The Swatch Conundrum

Fellow knitters and creators—my name is Sonya, and I’m a knitter. Today, let’s dive into a topic that sounds as thrilling as watching paint dry: the swatch. Yes, that’s right. You heard me correctly—a swatch! But before you scroll away, let me assure you that this tiny piece of fabric is deserving of its moment in the spotlight, and not entirely for the reasons you may think. 

The Most Overlooked Step

Yes, there are all the obvious reasons to make a swatch. A step I disliked so much that I rarely used to do it.  Evidence of this exists in the luxurious, fingering-weight cashmere hat I knitted for my son. Admittedly, he has a large head, but this item turned out more like a compression garment than a winter hat. Needless to say, it doesn't get worn! This could have been avoided by making a swatch! Or, the time I made a sweater (that took months to make) that turned out like shapewear. Luckily, I made it work during “blocking” (translation: stretched it to oblivion until it fit).

You wouldn’t jump into an intense workout without warming up, right? So why would you start a complex project without checking your gauge first? Making a swatch is the perfect opportunity to experiment with your chosen stitches, make adjustments, see if you want an entirely different yarn, or chuck the whole thing and start over.

Swatch It - for the Vibes!

For the vibes??? Yes! I’m going to borrow that word from my daughter’s vocabulary because it actually describes what I’m trying to convey. It's a given that we need to make a swatch for the size, tension, etc. But really, for me, it's about the feeling. When I am knitting for someone, I rely heavily on how the project feels as I make it.  Will they like it? Will it suit them?

For example, the Madlinetosh Pashmina cardigan I started for myself (my only project for myself) 5 years ago. It was abandoned during the third row of a six-row button band - only 3 rows from completion! I knew during the raglan that I didn’t love it. But I kept knitting, hoping for a miraculous change.  It didn’t happen!  Would a swatch have let me know that that yarn was not right for the project before I started?  We’ll never know but I really think so.

More often than not, I find myself getting a feeling about a project as soon as I begin.  Making a swatch can prevent wasting precious time at the onset of a project. You may discover that your color choices look like a muddled mess. The pattern may make you dizzy if you stare at it longer than five seconds. Or, you may fall madly in love with the yarn……. for an entirely different project.

Embrace the Swatch!

So here I am swatching Malabrigo Rios, a yarn I’ve used countless times. I know the gauge, I know how it blocks, I know how it grows, but I’m going to do it because I want to know how it feels for this particular pattern, for this particular person. It is potentially going to be a cabled turtleneck for my daughter. Her favorite color is purple, but I won’t know if it is right for her until it's on the needles, and I picture it on her while I knit. A couple of hundred stitches for the vibes instead of wasting thousands.

The swatch was knitted using Malabrigo Rios yarn on Chiaogoo size 6 needles