Knitting guide
How to measure gauge in knitting and crochet
Updated by Khokhar Sab
Swatch at least 6 inches square in the pattern's yarn and stitch. Wash and dry it the way you'll treat the finished piece, then count the stitches and rows across 4 inches in the middle. If your count is different from the pattern's, change needle or hook size, or convert the pattern's numbers to your gauge.
What gauge tells you
Gauge (called tension in the UK) is the number of stitches and rows that fit in a set distance, usually 4 inches or 10 centimeters. A pattern prints the gauge its designer got, such as "20 stitches and 28 rows to 4 inches in stockinette". All the stitch counts in the pattern are based on that number.
Match it and your piece comes out the size the pattern says. Miss it and every measurement changes in proportion. One stitch per 4 inches sounds small, but across a 40 inch sweater it is a difference of about 2 inches.
How to make a gauge swatch for knitting or crochet
- Use the yarn you'll use for the project, and the needle or hook size the pattern suggests.
- Cast on or chain enough stitches for about 6 inches. A 4 inch swatch is too small, because the edge stitches are distorted and you need to measure away from them.
- Work in the stitch pattern the gauge is given in. If the pattern says "in pattern", use the pattern stitch, not plain stockinette or single crochet.
- Work about 6 inches, then bind off or fasten off loosely.
- Wash and dry the swatch the same way you plan to treat the finished item. Many yarns grow or shrink when they're wet, and blocking evens out the stitches.
If the project is worked in the round, make the swatch in the round too, or work it flat with every row on the right side. Some people purl more loosely than they knit, so flat and round swatches can give different gauges.
How to count stitches and rows
Lay the dry swatch flat without stretching it. Put a ruler or gauge tool in the middle, and count the stitches across 4 inches. Count half stitches too: 21½ stitches is a different gauge from 21 or 22. Then count the rows down 4 inches.
In stockinette, each V is one stitch and each V stacked above it is one row. In crochet, count the posts of the stitches across, and count rows by the tops of the stitches. The guide on how to count rows has close-up tips for both crafts. Measure in two or three places and take the average, since hand-made fabric is rarely perfectly even.
Elizabeth Smith's tutorial on how to measure your gauge swatch uses the same approach: a swatch at least 6 inches square, blocked, and measured across the middle 4 inches.
You can also measure a larger area and divide. Twenty-two stitches over 4 inches is 5.5 stitches per inch, and 33 stitches over 6 inches is the same gauge. A wider measurement averages out small differences.
When your gauge doesn't match
If you have more stitches per 4 inches than the pattern, your stitches are smaller and the piece will come out small. Go up a needle or hook size and swatch again. If you have fewer stitches, your stitches are larger, so go down a size.
Stitch gauge matters most for anything that has to fit, such as sweaters, hats and socks. Row gauge matters when the pattern gives lengths as row counts, or for colorwork charts and sideways construction. If the pattern says "work until the piece measures 10 inches", you can measure as you go and row gauge matters less.
For blankets, scarves and shawls an exact match is less important, but gauge still changes how much yarn you use. Looser fabric uses less yarn for the same size; tighter fabric uses more.
Sarah Maker goes further and says you can skip the swatch for a washcloth, a blanket or amigurumi, since none of them has to be an exact size. If you skip it, measure the piece after the first few inches instead. For a blanket, that measurement also tells the blanket yarn calculator how much yarn to plan for.
Fixing row gauge in crochet
A bigger or smaller hook changes stitch gauge and row gauge together. When only your rows are off, Sarah Maker suggests changing the height of the first loop you pull up after inserting the hook, which some crocheters call the "golden loop". A taller loop gives taller stitches and fewer rows per 4 inches. She also notes that wood, plastic, metal and bamboo hooks can give slightly different gauges, so swatch with the hook you will use for the project.
