Total beginner gauge Question

[Tattyhead35]

Hi all, I started crocheting at Christmas as I needed a hobby to help reduce my stress levels. I have just purchased my first crochet pattern, it's a cardigan in classique cotton yarn. I need help with working out the tension/gauge. The pattern tells me I need 18 stiches to 12 rows, but I'm struggling to understand do I use a standard double stitch or do I follow the pattern and use the same 4 rows of stiches that make up the pattern. Sorry if this seems a really basic question but I've tried looking on you tube etc and I'm now really confused ???? thanks in advance

[redrosesdz]

Welcome to Crochetville!

 

A cardigan is pretty ambitious for a beginner.  Does the pattern say it's for beginners?  If it says "Easy", then it assumes you've made beginner projects before.  Beginner projects are usually squares, like dishcloths, rectangles, like scarfs or rounds, like coasters, hats, cozies and baskets.  There are 4 skill levels... beginner, easy, intermediate and difficult.

 

To make a gauge, use the yarn that you're going to use for the project.  Start with the hook size that the pattern recommends.  Do a swatch using the same stitches as the pattern.  Make the swatch at least 5" wide and 5" tall.  Using a ruler, measure the middle 4 inches.  Count the stitches across in those 4 inches.  Now measure the middle 4 inches for the height.  Count the rows in those stitches.  This is your gauge for that hook size, yarn and pattern.

 

If you have more stitches/rows than the pattern, go up a hook size.  If you have fewer stitches/rows than the pattern, go down a hook size.  With the new hook size repeat the swatch.  Repeating the swatch is important!!  Keep making swatches until your gauge matches or is close to the pattern.

[Granny Square]

^ what she said.  Usually if the pattern has more than 1 stitch, it will tell you to use 1 stitch or the other for the gauge swatch, but if it doesn't say, use the pattern stitch.

 

It's amazing how far off the fit can be if you are only off 1 stitch, even a fraction of a stitch, on the the tension gauge.  The best 'sanity check' is to do the math for the pattern.  How is the pattern made?  This matters too; if it is worked as a 1 piece raglan, your stitch height gauge will matter a lot.  If it's made in pieces (front, back, sleeves), the stitch height doesn't matter as much (because you can add or subtract rows easily--or in your case, a 4-row pattern repeat), but the stitch width is critical always.  

 

Example, say your cardigan is made in pieces, and the back piece's width at the bust is x stitches - this should be half of the finished garment's bust measurement, usually.  You didn't say what the stitch width gauge was, but do the math to figure out how wide 1 stitch is per the pattern gauge, and how wide it is to your gauge.  (4" divided by the number of stitches in your swatch covering 4", even fractions of a stitch)  

 

Multiply YOUR stitch width, if it is different than the pattern, by x (the number of stitches across the back), then multiply that number by 2 (total bust measurement) and figure out how much bigger or smaller the cardigan would be.  Sometimes if your ideal measurement falls between sizes, this works out great, or you might repeat all the math for a different size depending on your gauge, example follow the small pattern instructions to get a medium sized cardigan or the other way around.

 

By the way, there are some great youtube videos, but many more awful ones out there.  I would stay away from most except if you have a question of how to form a new (named) stitch.  Also be careful that there are different meanings for the same stitch names in the US and UK (UK has no Single Crochet, US Single Crochet = UK double crochet, and so on.  Slip stitch and chain are the same.)  One easy way to tell is if a pattern says SC it's US, or if it says "ch 3, DC" it's also US (UK would say ch 1, DC) since it's a shorter stitch.

 

edited because raglan vertical fit doesn't matter if it's top down or bottom up, either way is tougher to 'fudge' with the wrong height gauge.

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi Tatty, welcome to the ville!

 

 The pattern tells me I need 18 stiches to 12 rows, 

 

I want to ask you about the gauge.  Usually patterns give the gauge as the number of sttiches and the number of rows in a space of 4 inches/10cm.  Does your pattern say it that way?  

 

the pattern should specify what sttich to use but unfortunately some do not.  or almost worse in my opinion they give a gauge in something like single crochet (US) or double crohcet (UK) when actually the pattern uses another stitch height, or combines a lot of different stitches.  Since you said your pattern consists of four rows I would guess every row is not exactly the same.  

 

Also I googled 'crochet cardigan Classique' and saw this http://www.loveknitting.com/us/crochet-cardigan-in-stylecraft-classique-cotton-dk-8601   Is that your pattern?