When I was little my Grandma made us all Christmas Stockings. As my family grew my mom carried on with the tradition and made the same stockings for her grandchildren, following the exact same instructions that my grandma had followed. Well, for some reason, my mom’s stockings always come out longer and less wide then my grandma’s. My mom even added a few stitches to the width to see if they would be wider! But they’re still not as wide and much longer. Why could this be if she is following the same instructions? Thank you so much and happy knitting! Merry Christmas coming up and Happy Holidays to all!
Maria
People knit at different tensions. The particular yarn that is used will change the size of the stitches, as well.
Most patterns have a gauge measurement–how many stitches per inch and how many rows per inch that you need to have your final product match the measurements of the pattern. Because of the differences in tension and yarns, it is recommended that you make a swatch–a piece of knitting about 4 inches by 4 inches and measure your gauge–how many stitches/rows per inch–and try to match the gauge called for in the pattern by changing needle size.