Gauge

[Tammy]

Do you find if you do a swatch with say size 8 bamboo or wood needles and then using the exact same yarn and same size needle but in aluminum/metal needle that you get completely different gauges? I'm sure it has something to do with the 'slipperiness' of the needles but I find my bamboo/wood give me a tighter gauge. Has anyone else noticed that?

[PattyD]

Yes, bamboo has more "tooth" or grabbiness. Everything affects gauge!

[Sherongb]

Yes, it's one reason that when people are learning to work socks on two circular needles I advise them to make sure the two needles are the same brand/material.

It's also one of the reasons why people can sometimes get gauge with the recommended size needle and at other times they can't (in addition to the fact that some people knit loosely, others knit tightly and still others knit somewhere in between.

[Tammy]

I'm finding if it is something that is lacey or has a lot of k2tog that I like the metal type as I am looser to start with. I'm also faster on them too which I'm sure plays a part in gauge. Something for me to play with more. I am so trying to understand the concept of 2 circulars at once to do both socks or mittens. I have to watch some youtube, when I try it I will remember to keep both needles the same.

[BlueDode]

Just a related comment: even two knitting machines of the same brand get differrent gauges with the same yarn. On the same machine, two different colors of the same yarn may have different guages.

When I was hand knitting my first sweather, my teacher advised me to knit both sleeves at the same time (both sleeves on the same needles) because even a single knitter's guage will vary over time: by knitting the sleeves at the same time, the gauge will be similar -- as opposed to two sleeves of different lengths...

Thank heavens a little blocking can overcome small variations in many cases. And many thanks to those who write knitting patterns with those drawings that show finished dimensions.

For me, the big advantage to bamboo is their light weight and the slight tack or stickiness: lower weight and less slickness means less chance of needles sliding out of your knitting.

[Sherongb]

Hi Tammy: It's not a video but if you do a search on the term 'cybersocks' you will find the tutorial I did that is on the Socknitters web site. Lots of photos to it. It was the first tutorial on how to work two socks at a time on two circular needles.

Some things to keep in mind:
1. Don't think of it as knitting two circles, think it of knitting 4 pieces of fabric (which happen to be joined into two circles).
2. The stitches stay on the same needle all the time. They don't move from one needle to the other. But when you do knit them onto the wrong needle don't worry about it, just slide them back where they belong (been there, done that and dropped the second needle)
3. You have to, at the end of each section of knitting, switch either the strand of yarn you are working with or the needle you are working on.
4. You have to work all the stitches in the section of knitting you are working on before you can go on to the next section of knitting.

Feel free to ask questions as needed.

[Tammy]

Thanks Sheron. I watched a couple videos while I was finishing up my son's golf club covers and it isn't for me. It is just like the magic loop or whatever it is called. Yep easy to do but fiddly when you have to keep moving the needles around and such. I am much faster on the dpns since I can just empty one needle and move it to the working needle position and not have to fiddle stuff.

[Sherongb]

That's why it's great that there are so many different ways to make socks. If you like one stick with it, otherwise try a different way until you find what works for you.

[Lynn]

Tammy, I've seen some folks say they prefer knitting two socks on circs because it avoids the "Second Sock Syndrome", some sort of malaise that prevents knitters from making a second sock once the first one is completed. (I just did that, why do I have to do it again?) It's not a syndrome that I understand, so have never been interested in attempting the cure. Now that I have your input on the comparison to magic loop, I will continue to pass it up.

About gauge: as Patty so succinctly pointed out, everything affects gauge, even your mood and health. Usually, these factors account for only slight fluctuations which tend to even out over the course of larger project - think cardigan or skirt. I will always do a swatch before starting a project that has to fit. If fit isn't an issue, as in a blanket or scarf, I just choose needles that "fit" my yarn and knit.

Some folks advise keeping your swatches in a book with all the information for the yarn and needles. I've never done that, and don't plan on starting now. Just because a powder blue yarn knit to a certain gauge is no guarantee that the same yarn in black will knit to the same gauge on the same size needles. Like testing the bath water before putting the baby in it, swatching for gauge is just part of the process.

[Tammy]

Thanks everyone you have been a great help. I'm worried about the second syndrome since I need to make my Aunt a pair of fingerless gloves for her birthday the end of November, _____ for my mom whose birthday is mid-December, and fingerless gloves for a different Aunt and Uncle for Christmas. While at the same time trying to get my cousin's comfort wrap made. I would like to have that done by end of October as she has to have radiation in November. Hopefully the real one will be started sometime Friday.