The Swatch
It’s time to get started on our Austin Hoodie Knitalong.
Get your patten here.
Here are your yarn requirements:
For finished sizes: 32 (35½, 39, 43¼, 47¼, 51½)” bust circumference
Yarn: Tosh Merino Light or other fingering weight yarn 1320 (1320, 1760, 1760, 2200, 2200) yards
Once you have selected your yarn, get yourself a nice measuring instrument (a Susan Bates “Knit-Chek” for example). The gauge for this project is 23 sts and 32 rows in stockinette stitch. This means that you will cast on more than the gauge so that your swatch is larger than 4 inches and you have a clear 4 inch space to measure. Otherwise, the edges of the swatch will curl under and you won’t be able to actually measure four inches. I cast on somewhere around 30 stitches and knit a couple of stitches of garter on the edges, working the middle in stockinette stitch for over four inches. After you have bound off the swatch, place it in a bowl of water and let it soak for 30 minutes or so. Then take it out and pat out the excess water and then let it dry. Yarn will grow when blocked and you will certainly be blocking your sweater, so you want to be measuring the gauge after you have blocked it. Here is my swatch:
When counting, use something to point at the stitches. This feels a little elementary, but it keeps me from getting confused by stitch legs.
Third, pay attention to partial stitches. Those partial stitches in your measured area definitely make a difference to your gauge.
What if the gauge is wrong?
If you count more than 23 stitches across, you are knitting too tightly and need to go up a needle size. If you count fewer, you are knitting too loosely and need to go down a needle size. The row gauge on this pattern is not as important, since the pattern has you work for X number of inches instead of X rows.
So once you know whether to go up or down in needle, cast on for another gauge swatch in the new needles and do it again!