Tension

Hi, my tension square before I start knitting is always too small. My knitting is on the looser side rather than tighter. I’m confused with what I’ve read online. Do I use larger or smaller needles?

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Hello
It sounds like you need a larger needle if the square is too small to meet the gauge needed but there are a couple of other things you might do too.

Knit a piece that is a good size larger than the 10cm by 10cm, maybe 20cm by 20 cm instead, that way you can measure the centre 10cm of the square to get a more accurate gauge measurement.

Block the square before measuring. Either the way the pattern tells you to block the work or by following the instructions for washing on the ball band. Some yarns can change considerably when washed. I have found this with my own swatches.

Double check your needle size and that there isn’t a confusion between UK, US and mm sizing.

Double check if the pattern states to make the tension square in stockinette or another stitch pattern as this can effect the gauge too.

I hope this helps

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Here is an article that might help:

Can you give us an example of a recent swatch?

“Tension square too small” and “knitting being too loose” sound like opposite problems, so we might need to dig deeper :slight_smile:

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Great article!
I like the last of the no-nos “We handle the swatch gently, instead of abusing it as we might in real life.”
I know I used to be gentle with my swatches, now I treat them more roughly.
I take my gauge measurement at least 3 times and write down all results
Before washing and drying
After washing and drying
After some abuse (the worn gauge)

Why I like to do 3 measurements

  1. Many knitters don’t like to swatch, if I’m going to swatch I want my money’s worth out of it so I get as much info as possible
  2. It shows me the the need for swatching AND washing, so that if there is a difference I can make a note to myself to expect the work on the needles to appear smaller/bigger than the final garment. I still get that “oh no this looks too small” feeling whilst knitting and have to remind myself that it WILL look different on the needles to the final outcome after washing.
  3. Similar to the previous reason but also to try to avoid that issue of having worn and washed something a few times itnstarts to change shape or size. How many times I’ve bought shop sweaters which seem to fit nicely only to discover that after several washes its either gone too small or turned into a sloppy thing.

Knitters love to knit but often don’t love to knit useful swatches. The more useful we make our swatches the more we can enjoy and value the knitting of them.

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