I’m brand new, forgive me.
I’m starting with a block by block afghan for my first piece. I understand the concept of gauge. My pattern gives 17sts to 4in to get a 9.5inch block. I’m consistently getting 19sts to 4in but my row is coming out to be 8 inches instead of 9.5. Why wouldn’t I have a larger piece rather than smaller? I can’t figure it out and it’s driving me mad. Does it have to do with row gauge? They did not teach me how to measure that or how to adjust it, for that matter. Any help appreciated!
Welcome to KnittingHelp!
What is the pattern in the block you’re making? Can you tell us the name of the pattern?
Depending on the pattern stitch, you may get stitch gauge by going up a needle size or two. It’s possible that for your pattern, stitch gauge is more important and you can adjust the length of the block if you don’t get row gauge.
Here’s a video that shows you how to measure row gauge (see especially 4:00 min):
https://www.yarnspirations.com/how-to-measure-knit-gauge.html
Thanks for the reply! My question more refers to why am i having too many stitches for gauge but coming out short on the row length. For example my gauge is 17 sts 4in to give me a row that is 9.5inches total. If my gauge is off- on the too large- why am I measuring 8 inches which is shorter than what it should be. It’s just a block- supposed to be 9.5x9.5 when done. This block is stockinette but same thing happened to me with with garter stitch.
OK, so stockinette and also garter.
If your getting 19sts/4 inches instead of 17sts/ 4 inches then the stitch gauge is also too short. It’s giving you a width of about 17sts/3.5 inches. So both stitch gauge and row gauge are giving you too small a square.
To get closer to 17sts/4 inches you need to go up a needle size or two and see what that does to both row and stitch gauge.
Remember too that a knit stitch is wider than it is tall so stitch and row gauge differ.
When you get closer to stitch gauge, be sure to wash and block your knitting.
Ah!! I see. I think I must have been confusing myself. I get it now-My stitches are smaller which is why my block is small - I had it in my head that my stitches were too big. I get it now. Rookie mistake, thanks for taking the time to clear this up for me. I’m going to go up a needle size and see what happens.
1 Like
It’s a fundamental concept that’s not completely obvious. You’re doing the right thing to think about it and ask questions. This is a great place to do that. Enjoy playing around with this and with your knitting!