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If you’re afraid of math, even knitting math, you probably have the sweaters you can’t wear to prove it. But if you are a new weaver, and you cannot get gauge when you knit your sample, you may think that “close” is good enough. Let’s see, okay, how much difference a stitch per inch makes in the gauge.

Let’s say your sweater pattern wants a gauge of 4 stitches per inch.

Maybe the size you want is a 40 inch sweater around the chest. If the finished chest measures 40 inches, nothing more to facilitate, the pattern will make you knit 160 stitches around the chest.

What happens if you knit those 160 stitches at 5 stitches per inch?

Divide 160 points by 5 points per inch and you get 32. What does that mean? Your sweater will measure 32 inches around the chest. EIGHT centimeters smaller than the 40 you need! If you could somehow work your way into the sweater, it would crush you like a girdle.

Now what if you knit those 160 stitches at 3 stitches per inch?

Divide 160 points by 3 points per inch and you get 53 1/3. What does that mean? Your sweater will measure a little over 53 inches around the chest. That’s enough elbow room for both you and a big cat.

You might think that you can lock these sweaters to the correct size.

That is not very likely. If you could lock the sweater off the girdle without making a stitch, you could see between the stitches. Make sure to wear a really nice undershirt or underwear.

If you could shrink the sweater from the store, perhaps by felting the thing, it would be a stiffer, thicker fabric, maybe even bulletproof. Is that the look you wanted when you bought the pattern? No way.

For the best knitting results, gaining gauge is crucial.

Even a half or quarter stitch can spoil it. If you cannot get gauge no matter what needle size you try, replace it with a different thread or a different pattern. Some knitters think they will just knit a different size, but when you put your pieces together, they may not match.

Don’t fight a losing battle.

You spent money on your yarn and pattern, you will spend time and effort creating your sweater. You can relax and have fun, guaranteed to get great results, if your knitting math and the magic of the right gauge work for you rather than against you.

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