Knit a sweater panel to size: gauge, stitch counts and yarn
This kit takes you from a measured swatch to the numbers you cast on with: how far the swatch moves when it is washed, how many stitches and rows a panel needs, how to treat ribbing, how many skeins a substitute yarn takes and what the yarn will cost. Each step opens a Toolmoz tool already filled with a worked example.
Gauge is personal, so the swatch figures in the examples (22 stitches and 30 rows over 10 cm) are an example to replace with your own measurements. The tools do arithmetic on what you measure; they do not know your yarn, needles or hands.
- 5 steps
- About 20 minutes
- Runs on your device; nothing is uploaded
Review status. Not yet reviewed by a specialist in this craft. The arithmetic is checked by tests against independent calculations, but the practical advice is a starting point: if you can improve it, a pull request is welcome (see docs/niche-kits.md in the Toolmoz repository).
Before you start
The boxes are for you while you work. They are not saved and leave this page when you do.
The steps
See how far the swatch moves when it is washed
Measure the same 10 cm of the swatch before and after washing and blocking. The percentage change says how much the fabric grows or shrinks, which has to be built into the sizes instead of discovered after the knitting.
Take from the result: The percentage and its sign. Use the washed measurements as your gauge in the steps that follow. The shrinking example in the Presets menu shows the other direction.
Example loaded: A swatch that grows 8 % when blocked. A swatch that measured 10.0 cm across straight off the needles and 10.8 cm after washing and blocking: an 8 % increase, enough to matter over a whole sweater.
Work out the body panel
Stitches per cm and rows per cm come from the swatch; multiplied by the width and height you want they give the targets. The tool rounds to a whole number of pattern repeats, adds your edge stitches and reports the width and height you will really get.
Take from the result: The cast-on stitch count, the rows to the length you want and the actual size after rounding. Compare the actual width with your target before you cast on.
Example loaded: Sweater body 50 × 60 cm from a 22 × 30 swatch. A 22 stitch by 30 row swatch over 10 cm worked up to a 50 cm wide, 60 cm tall body panel, cast on in multiples of 4 plus 2 edge stitches.
Treat ribbing as a gauge of its own
Ribbing is usually worked on smaller needles and draws in, so its count differs from the body’s. Swatch it separately and run the same tool with its numbers; for work in the round, use the circumference as the width.
Take from the result: The cast-on for the ribbed edge. In the example it rounds to a whole repeat, 60 stitches and 21.4 cm for a 22 cm target, so decide whether to round up or down to suit the garment.
Example loaded: Ribbed cuff 22 cm round from a 28 × 34 rib swatch. A cuff worked in the round: a separate 28 stitch by 34 row ribbing swatch over 10 cm gives the cast-on for a 22 cm circumference and 6 cm depth in multiples of 4.
Substitute a yarn by length
Patterns give yardage by the ball, and balls differ in length. The tool multiplies the original balls by their length, adds an allowance for swatching and mistakes, and rounds up to whole skeins of the replacement.
Take from the result: The number of skeins, the length and mass you would buy and the spare length. Matching length is not matching gauge: swatch the replacement yarn and repeat steps 1 to 3 with its numbers.
Example loaded: Eight 105 m balls replaced by 120 m skeins. A pattern asking for eight 105 m balls (840 m) with a 10 % allowance, replaced by 50 g skeins of 120 m: eight skeins, 960 m and 400 g bought.
Budget the yarn
Enter the metres you need, the length of one skein, its price and any delivery. The calculator adds the allowance, rounds up to whole skeins and totals the cost, which lets you compare yarns before you buy.
Take from the result: The skein count, which should agree with step 4, and the total cost. Change the price to compare another yarn.
Example loaded: Yarn budget: 840 m in 120 m skeins at 5.50 each. The yarn for an 840 m pattern in 120 m skeins at 5.50 each with a 10 % allowance and 4.00 delivery, rounded up to whole skeins: eight skeins, 48.00 in all.
When you have the numbers
What this kit does not cover
- The panels are plain rectangles with no shaping for necklines, armholes or sleeve increases. The Thread and weave planner toolbox has a shaping row planner for those.
- Ease, drape, stitch patterns that pull in or stretch, and the way a heavy garment grows when worn are not modelled.
- Matching yarn length ignores fibre, twist, loft and the gauge a yarn works at, and a pattern’s yardage is the designer’s estimate.
Sources and further reading
The tools’ own pages explain their methods and list their sources. Presets are worked examples from the Toolmoz repository, each checked against an independent calculation.