Gauge: What is it, and why do we care? What’s the difference between loom gauge and knit gauge? How can we adjust our gauge when we knit with looms?

Warning: This article talks about swatches. You may wish to get a cup of calming tea, a glass of wine, and/or some chocolate before continuing reading.

First of all, let’s talk about loom gauge. Loom manufacturers identify their looms as large gauge, small gauge, half gauge, fine gauge, adjustable gauge, etc. The various names are to identify the loom in comparison to other looms, to indicate one of the gauge factors of the loom, or to indicate the general yarn weight to be used on the loom.

Knitting needle and crochet hook sizes are identified by their diameter with standard size numbers or letters associated with each measurement. Loom gauge is determined by the diameter of the pegs and the distance between the pegs. Unfortunately, there is no standard for the loom industry, which means not every loom maker’s “small gauge” loom is identical in terms of peg diameter and distance between pegs.

The more common gauge is knit gauge. Knit gauge refers to the size of the knit stitches in the fabric, more specifically, how many stitches fit into a square inch of knitting. With knitting needles, stitch size is based on two things: the needle size and the tension on the yarn when the stitches are created. With looms, three things determine the stitch size: the peg size, the distance between pegs, and the tension on the yarn. With both tools, the tighter the yarn tension, the smaller the stitch and the more stitches there will be per inch.

Knit gauge not only identifies how many stitches per inch there are, but also how many rows per inch there are. To measure the gauge, you should use a wooden or metal ruler. Flexible tape measures can stretch over time, so may not give an accurate measurement. The larger the area you measure, the more accurate your reading will be. Find a sweater in your closet and try this out. Let’s say you measure 1” in a row of knitting; you may find 5 stitches per inch. But if you measure 4” of knitting, you may get 22 stitches, meaning you really have 5-1/2 stitches per inch. If you measure 43 stitches over 8” in a row that works out to 5-3/8 stitches per inch. That 3/8 or 1/2 stitch per inch may or may not make a difference; we’ll discuss that later.

Yarn labels give information about knit gauge. First, the yarn category number will give you an idea of the thickness of the yarn: 0 = Lace, 1 = Super Fine, 2 = Fine, 3 = Light, 4 = Medium, 5 = Bulky and 6 = Super Bulky. The smaller the yarn category number, the smaller the diameter of yarn, the smaller the needle size, the smaller and/or closer the loom pegs are, and the greater the number of stitches per inch. (See Yarn Standards for more information)

Also on yarn labels are an indication of how many stitches and rows you can expect to get using a specific needle size. This label shows that if the “average knitter” used size 10-1/2 needles and knit 12 stitches for 18 rows, the resulting piece would be 4” (10 cm) wide and 4” (10 cm) long. While this doesn’t do much to help the loom knitter, you can compare labels within a yarn category to see how similar or different each yarn is.

Patterns will tell you what the gauge of the project item is. Usually it’s a one-liner that reads something like: ‘Gauge: 4”=12 stitches x 8 rows. Check gauge to save time.’ That means that if you want to make the item exactly the way it was designed, you need to knit your piece with that exact number of stitches and rows per 4”. Otherwise, your piece may be longer, shorter, narrower or wider. That might not be an issue; we’ll talk about that in a bit too.

“Check gauge to save time.” What does that mean? (Cue to take a sip of your beverage or a nibble of your chocolate now.) It means to knit a square with the yarn and the loom you plan to use to make the project, then measure the square to see if you get the same number of stitches and rows as the gauge indicates. When you knit this square, you should make it at least 5” on each side, so you can exclude cast on, bound off and side edge stitches in your measurement. If your project is a tube, knit a tube 5” long. Be sure to use the same stitch with which the pattern is made. But wait, you say. You want to cast on and get cracking on that project, how can knitting a square that’s not part of the project, and will use up some of the yarn meant for the project, possibly save time?

Humor me and let’s go ahead and knit up that (take a deep breath) swatch. How many pegs should you cast on? I suggest the number of stitches the pattern says will make the 4”, plus about 25% more. Same with the number of rows: as many as the pattern says will make 4” plus about 25% more. It’s better to make your sample bigger than you need than too small.

When you knit a swatch, it is necessary to take it off the loom. You’ve probably noticed that the further a piece of knitting gets from the loom, the narrower it becomes. The swatch needs to be completely removed from the loom so the stitches can shrink into position.

So now you have a piece of knitting that’s at least 5” by 5”. Measure how many stitches there are in the center 4” of a row. Did you get the same number of stitches as the pattern gauge? Measure how many rows there are in 4”. Does the number of rows match gauge? If so, then you can proceed with the pattern with the confidence that your knit gauge matches that of the designer, and your results should turn out as expected. Now, wasn’t that time well spent?

If you don’t get the same gauge as the pattern indicates, you have to evaluate if it matters that the gauge doesn’t match exactly. The number of stitches is more important to match up than the number of rows, because it’s easy to add or subtract rows to get the exact length.

