Knitting: How-to Measure Gauge

Want your project to measure in as planned?  Then you'll want to know how to measure gauge.  

Here's how:

1.  Place your swatch on a flat surface with the right side facing up.

2.  Using a ruler or tape measure, measure a 4 inch section (horizontally) and put a pin at the beginning and end of that section.

3.  Count the number of stitches  between the beginning pin and the end pin.  In our example above there are 19 stitches in the marked section so our gauge is 19 stitches for 4 inches.    To find our how may stitches for an inch merely divide the stitch count by 4.  For our example above our stitch per inch gauge = 4.75

Tip for Success: Make sure you count the half of a stitch as well as whole stitches. If your end pin cuts through a stitch or is sitting in the middle of a stitch (as it does in the image above) make sure you count that 1/2 stitch. It makes a difference.

A 1/2 stitch does not sound like much, but take that 1/2 stitch over the total width of a garment and it can add up several unwanted inches making your project too big or too small.

Too many stitches per inch?  Go up a needle size
Not enough stitches per inch?  Go down a needle size