Let’s get to the punch line first: If you’re hitting about 4-4.5 sts per inch on a swatch of the SUGGESTED YARN on the Hacky Sack Hoodie, you will most likely be able to make the pattern’s gauge after washing and blocking your sweater.
The gauge for both the Hacky Sack Hoodie and Judith are an unthinkable 14 stitches per four inches on worsted yarn. I get a lot of questions about this, because 3.5 stitches per inch is not the gauge on the ballband and it’s not the gauge most people get when they pick up their needles and cast on. My sprawling gauge isn’t a mistake– though I knitted to a standard tension, I reported my sweater’s final post-block gauge so that you’d know the exact gauge of the sweater you see in the pattern photos.
Good people of the internet, I am here to tell you that your yarn’s ballband does not know best and even your own prewashed knitting may possibly lying to you. I play fast and loose with a lot of knitting techniques, but I take swatching pretty seriously. It’s been awesome to hear from so many people who are tackling the Hacky Sack Hoodie as their first sweater– to help you guys through what might be your first experience with swatching, here are a few tips that might help you to resolve lingering gauge issues.
1. Match the designer’s gauge, not the ballband’s. If you want what the designer knit up, then knit like the designer. Additionally, many designers agree that ballbands tend to list too-large needles for the yarn. In general, it’s best to live by this mnemonic: Ballband = Ballpark.
2. Wash your swatch. Take note of your pre-wash gauge, and then wash and block it just like you intend to wash the sweater. Yarn often changes character drastically after its first encounter with water. Not only does it change gauge, not only does it sometimes widen and shorten weirdly, it often softens and “blooms” to fill in the gaps between stitches. This will help you decide before knitting whether you will like the texture and shape of your finished sweater. Note that the post-wash stretched-to-block gauge is what needs to match the pattern’s gauge– your pre-washed swatch isn’t as good.
3. Unless you felt it or throw it in the dryer, your finished sweater will always be the same size or LARGER than your swatch. Sweaters, especially large heavy sweaters, loosely knit stuff, and garter and seed stitch, relax under their own weight. Some yarns, like Rowan Summer Tweed, just inexplicably expand after a little wear. Blocking crisply generally makes a sweater a bit larger. Though you should shoot to match the gauge, err on the side of small because you can always block a sweater a tiny bit larger.
4. Wet-Block your sweater. Totally immerse it in water. No spray-blocking. I am so, so serious. Not only will this provide final assurance that you get the gauge you bargained for, it will make your sweater look neat and professional. Think of spray-blocking as a last chance to influence the fit of the sweater.
Two great sources on blocking: Debbie Stoller’s awesome blocking discussion in the early chapters of Stitch ‘N Bitch should be required reading, and the slightly fussier method espoused by Eunny Jang will make your lace knits shine.
If you’d like your finished sweater to match the sizing diagram, if you’re considering substituting yarns, if you want to make sure that you like the way the knitted fabrics look, you should lavish your attention on your preliminary swatch. It’s your best early indicator of success or failure.
Management will not be held responsible for reiterating this somewhat unscientific tip: If you’re hitting about 4st/in on the Hacky Sack Hoodie, you’ll be able to get 14 st/4in when you block it. But swatch and wash anyway to make sure you like the way the fabric looks. If you don’t, go ahead and substitute a bulkier yarn, or change the sweater’s size.
I’ll discuss substitution/resizing in an upcoming post.