Ok, do the suggested knitting gauges on patterns ever work for anyone? Now, i have not been knitting for too terribly long, but i have yet to come across a pattern in which the suggested needles actually produce the gauge they want with the recommended yarn. it drives me nuts! it would be one thing if i happened to have all of the needle sizes out there, so i could just up and try another. No, i have to go out and get other needles it looks like. Plus, they are circular, and for a hat they have to be the 16" circulars. Sigh.

i've already learned my lesson, i will do what i can to acheive the correct gauge, but why can't it ever work like it does in the pattern?

all i want to do is start the hat, but noooooo... looks like another trip to the yarn store, which is nothing but a den of temptation with all of those lush and beautiful yarns..... argh!

--Nat

Well, the thing to remember is that it's not the gauge that's not working, it's the suggested needle size.

In general, I find that most people knit either tighter or looser than whoever created suggested gauges. I, for one, know that I knit extremely loose compared to most people, so I know to go down a needle size or two. Usually two.

It's not you that's broken, nor is it the gauge. You just need to realize whether you knit looser or tighter than what most patterns reccomend. Use the suggested needle size as a **guideline** as that's all it ever is. If you know you knit tight, go up a needle size, swatch, and see if that gets you the gauge you need.

The hat thing, well, I'm sorry. I've been there before. Now that's why I have the interchangeable circular needles that have everything from 2-15, with multiple cable lengths. And you realize for most hat patterns, you may also need double pointed needles? Read the pattern all the way through to double check.

And how off are you anyway? If it's only a little, it's just a hat. Cast on a couple fewer stitches or cast on a few more, if the stitch pattern allows, and take it from there. A slightly looser or slightly tighter gauge on a hat won't make a huge difference, if you compensate for any possible width changes. It all comes down to whether you like the resulting fabric you get when you knit with whatever needles you choose.

Also, most yarn stores will allow you to swatch a skein with their needles to see ahead of time. Just ask.

Jen

If you don't want to buy another set of needles, you may also be able to alter the pattern to fit your gauge. For a basic hat, it should be pretty easy. I'm guessing you have something like cast on X stitches, knit around for 6 inches or so, then decrease evenly? If that's the case, take the number of stitches per inch the gauge suggests and divide the total stitches by that number, which gives the number of inches around your hat needs to be. Multiply this number by the number of stitches YOU get per inch, and this is how many you need to cast on. Knit up for however many inches, and then decrease evenly (for simple round hats, I usually decrease over 12 or 14 rounds- decreases are actually worked on 6 or 7 of those rounds, and every other round is just knit, no decrease). Hope that helps!

also, so you don't have to shell out tons of $$ for a bunch of different needles, be sure to check out thrift shops for knitting needles. A friend of mine volunteers at one once a week and I now have just about every size of needle and have only paid a few dollars!

aha! of course! thrift shops! thank you. they always have tons... i just haven't visited any since i started knitting again. wheee!

(best to check they're not bitten at the ends - my mom and i both have a nasty habit of chewing the pointy end of the needle while pondering a pattern... i'm sure we're not the only ones)

Thanks for all of the advice. Yesterday i sat down and did the recalculations, glad to see this is common practice. I had to add 21 stitches to the cast on row, but that way the decreases work perfectly. I do tend to knit on the tighter side, although at least i am becoming consistent.

I did buy a huge lot of needles on ebay not too long ago, but no circulars. Where does one find the interchangeable circulars? Those sound great! I do have the double pointed needles, i am spooked by them, but try i must. This is my first hat, so i am prepared for it to be less than perfect, thats ok. So far so good.

Thanks again, i'm feeling better about the hat. I'm sure i'll be back with questions about the double pointed needles, but if anyone has any advice for me in advance, i sure would apreciate it.

--Nat

since you know you knit on the tighter side, all you need to do is guesstimate how many needle sizes you'll need to go up!

Interchangeable circs are the best thing I ever bought--ever. I got the Boye set from Mary Maxim, cause MM had the cheapest prices, and I wanted a set that would go from 2-15. Bamboo sets tend to only go from like 5-12, and cost more (cause they're bamboo), but I have no problem with metal, and I like to knit finer gauges too.

As for DPNs, since you knit fairly tightly, you probably won't have a problem with ladders (loose stitches at the ends of needles), but if you do, just pull the first and last stitch on each needle snugger than normal.

Oh, and they look scary, but they're not. Just remember that you're working on only 2 of the needles at a time. The rest are just glorified stitch holders.

Jen
Jen

Whew, i am feeling much better about this hat. I wish i were working on it now, instead of being at work. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress. By the way, the hat i am working on is the red devil hat. http://www.kittyville.com/knit/adult_devil_hat.html

I am so excited about knitting in the round for the first time. I love it when theory becomes reality for me!

--Nat

double-pointed needles are really not scary at all, and since i've started using them, i'm finding i enjoy them *more* than working on regular straight needles. they can be a little tricky to set up, but once you have it going, you just knitknitknit and you don't even have to stop to switch needles from one hand to the other.

does anyone have any internet sources for ordering kits of circular needles? i've always been hesitant to buy circular needles because there are SO many different cord lengths to choose between, and an interchangable kit sounds perfect. i'm fairly sure my regular yarn store doesn't carry anything like that, so a web source would be wonderful.

jess

Here's the set i have my eyes on, but i just can't shell out for it right now: http://www.velona.com/items/velona60.html

I've seen the bamboo sets too, they have less of a size range, but mmmmm....bamboo. they're also about $30 more than the above set.

--Nat

Jess, ask your yarn store if they'll order it for you at a decent price, since it's good to support the locals.

But otherwise, I got mine from www.marymaxim.com, and it's one of the cheapest I've found.

Jen

I did it! I finished the hat, and it even fits and everything! As soon as i get a picture of it i will post it on my website.

Thanks for advise. The DPN were not that bad, and there were no disasters, yeay!

now, on to my next adventure in knitting, a felted purse.

--Nat