Hello crafty people! Welcome!
Today we will be talking about gauge. Gauge is something that can make or break your project or not matter even a little. It all just depends on what you are making.
If you are making something that needs to end up being a certain size you will need to make a gauge swatch so you can see if the hook and yarn gives you the correct amount of stitches that the pattern says you need for a certain amount of inches. If you are writing a pattern where the size matters you need to do a swatch to find the number of stitches you will need for the pattern.
What is gauge?
Gauge is just how you measure how large your stitches are. When you measure your gauge there are to parts that need to be looked at: your stitches and your rows. Another words gauge measures both the width of your stitches and the height of your stitches.
Why does gauge matter?
Gauge matters because no two crocheters will crochet the same way. Some of us will crochet tighter while some of us will crochet looser. When your following a pattern you can't be sure that you are crocheting the same why that he pattern designer does so you look at the gauge and make a swatch to see if theres something that you need to change. Of course you don't have to meet the gauge but you should know you will not get a project that is like the original, it could be bigger or smaller.
Possible problems for not meeting gauge.
The biggest problem with not meeting gauge is the most obvious. You can end up making your project to small or to big. No one wants to spend hours working on something to finish it and realize that there is no way this is going to fit. By checking your gauge you know that by follow the pattern it will be the size you want.
Another problem you can end up with is your project not looking like the images of the pattern you are following. The number of stitches in a given section can make your project sturdy and stiff or it can make it loose and flowy. For example if you have 15 stitches in 4 inches of project they are going to be tightly packed together, making the project stiff. If you have 10 stitches in 4 inches of your project they aren't going to be so tightly packed together making a looser project.
The third problem you can run into involves your yarn. If your like me you figure out how much yarn you need before you start your project that way you can get it all at one time. If you dont check your gauge though you could end up not having enough yarn, yarn chicken (pushing yourself to make the yarn make it the the end of the row or end of the project) is not a game you want to be playing. On the reverse you could end up with WAY to much yarn.
Crocheting fewer stitches per inch than what the gauge of the pattern calls for will make you use more yarn, meaning you will run out of yarn before you can finish your project. Fix this problem by using a larger hook.
Crocheting more stitches per inch than what the gauge of the pattern calls for will make you use less yarn, meaning you will have more yarn leftover than what you thought you would.
How to check gauge (for crochet).
There are two ways you can check your gauge:
Crochet a gauge swatch
Start the project and measure as you go.
You have made your gauge swatch or started your project. Now what? Time to measure!
Measure the number of stitches first. Place your ruler across the center of your project or swatch, horizontally, and count the number of stitches that fall into your 4 inches.
Now place the ruler vertically to measure your rows. Count your rows.
You
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