How much half a stitch changes the finished size
Noble Knits' guide to measuring gauge puts it plainly: "count the half of a stitch as well as whole stitches." The table shows why. It takes the 200 stitch body from the example below, which the pattern sizes at 40 inches with 20 stitches to 4 inches, and works out the width at nearby gauges with the gauge calculator.
| Your stitches per 4 in | Body width | Change from 40 in |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 44.4 in | +11.1% |
| 19 | 42.1 in | +5.3% |
| 19.5 | 41.0 in | +2.6% |
| 20 | 40.0 in | 0.0% |
| 20.5 | 39.0 in | -2.4% |
| 21 | 38.1 in | -4.8% |
| 22 | 36.4 in | -9.1% |
Half a stitch per 4 inches moves this body by about 1.0 inches. Two whole stitches move it by 4.4 inches one way or 3.6 the other. Sarah Maker's crochet gauge guide makes the same point for crochet: a gap of a stitch or two per 4 inches adds up across a whole sweater.
Gauge given as pattern repeats or a motif
Not every pattern gives gauge as plain stitches. Sarah Maker lists two other forms you will see in crochet patterns. One gives gauge as 2 pattern repeats, 24 stitches in all, over 5 inches. The other says one granny square should measure 6 inches square.
For repeats, work a swatch wide enough to hold at least those two repeats plus a few edge stitches. Measure across the repeats themselves, from the first stitch of one to the last stitch of the other. To compare with a plain gauge, divide: 24 stitches over 5 inches is 4.8 stitches per inch, or 19.2 per 4 inches.
For a motif, make one complete motif, block it, and measure it edge to edge. If your square comes out 6½ inches instead of 6, a blanket of 10 squares across grows by 5 inches. Change hook size until one motif matches.
Inches or centimeters: does 10 cm equal 4 inches?
Patterns often print "4 in (10 cm)", but the two are not quite equal. Ten centimeters is 3.94 inches, a little short of 4. If you count 22 stitches over 10 cm, your gauge over 4 inches is 22.35 stitches.
That gap is small. Cast on 220 stitches for a 40 inch body at 22 stitches per 4 inches, and at the metric count it measures 39.4 inches. Measure in the units the pattern was written in, and the question goes away.
Converting a pattern to your gauge
Sometimes you like the fabric you have, or you are using a different yarn on purpose. Then you can change the numbers instead of the needles. Every stitch count is really a width, so the conversion is a ratio:
new stitch count = pattern stitch count × your gauge ÷ pattern gauge.
Say a pattern is written for 20 stitches to 4 inches and asks for 200 stitches, which makes a 40 inch body. Your swatch has 22 stitches to 4 inches. Cast on 200 anyway and the body measures 36.4 inches. Instead, cast on 200 × 22 ÷ 20 = 220 stitches for 40 inches. Rows work the same way: 140 rows at 28 rows to 4 inches becomes 150 rows at 30.
If your gauge is only half a stitch off, at 21 stitches to 4 inches, the same 200 stitch body would come out 38.1 inches wide. That small difference is often within a sweater's ease, which is why some people accept a near match.
Converting takes care in shaped patterns. Every cast on, pick up, increase and decrease count needs the same change. Stitch patterns that repeat over a set number of stitches also need the new count rounded to fit the repeat. The gauge calculator does the ratio and the rounding for you.
Common gauge problems
- The swatch shrinks after washing. Measure after washing. That is the gauge the finished piece will have.
- Gauge changes partway through a project. Tension often relaxes once you get used to a pattern. Measure the piece itself after a few inches and compare.
- Stitches match but rows don't. Choose the needle that gets stitch gauge, then follow lengths in inches rather than row counts where you can. For row-dependent shaping, convert the row counts.
- The pattern gives gauge in a stitch you don't know. Swatch in that stitch anyway. Different stitches give very different gauges on the same needle.
Sources and further reading
- Elizabeth Smith Knits: how to measure your gauge swatch.
- NobleKnits: how to measure gauge.
- Sarah Maker: how to measure crochet gauge.
Video tutorial
"KNITTING GAUGE for Total Beginners (and Troubleshooting Gauge)" by Sheep & Stitch, on YouTube. The video loads only when you press play.