When a pattern states the following,
Gauge:
24 sts=4"
How many rows do you knit, and do you St st or straight knit??
Please help.
Checking your gauge
Do you have a link to the pattern that you are working on? A lot of times the gauge is for St stitch. The row gauge might not be a problem in the design and that is why they didn’t give you the info…I would still knit a swatch for a few inches to get your st per inch gauge…:happydance:
Different people have different philosophies on this, but I’ve heard that the rule of thumb is to try to create an 8" X 8" swatch so that you get into the rhythm of your knitting and your gauge can be consistent. I’ve heard others say to only do 4".
As dustinac said, check your pattern to see if it specifies gauge in St St or in another stitch.
Some patterns don’t specify rows as they give you measurements in order to start/stop knititng. For example, it may say “knit for 17 inches, then begin shaping… blah blah blah.”
So far I’ve found out that sometimes that’s a good thing, and other times it’s a bad thing. In the case of color knitting, sometimes it can be a bad thing.
CO at least 30 sts and knit for a few inches. Measure the 4" in the middle of the piece. Edge stitches either aren’t the same size or they curl under so it can be hard to tell if you’re really getting 6sts/inch.