Not so, we clumsy humans, with our limited supply of limbs and woefully non-fluid digits. In response to our incessant pleading, the Great Ones, upon their departure (in fact, our pleading was what drove them away, but I digress again), gifted us with the system of GAUGE for knitting, which we foolishly assumed was related to our word for an accurate tool or system of measurement. No! It is, in fact, a cruel trick, a taunting ruse, devised to insure that our best efforts come to naught. For you see, it is in fact an acronym: Guess Again, U Gullible Earthling! A message which GAUGE has oft repeated.

[@WatchBarbaraKnit]

Have you been drinking? ;) ;) ;) LOL

[@KittenWAW]

@@WatchBarbaraKnit Hey! That whole thing about me drinking? That's just the man spreading a conspiracy theory, ya know? Trying to keep the truth hidden. #%^?