Sometimes it's just something simple

There's an old saying in carpentry "Measure twice, cut once". This proverb can be applied to knitting.

Accurately measuring gauge for knitting would translate to "measure twice, KNIT once"

A fellow knitter recently was struggling with establishing gauge. She knit a "proper" swatch and measured with both a regular ruler (in inches) and with the a yellow ruler. She came up with 2 different row gauges. Why???

If establishing gauge is "just math" how could she get 2 different results?

She sent me a photo of her swatches (with rulers) and putting our heads together we quickly discovered what happened.

Can you see why she was getting an odd measurement using her yellow ruler?



Not only was she using the "stitches" side of the ruler, it wasn't aligned correctly.

Once she turned the ruler over and aligned tie starting edge to the starting row, her measurement matched the measurement using a regular ruler in inches.

Gauge Rulers
Gauge Rulers Member Bonus
Measuring your swatch to find the correct gauge is the most important step in making sure your garment will fit.

Using Gauge Ruler is a traditional (and easy) way to establish your gauge). Simply knit a swatch isolating specific stitches and rows.
Place the ruler on the swatch to measure. No Math!

Simply download, print, cut out and create your own gauge rulers.

Green Ruler

(Standard)
40 stitches / 60 Rows

Green Ruler

Yellow Ruler

(Mid-Gauge)
30 stitches / 40 Rows

Yellow Ruler

Blue Ruler

(Bulky)
20 stitches / 30 Rows

Blue Ruler

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7 COMMENTS
Sue J
 Sep 28, 2022
By isolating a specific number of stitches and rows AS YOU KNIT eliminates all that counting!

Vivienne Q
 Sep 28, 2022
I have a 4 inch square cut from card on My die cutting machine so it is completely accurate. I usually knit a fairly big swatch and the allows me to easily place the square and count rows on one side and stitches on the other.

Parukapood Oü P
 Sep 28, 2022
I've always known a ruler is in centimeters.

Sue J
 Sep 27, 2022
Using the tool leaves less room for math errors, too! https://www.knititnow.com/GaugeTool

Sue S
 Sep 27, 2022
I do a standard swatch and measure with a standard ruler. The I use the gauge tool on the knit it now website…..much more accurate than using the coloured rulers…….

Cherie S
 Sep 27, 2022
Aha... she measured from the right end (wrong end) of the ruler where the numbers are higher; not from the left end (beginning of the number scale). I've done that before, mainly when cutting quilt strips! Maybe add a mark at the left end of the ruler as a reminder where to begin from?

Marilyn N
 Sep 27, 2022
Personally, I isolate my 4" square stitches and rows, manually count for gauge, then apply to pattern. Time consuming.