For some projects, such as a scarf, matching the exact gauge is not critical. It won’t matter if the scarf is slightly wider or narrower than what the designer created. In fact, many patterns will say, “Exact gauge is not critical.” But for some things, like a sweater or socks, where exact fit makes the difference between a favorite item and a thrift store donation, matching gauge is a lot more important. Even then, there is some leeway. If the sweater is loose fitting, and the difference in gauge adds or subtracts an inch or less to the total width, it’s probably not significant enough to do anything about. Sweaters in sizes small, medium, large with ranges of bust size are often this way. But if the sweater is snug (sizes are by single bust measurement, and the finished size of sweater is close to or even less than the bust measurement), then a difference in knit gauge will result in a sweater that just doesn’t fit the way it should. Here is where checking the gauge definitely saves time: you can make adjustments now so you won’t be frogging and reknitting the sweater later.

What should you do if the gauge matters and the gauge of your swatch doesn’t match that of the pattern? Should you just give up and not even make that project? Not at all! You have several options: Use a different tool, use a different yarn, change the way you knit, or do some math.

A different tool. When needle knitters knit a swatch, if they have too many stitches/rows per inch, they switch to a larger needle. Likewise, if they have too few stitches/rows, they switch to a smaller needle. When a pattern indicates a specific size needle, it is a recommendation; it is up to the knitter to use the needle size that allows her to get the correct gauge. For loom knitters, switching to a different loom may or may not be an option. Looms are more expensive than needles, and the difference in size between one loom and another is not as subtle as it is between needle sizes. If you have an adjustable gauge loom, you can make minute adjustments of a fraction of an inch until you get the correct gauge. Otherwise, you may need to go on to a different option.

A different yarn. Designers choose yarns for various reasons, the fiber content, the drape, etc. You could make your project with a similar yarn, but slightly larger or smaller in diameter.

There are a number of different yarn diameters within a size category. For example, bulky yarns are so classified because they yield 12 – 15 stitches per four inches on size 9 – 11 needles. That means you could have stitches that are just over 1/4” wide to 1/3” wide, depending on which bulky yarn you choose.

Bulky yarns, knit on size 10 needles

Sometimes choosing a different color of the same yarn will make a difference, as will using a solid color versus variegated colors. For example, Red Heart Super Saver yarn comes in different thicknesses based on coloration. Solid color and flecked skeins have 364 yards per 7 oz skein (52 yds/oz), and multicolored skeins have 244 yards per 5 oz (48.8 yds/oz). So the thickness of the worsted weight yarn is different within the same brand and type of yarn, in this case by 115 inches per ounce!

A standard way to measure the thickness of a yarn is by wrapping the yarn around a pencil or dowel, and counting how many times you can wrap the yarn in an inch (Wraps Per Inch, or WPI). Worsted weight (category 4) yarns tend to be in the 10 – 12 WPI, and bulky yarns (category 5) tend to be in the 7 – 9 WPI range.

From left to right: Caron Perfect Match solid (11 WPI) and multi (12 WPI) yarns, Bernat Berella “4” yarns in true periwinkle blue (7 WPI) and rich pink (8 WPI).

Change the way you knit. The biggest reason for difference in knit gauge is the tension with which each person knits. In a recent experiment of loom knitters using the identical loom, yarn (worsted weight), number of stitches and number of rows, the difference in swatch size was as much as 5/8” per 25 stitches of knitting. Some knitters can tell by looking at their knitting when they had a bad day – the tension on the yarn was greater and the stitches were smaller. Some loom knitters loosen their tension by using a yarn guide (such as a piece of a drinking straw or other tube). It is possible to knit more tightly or more loosely to make subtle changes to your knit gauge, but double-check your gauge measurement frequently to make sure you are staying consistent.

In this swatch, I got 4 stitches per inch by knitting with tight tension. When I knit with my regular tension, I got 3 stitches per inch. The swatch was knit with worsted weight yarn on the round blue KK loom.

Do some math. In some cases, the easiest adjustment to make is to add or subtract stitches and/or rows to achieve the same measurements of the knit piece. Let’s say you are making a baby blanket that is 30” square, the given gauge is 12 stitches over 4”, and your knitting is 11 stitches over 4”. The blanket is designed to be 90 stitches wide which would be 3 stitches per inch times 30 inches. Instead, you should make the blanket 83 stitches wide which works out to your knit gauge of 2.75 stitches per inch times 30 inches.

The equations to use are these:
• Pattern gauge = 12 stitches per 4” for 30” = 12 ÷ 4 x 30 = 90 stitches
• Your gauge = 11 stitches per 4” for 30” = 11 ÷ 4 x 30 = 83 stitches

Patterns tell you what kind of knit gauge to aim for. It is your decision on how important it is to match that gauge, how close to matching gauge is good enough, and which method to use to match the gauge. Don’t confuse loom gauge with knit gauge, as loom gauge describes the category of loom size and type of yarn for which the loom is best suited. And remember, if knit gauge is important to the fit of your project, save time by taking the time to knit a gauge swatch first.

About Author: Anne appreciates good wine and chocolate, but usually drinks tea when she knits swatches in Plymouth MN. Her yarn space is shared with her husband and homeschooled daughter, two cats, two rabbits, two possibly pregnant foster guinea pigs and a possibly pregnant foster gerbil. She teaches loom knitting classes through a number of community groups. Her instructions and patterns can be found at www.LoomKnitting.com, and she comments on her loom knitting experiences at www.LoomKnittingBlog.blogspot.com. Copyright 2008, Anne Bipes Contact Anne.