Pattern Gauge Help

#1

So I’m starting a new, and more difficult, hat. This one’s for my son. It’s from [I]60 Quick Knits[/I] using Cascade 220 (which I’m finding I just ADORE, by the way).

For anyone who has or is familiar with the book, it’s pattern 9, the monkey hat I’m working with (and yes, I realize there is an error at the start of the pattern. My lys included a corrections insert).

The Guage is written as follows:

20 sts and 42 rnds to 4"/10cm over garter st using size 7 (4.5 mm) needle

I haven’t swatched for a round project before. The last hats I made were able to be knit straight and the gauge swatch was flat. For this new hat, do I need to knit on dpns in the round for gauge or on my circular needles? The pattern calls for both to be used at different points, so which one do I use to assess the gauge?

If dpns, the pattern called for five, so I would use all five for the gauge, correct?

#2

For items knit in the round you should swatch in the round as well since sometimes the purl sts are looser or tighter than knit ones. But for a hat, you can just start it and knit a couple inches for a gauge swatch. The dpns are used at the top when the decs take the stitches down to where they don’t fit on your circs anymore. You’ll probably get the same gauge with both, and for the top shaping it’s not as critical as for the beginning and middle part of the hat.