I think, on some level, we’re all afraid of swatching because we don’t want to get bad news – namely, that the fabric we’ve just knit isn’t going to give us the results we want for our project.
I think also, personalities like mine just want to charge ahead and get started, and we’ll adjust on the fly. Unfortunately, that’s really hard to do in knitting without ripping back. (So if you’re ok with that, your sweater could be your swatch – but remember the effects of blocking!)
So what do we do about it?
We need to understand the ins and outs of how our individual knitting works.
But first, we need to approach this whole ‘swatch thing’ differently.
What if… instead of this little ‘pop quiz’ you were making a blanket square?
And what if… each square got sewn together in a blanket that represented your knitting life?
How cool would that be?
It means each square has a purpose, whether or not it gave you the news you wanted.
It means you could do another one without feeling ashamed, frustrated, or guilty.
And it means you’ll have a beautiful blanket after a bunch of projects, one you can grow as big as you want. Stop at crib size or aim to cover a king-size bed. Your call. It’s your blanket. It’s your knitting history.