Row Gauge: Is it Important?

What’s the deal with row gauge?   Is it as important as stitch gauge?  And what’s the difference?

Stitch gauge is how many stitches you get per inch.  It is measured horizontally across the fabric.  Sometimes it is expressed per inch but more often per 4 inches.  In other words a stitch gauge of 20 stitches is 5 stitches per inch and 20 per 4 inches.  There are handy tools that allow you to zero in on a 4 inch swatch of your fabric and more easily count the number of stitches.

Row gauge is an expression of how many rows you get per inch.  It is measured vertically against the rows of the fabric.

For whatever reason, it is harder for most people to get row gauge than it is to get stitch gauge.  And row gauge is more likely to stretch when blocked.  If you block your little square, that might not help because a whole garment will have more pull on it than a little square.

In many instances row gauge does not matter.  For example, if you are knitting a hat, it most likely will tell you to knit for so many inches before the decrease.  This means the row gauge is irrelevant.  Ditto for many sweater patterns.  There are some patterns where row gauge is important.  And sometimes those are patterns of sweaters or vests with v-necks.  If you have a pattern that tells you to repeat a decrease or increase for so many rows, you should take a look at your row gauge.  

Row gauge is not as easily fixable as stitch gauge.  The remedy for “fixing” or changing stitch gauge is to change your needle size.  But that doesn’t work as effectively with row gauge.  The easier fix is to modify the pattern to your gauge.  So if there are increases that last for a certain amount of rows, you might need to start them sooner or do them more frequently.  The most important thing is to be aware before you finish the section only to find out that your sweater is 3 inches too long (or your sleeves or whatever it is you are making.  

Bottom line is if you don’t get row gauge don’t despair!  In most cases it is not important and if it is, there is probably a remedy.

Jennifer