There are a lot of great reasons to knit a swatch, gauge being just the most obvious one. But it’s how you can see if you like how a colorway knits up (which can be very different from how it looks in the skein); whether the yarn is well-suited for the stitch pattern involved; whether colors go together, if you’re using more than one. As a fiber mind-meld. Lots and lots of reasons. For me, one of the most important is to see if I even like the fabric (and want a whole garment in it) and also how it will wear. We talked recently about pilling, and a lot of you wanted to know how you can know in advance whether a yarn will pill. It’s a sooooper complicated subject — it has to do with the characteristics of the breed/fiber, how it’s shorn, how it’s spun and plied, how it’s being knitted. But basically you should assume yarn will pill! The question is how much, and what’s your tolerance for it. Plus there’s the matter of what kind of wear the garment or accessory will get. Is it a sweater you intend to wear often and with a backpack or cross-body bag, or one you’re making for the occasional dress-up event? Will your hat get treated with kid gloves, or shoved in your pocket and purse and glove compartment? In my opinion, not only do you need to wash your swatch the same way you intend to wash your garment, but you should also put it through a little bit of abuse. Sleep with it under your pillow, carry it around in your pocket or purse. Shove it in the glove compartment! See how that baby holds up, and whether your enthusiasm for it grows or wanes.
(For advice on how to knit and measure a gauge swatch, click here. Yarns pictured are Camellia Fiber Company Patrick for something I can’t talk about yet, and Clever Camel for my upcoming Channel Cardigan. Pouch and safety pin/keychain from Fringe Supply Co.)
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