What is the Swatch Telling Me?

In this stressful year, I really need some mindless knitting. To be fair, a complex Aran cabled sweater may not sound like mindless knitting to you. For me, all I am doing is following someone else's pattern. I don't have to write down what I am doing. I don't have to shoot video. All I have to do is follow a chart and happily knit.

The sweater is the DNA Pullover by Andrea Cull from the Winter 2019 issue of Interweave Knits.

Of course, I'm going to work this in the round. It has advantages.

1. I am happily knitting around and around.
2. I can try on the sweater as I go.
3. I don't have to sew seams at the end.
4. And I don't have to worry as much about gauge issues between my knits and purls (which have somehow gotten worse not better). Those panels of stockinette should be even.

Before I cast on the sweater, I needed to make a gauge swatch. What did it tell me?

First, I cast on 110 stitches. Yes, that's the size to make the front panel of the sweater. Why did I do this? The sweater has a bunch of cable patterns. As much as it would be nice to cast on stockinette or garter and make a 10-15cm swatch, that's not going to work. Cables will pull in way more than stockinette. The only way to get actionable gauge data is to knit the whole width of the panel in pattern.

I shifted my needle choice just a bit. I started on a 3.5mm/US 4. The fabric came out just a bit stiff. A few rows into the cable pattern I shifted up to a 3.75mm/US 5 needle, which gave me just a bit more drape and stretch.

And what have I learned?

The eagle-eyed among you readers will notice not one but two mistakes in pattern. I'll need to pay attention and keep my wits about me. Both of those mistakes were early. It looks like I got better after the pattern was established and I had a stronger sense of what I was doing.

I figured out my gauge. Will 110 stitches work for me? I'm shooting for a sweater worn fairly close to the body. In a fine gauge like this — I'm getting about 8 stitches to the inch — I don't want a lot of ease. And on my body, negative ease through the bust is a feature not a bug. In addition to measuring the swatch, I also stood in front of the mirror and looked at where the pattern falls on my body. I considered adding repeats to the braided cable pattern in the center. In the end, I decided I'm fine with what I have. If I add a few more stitches, that's okay, too.

I also discovered this pattern needs extra stitches at the side seams.

Wait . . . what? You read I am knitting in the round. I am. However, I looked at how the 2×2 ribbing flows into the stitch pattern. The panel starts with 2 knits and ends with 2 knits. That means if I work across the back, the panel starts with 2 purls and ends with 2 purls. All those knit columns on the front are going to become purl columns on the back. The pattern won't flow. However, if I add three stitches on each side of the front and back panels, that will allow the pattern to flow on both the front a back. I could add just one purl on each side, but when I start the stockinette panels, there will be a jog. If I start with a knit, the jog won't be noticeable. That means when casting on I am adding 3 stitches at the beginning of the front, 3 stitches at the end of the front, 3 more stitches immediately at the beginning of the back, and 3 stitches at the end of the back. I could have achieved the same result but subtracting a knit stitch at the beginning and end of each panel. But, since I know a little bigger is probably better, I went with the adding stitches solution.

I also noticed that the ribbing mostly flows into the pattern. I'll plan to make some adjustments on that first pattern row to make the ribbing better line up with the cable pattern.

Before I cast on, I'll need to play with options other than the cast-on in the pattern. I followed the pattern, with the exception of not dropping down two needles sizes for the cast on. Um, there was a reason the pattern said to do that. If I want to go with the cast-on in the pattern, I need to use smaller needles, as the edge flairs otherwise. I don't entirely care for this particular cast-on anyway. I'll swatch and try to find something I like better for 2×2 ribbing.

The swatch also tells me this pattern looks fantastic in this yarn (Hedgehog Fibres Merino DK in color merlot)! The cables show very well, indeed. I have good reason to believe this sweater will become a wardrobe staple and favorite for years to come. And I've photographed the swatch against the J. Peterman skirt I intend to wear with this sweater.

If you are wondering if a swatch is worth it, the answer is it depends on the project. Many times I design shawls or scarves that are "knit until it is the size you want." Unless your initial needle choice produces an unsuitable fabric, casting-on straight away can work. But for a complicated sweater like this, the few days I devoted to the swatch is worth the knowledge that leads to a successful project.