Swatching for your
Uptown Worsted
cushion cover
If you're new to knitting a swatch, have a look at
this past KNITmuch post for a quick review. Knitting
a gauge swatch is important for larger projects
that need to be a specific finished size. Let's get to
it, swatching for your cushion cover using Uptown
Worsted yarn!
This is going to be a square cushion with one side
worked in stockinette stitch (plain), and one side
worked in an all-over cable stitch pattern. Many
simple cushions sold in stores have a decorative
side and a plain side, and knitting your own means
you can choose exactly the right color that you
want to suit your decor.
The stockinette stitch gauge we need is 17sts per 4"
[10cm]. Knit a swatch like the one pictured (I used
US7 [4.5mm] needles):
Work this swatch as follows, with the same needle
size you used to get stockinette gauge above.
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••
Cast on 34 sts.
Row 1 (RS): K all sts.
Row 2 (WS): K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 3 (RS): K5, [C4R, C4L] 3 times, K5.
Row 4 (WS): K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
Repeat these last 4 rows 4 times.
Bind off all stitches.
To measure the pattern, place the tape measure or
gauge ruler over the central 24 stitches that make
up the cable pattern. You should have 24 stitches
measuring 3½". If you need to work this over a
different needle size to get the cable pattern gauge,
you can, since the front and back pieces of the
pillow are worked separately.
Cast on 30 sts.
First 4 rows: Knit all sts.
(RS): Knit all sts
(WS): K3, p to last 3 sts, k3.
Repeat the last 2 rows until swatch measures 5" tall.
Last 4 rows: knit all sts.
Cast off all stitches.
Once the swatch is complete, lay it out flat and use
your measuring tape or gauge ruler to measure
how many stitches there are in 4" of fabric. We're
aiming for 17sts per 4" [10cm]. If you have more
stitches than that, your gauge is too tight. Re-knit
with a larger needle size and try again. If you have
fewer stitches than 17, your gauge is too loose. Reknit with a smaller needle size.
Uptown Worsted is a 100% acrylic, non-pilling
yarn - a great choice for home accessory projects.
The other side of the pillow, the decorative side,
uses an all-over cable stitch pattern that's fairly
simple. However, cable stitch gauge is very different
from stockinette gauge. Here we're going to
measure how many repeats of the cable pattern
appear over a specific width of the fabric. In the
swatch, 3 repeats of the stitch pattern (24 stitches
of the cable pattern) measure 3½" across. To do this
you'll need to do 2 cable stitches, as follows:
•• C4L: Put 2 sts on cable needle and hold in front.
K2. K2 from cable needle.
•• C4R: Put 2 sts on cable needle and hold in back.
K2. K2 from cable needle.
This cushion cover uses a cable stitch
pattern on one side, which is a different
stitch gauge than with stockinette stitch.
KNITmuch | issue 2
53