Enrichment · Arts and Creativity · Fiber arts

Your swatch is
not the pattern’s.
Your sweater still fits.

Type the pattern's gauge, your swatch's gauge and the counts in the pattern. The calculator shows how far off the piece would be and gives counts that keep the measurements.

Adjust the countsWhat you get

The gauge calculator

The worked example is a made-up pullover written for 20 stitches to 4 inches, knitted at 22. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

Loading the calculator. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Arts & CreativityFree

What you finish with
Adjusted stitch and row counts for every piece, rounded to the repeat, and the size each piece would be if knitted as written. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Students who knit or crochet, fiber arts clubs, and family and consumer sciences classes.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Up to 30 pieces. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Arts & Creativity space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Knit, wash and block a swatch, then count stitches and rows over 4 inches or 10 cm.
  2. Type the pattern's gauge and yours, and the stitch repeat.
  3. Add each count from the pattern.
  4. Read the adjusted counts and check them against the shaping.
  5. Print the summary and keep it with the pattern.

Adjust the counts

How the counts are adjusted

Proportion, then rounding to the repeat.

The worked example: the backPattern100 sts÷ 5 per in = 20 in wideAs written18.2 in100 ÷ 5.5 per inAdjusted110 sts100 × 22 ÷ 20Rows150140 × 30 ÷ 28The worked example: the backPattern100 sts÷ 5 per in = 20 in wideAs written18.2 in100 ÷ 5.5 per inAdjusted110 sts100 × 22 ÷ 20Rows150140 × 30 ÷ 28
Gauge is a ratio, so the fix is proportion: multiply each count by your gauge over the pattern’s.

The arithmetic

Width is stitches divided by stitches per inch (or cm); length is rows divided by rows per inch. To keep a measurement, multiply the pattern's count by your gauge over the pattern's gauge. Stitch counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of the stitch repeat so ribbing and cables still line up.

Before you recast

Changing needle size until your swatch matches is usually the cleaner fix, because shaping rates, decreases and charts are written for the original gauge. If you adjust counts, check that increases and decreases still land where they should. Lengths written as measurements need no conversion: knit to the length.

Sources

  1. Craft Yarn Council. Standard Yarn Weight System and gauge guidelines (craftyarncouncil.com).
  2. Craft Yarn Council. Knitting and crochet gauge: how to measure a swatch (craftyarncouncil.com).
  3. Cooperative Extension 4-H. Knitting project guides: gauge and swatching (4-H.org and state extension services).
  4. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Handbook 44, appendix C: 1 inch = 2.54 cm (nist.gov).

The worked example is made up. Your counts stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.