From Chains to Gains: Why Gauge Matters in Crochet

This article is part a continuing series where I share my process to crochet a designer replica of this The Elder Statesman sweater . It was supposed to be a surprise Christmas present for my beloved middle son. Still a surprise, no longer a Christmas present. That’s me at left doing a show and tell on my progress with Indres on Sunday. I’m currently working on the sleeve, which brings me to this week’s “What had happened was…”

Like every hooker before me, I reverse engineer a garment as I go. I hold up chains to my body and estimate fit by heading to the mirror after stitching every few rows. I hooked up a sleeve of single crochets through the back loop (SCBLO) as planned. The SCBLO became a completely different measurement. I chained 70 stitches, measured it against my body, and added a few more chains for good measure. After crocheting a few inches of fabric, I could clearly see the sleeve was getting shorter in width. What was happening? It was about 1.5” too short.

There were clues along the way, before I got to 10 inches.

I just refused to accept that my long-held, old-school crochet practices weren’t holding up.

In comparison, I don’t roll the dice with measurements when I knit. I have my tape measure, my pencil, and scrap paper at hand.

And I frog knit rows mercilessly.

So why, oh why, didn’t I base my crochet cast-on on a gauge as well? The costs? Even though it would have taken 20 minutes, I was ready to get to making. Plus, "I know what I'm doing and I'll figure it out." Oh yeah, I'm totally feeling it out: the crushing defeat of an impending unravel, a still empty gift box, and a three-week and counting delay is the result. Dang that’s a bunch of 20 minutes, Miss Purl. (Eye roll)

My update for this week is a review of how to make sure you don't end up like me, fabric rich and single crochet poor.

The new fabric I’m crocheting is for a sleeve calculated mathematically, using the method outline below. I am including the back piece of the sweater so that you can see how a fabric evens out in tension from cast on through the beginning rows. At the left is the fabric after casting on and completing one row. At right is after crocheting approximately 1.5” inches. Had I measured prior to the this 1.5” inch mark, my decisions regarding its measurement would be ill-informed. My first sleeve, now in the unravel pile, I eye-measured and chose to continue crocheting before I reached this critical length.

What is Gauge?

If a pattern was a recipe, gauge is part of the ingredients. And yes, so are the actual materials. Gauge tells us how to use the materials to a specified finished measurement. It is essentially the number of stitches and rows per inch (or centimeter) in a piece of crochet or knit fabric. A gauge ensures we stitch apples to apples - meaning that both the stitch count and the measurements align from the starting block. This is crucial because it ensures that your finished project will match the intended size and fit. Different yarns, brands, hooks, needles, and even individual tension can affect gauge, making it an essential step in any project. Individual tension means “how you stitch.” For example, I am a “loose crocheter,” meaning my stitches are generally larger than the standard gauge of each yarn weight class. In contrast, I’m an “average knitter,” meaning my stitches generally align with the standard gauge of each yarn weight class.

I did not have a pattern for the designer replica sweater, but that didn't mean I could ignore gauge. My pattern in this instance is the finished measurements of the similarly sized sweater in my son's closet. I previously measured the sleeve length and eyeball-measured my chains based on that length.

As we head into the section on how to check gauge, a little fine print: for each step, I shared both industry practice and Miss Purl practice. Once you learn the principles, your own stitching tension and ethos, feel free to “breaketh” the rules and establish your own best practices. Creator’s prerogative!

How to measure a swatch

How I measured a swatch: Lay the swatch flat and use a ruler or measuring tape to count the number of stitches and rows within a 1 inch section.

How to Check Gauge

1. Create a Swatch: Best practices call for a sample 4x4 inch (10 cm) square using the same yarn and hook size you plan to use for your project.

   Miss Purl Practice: I stitch about 2 inches, just enough to have at least 1.5" of fabric from the starting cast-on of a project. I don’t count for gauge using the starting rows or from the last four rows stitched. These rows do not give an accurate read on a fabric's tension. Tension impacts the width and height of a stitch. I believe this is why trusting the length of chains was an unwise choice for me. The chains had no rows crocheted on them yet. So even if they "appeared" to be my desired length of chains, that does not translate to the desired finished measurements of the fabric. I would have needed to crochet at least 1.5 inches of fabric and then measure. In my rush, I just didn't have time to believe my own teaching (shaking my head). Once I did, I was too ashamed of myself to admit my gauge was off. I was just gonna "make it work." (eye roll) Hey, admitting error is creator growth!

2. Measure Your Swatch: Best practices say to lay your swatch flat and use a ruler or measuring tape to count the number of stitches and rows within a 4-inch (10 cm) section.

   Miss Purl Practice: I first divide the pattern’s gauge by 4. For example, if a pattern says the gauge is 16 sts / 20 rows per 4-inch square, that would be 16 sts divided by 4 inches = 4 stitches per 1 inch. Next, I measure how many stitches are in one inch of the fabric (hoping for 4 stitches in this case). After wiping my proverbial tears and the sweat of my brow, I measured my gauge to be 4 sts per inch.

3. Compare to Pattern: Check the pattern’s gauge information and compare it to your swatch. If your swatch has more stitches per inch than the pattern and you continue with that yarn and hook, your garment will be smaller than the pattern's finished measurements. If it has fewer stitches, your garment will be bigger than the pattern's finished measurements. For this designer replica, remember I'm winging it. No written pattern. My “pattern” is the finished measurements of a similarly sized sweater from my son's closet.

How I Correctly Calculated the Number of Chains for My Cast-on

1. Determine my gauge: I measured 4 SCBLO per 1” of fabric.

2. Decide how wide I wanted my piece to be: I wanted my width to be 20 inches.

3. Calculate Stitches Needed: Multiply the number of stitches per inch by the desired width. My gauge is 4 stitches per inch. I want a 20-inch wide piece, so I need to stitch 81 starting chains (4 stitches/inch x 20 inches = 80 stitches). Add 1 turn row chain to begin the first row of SCBLO.

So, my fellow crochet peeps, how does all this sound and feel? Ready to give it a try? Let’s not let the SCBLO or any other stitch pull the wool over our eyes again. Adding gauge to your toolbox is like adding a secret weapon to your crochet arsenal. Start today by measuring the fabric on projects you’ve already stitched. Trust me, your future self will thank you.

If you need help identifying the crochet stitches before you start measuring them, check out the anatomy of crochet stitches here. And if you’re ready to overcome pattern reading, join us for the Mastering Crochet Pattern class this Friday. Let’s turn those “eye rolls” into “I nailed it!” moments together.