Stitch gauge different than label

Hello,
I always have a very difficult time purchasing yarn because my stitch gauge never matches the label while my rows in most cases do match. I always have at least 5 more stitches in my gauge. I don’t have enough money to constantly purchase yarn and changing needle sizes most of the time does not change my stitch gauge (only my rows). Why is this and how can I fix this.

Welcome to KnittingHelp!
Good for you for knitting a gauge swatch to begin with. A couple of questions:
Are you making a large enough swatch? Cast on more sts than the gauge given on the yarn label.
Are you measuring over the middle 4 inches of the swatch? That’s important because the edge sts are so much smaller than the sts across the middle.

It’s good to match row gauge but since most patterns ask for inches or cm in length, stitch gauge is often more important.
It sounds like you’re also a tight knitter and there are a some things you can check on and perhaps consider changing.
You might be knitting at the tips of the needles rather than letting the full size of the needle take up the yarn.
Check that you’re not adding a tightening step to each knit or purl.
You might try changing knitting style to throwing, continental, combined or Portuguese knitting for example.
Changing needle material can sometimes help. Try metal, plastic, or bamboo.
It may take a conscious effort on every stitch to pay attention to how you’re knitting and to relax a bit.

Good luck with figuring this out. I’m sure there’ll be other advice since most of us do have to solve gauge problems.

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Thank you for your reply. I currently knit continental so I might try some other knitting styles. For continental, I have found that my purls tend to be looser than my knit stitches so I usually tighten then a little to match my tension with the knit. Maybe that is causing my knitting to be tigger.

Thank for the wonderful suggestions. I never thought to try other knitting styles because I enjoy continental but I think I might have to.

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Hi Bibble
I also knit to tight right rows to many stitches, the making sure I wasn’t using just the tips using brass instead of wood and not pulling so much helped some but I am probably still a bit to tight.
I knit not continental what ever that’s called.
Welcome

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Hello
In addition to the tips given, do you wet block your swatch and let it fully dry before measuring gauge? The fabric can change size when washed.

Do you feel your are comfortable with how you tension the yarn between your fingers? Most knitters aim for a relaxed smooth flow of knitting and wouldn’t be pausing the tighten every stitch, for example on a purl row it would be slower to tighten each stitch and feel less natural.
Although you might try things to try to change your tension getting to a place that feels natural and “you” is probably the goal. A style that doesn’t cause pain anywhere and which has a steady rhythm.
Of course with certain stitches or techniques a bit of a tighten or snug up is called for.

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