Hi,
I’m confused about guage.
Does this mean that I should cast on 4 stitches, then knit 6 rows and it should equeal 1"?
[B]Gauge:[/B] [SIZE=2]4[B] sts & 6 rows/inch measured over St st. [/B][/SIZE][I][SIZE=2][B]Be sure to do a swatch to check your gauge[/B][/SIZE][/I]
Thank You for help!
sue
How do I check this guage?
You should actually knit a larger square- perhaps 15 or 20 stitches by 12 or so rows, and then measure one inch across and one inch down in the center of your swatch. Tension tends to be a bit different right on the edges.
So, just as long as I make sure I only put the ruler over 4 stitches and 6 rows I should knit a larger swatch and measure in the middle? and these 4 stitches and 6 rows should be 1"?
Sorry, I’m always so confused about doing swatches and gauge measurements, I dont know why. I am going to make a sweater (first adult one!!) and I want to cast on the right amount of stitches and make the size correct.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help, 
sue
Yup, that’s right! 4 stitches wide should be 1", and 6 rows high should also be 1". Don’t apologize! 
I’m knitting my first sweater right now too. There’s a “1st sweater” knit-along in the knit-alongs section- you should join us!
If your pattern says 4 stitches equal one inch, I think I would multiply that by 4 or five, in other words cast on 16 or 20 stitches and work a piece about square and then measure it over 16 of the stitches. Those 16 should equal 4 inches. Some folks like to do some garter stitches on each side, say do some garter on both sides of 16 stitches and then measure the 16 in the middle.
Many gauges are given over 4 inches instead of just for one inch and this may be more accurate and easier to measure.
As far as rows per inch. It is very difficult to get a row gauge to come into line if the stitch gauge is right but the row gauge isn’t. But most of the time you can get along very well with just the stitch gauge and ignore the row gauge. BUT some patterns are very row dependent. Maybe they give everything you do by rows and never give any number of inches you are to work. Or maybe there is a pattern stitch that they give and you need a certain number of rows for everything to come out right. Then it can be important to get row gauge exact, or at least realize the problem and think if it will work if your row gauge is off a bit.
I have knit for years and still strugge with gauge sometimes. Your gauge can change when you do the actual item, over the best efforts to make an accurate gauge swatch. To watch for a problem like that, it is a good idea to check your gauge every few inches on a sweater to make sure it is staying on track. You may find out over time that you are such an even knitter that you can forget about doing that, but it would be a good thing on your first sweater.
Have fun!!
Thanks SO much! Abbily, I think I’ll do just that, join along with you guys on that knit along group. That sounds like fun, plus I will probably learn a lot.
And Marygold, thank you so much for your information. The pattern I’m doing says just what I put in my first post. The thing that really got me confused is that they didn’t even put how many inches it should be…like, they put :
"[I]4 stitches 6 rows[B]/inch"[/B][/I].
Just like that. Not 1 inch, or 2 inch, or any inch.
I guess they figured it would HAVE to be only 1 inch. duh! I mean the yarn would have to be pretty fat to be over an inch with only 4 stitches!
Okay, before I confuse myself anymore I just want to say [B]THANK YOU[/B] because if it weren’t for all you, I’d be l.o.s.t.!
sue
They just simplified it; that doesn’t mean how large your swatch should be, just what the gauge is. You could just as well have started your project and measured after doing a couple inches or knit 8 sts and measured that too.