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Sweater Swatching

While I'm really enjoying all of these instant-gratification projects, I think it's time to start another sweater. I've had the yarn to knit the Liathite Hoody in my stash for exactly a year now, and I think it's the perfect antidote to my current sock yarn projects on the needle, since it's knit with Berroco Vintage Chunky. I find that varying my yarn weight/needle size from project to project really helps stave off hand or wrist pain. Since I don't have any FOs to share this week, I thought I would share the two swatches I finished recently for this project:
Like most people, swatching isn't my favorite thing, but I know it's a necessary evil if I want my sweater to fit. Of course, even swatching isn't always foolproof - I have been spot on for gauge for sweater projects, yet still had a too-big-or-too-small finished sweater. Think about it: you're basing everything off a small swatch of fabric, which kind of makes sense, but in the grand scheme of a larger garment, the size and weight of said garment can play a pretty big role in the final gauge. That's not to say that you should skip the swatching step entirely - it's still good to see what happens to the swatch once you wash it - did it bloom or stay the same? While you still might have variations when it's all said and done, it can get you closer in the ballpark at least! There was a pretty interesting blog post about swatching here on the Ancient Arts Yarn blog which also tackles this topic if you want to read more.

At any rate, I tried to knit larger swatches than I would normally be inclined to do, in the vain hope that this would close that swatch-to-garment gap. Will it work? I sure hope so, but there's only one way to find out for sure!

Comments

  1. Kat RiddellJanuary 29, 2016 at 9:56 AM

    Ugh, swatching. Hopefully everything will go smoothly this time! I'm loving that color and those cables :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Handmade by StefanieJanuary 31, 2016 at 8:51 AM

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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