• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

Understanding Gauge in Intarsia Knitting / Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along Lesson 1

October 1, 2023 Leave a Comment

Understanding Gauge in Intarsia Knitting: Learn about aspect ratio in knitting, how it relates to gauge, and how understanding it can help you achieve better intarsia knitting results

First off, welcome to the first blog post of the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along, running for the month of October. Everything you need to know about knit along logistics can be found in this blog post. Since the book/pattern reveal was just last Tuesday, I realize folks might still be waiting for yarn and books to arrive. For that reason, we’re starting the knit along with a lesson* in gauge, everyone’s favorite subject in knitting! For real though, the topic of how to knit intarsia that doesn’t look squished, stretched, or otherwise suspicious consistently comes up in emails & comments I get from knitters. (The other topic is weaving in ends, but that will be something we talk about in a few weeks!)

*This is an educationally-focused knit along, I’m going to refer to each blog post & video as a lesson. I tried to come up with something cute, but all of my ideas were too confusing. 😆

On to the lesson!

Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along Lesson 1: Why does my intarsia look squished?

In knitting, the first thing we (are supposed to) do when we start a new project is knit a gauge swatch. We look at the pattern, figure out the recommended yarn, needles, and stitch or pattern for the swatch, and then we knit up a little rectangle, that is (or should be) at least 4 inches by 4 inches. After wet blocking and letting our swatch dry completely, we can measure how many stitches and rows comprise an inch in our knitting, and hopefully, our gauge is the same or pretty close to that listed in our pattern.

Let’s say you measured your blocked swatch and the number of stitches and rows per inch that you’re knitting at isn’t the same as what’s listed in your pattern. That’s referred to as “not getting gauge.” You can try switching up your technique or switch to a smaller/larger needle and swatch again to help you get gauge. Particularly for knitting garments like sweater vests, getting gauge will make the difference in your finished project fitting or not. For knitting intarsia colorwork, getting gauge also helps ensure the design you’re working hard to knit into your project looks correct (not squished or stretched).

Understanding Gauge in Intarsia Knitting: Learn about aspect ratio in knitting, how it relates to gauge, and how understanding it can help you achieve better intarsia knitting results

Knitting stitches aren’t square, and for intarsia, that’s a big deal.

You may remember this from school geometry: the difference between a square and a rectangle is the fact that squares have an equal width and height measurement, whereas rectangles have a different width and height. Despite the charts we work from regularly featuring graphs with squares to indicate each knitting stitch, knitting stitches aren’t actually square. They don’t have an equal width and height.

What is aspect ratio & how does it impact my knitting?

An aspect ratio is a proportional relationship between a shape’s width and height. Most often in daily life, you’ll hear the term aspect ratio referring to the size of the image on your TV, phone or movie screen, describing just how rectangular the image is. Is it a tall and thin rectangle? Is it short and wide? Square images have a 1:1 aspect ratio because they are as wide as they are tall. A tall and thin rectangle might be 1:10, and a short and wide one could have a 10:1 aspect ratio.

Learn about stitch aspect ratio in knitting, how it relates to gauge, and how understanding it can help you achieve better intarsia knitting results.

On average knitting stitches clock in a 5:4 aspect ratio, meaning they are slightly wider than they are tall. Stitches knit with intarsia colorwork tend to have an even more rectangular aspect ratio. (Why? Because there’s tension happening horizontally in each row at color changes.) In the example of the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, the gauge is 19 sts and 28 rows over 4 inches. To calculate the aspect ratio of our stitches based on this gauge, we simply divide 19 sts by 28 rows (width divided by height) to get ~0.678.

Again pardoning the school math, we need to convert this into a fraction before reducing it to get our aspect ratio. 0.678 = 678/1000, which equals about 6.5/10 or 3.25/5 with rounding. The short explanation for what to do next to get your aspect ratio is simply to flip the numerator and denominator, the top and bottom numbers, and you’re in business with a 5:3.25 aspect ratio. For whatever reason, colons (:) are used when aspect ratios are discussed rather than slashes (/).

The long, mathy explanation for why you can simply flip your numerator and denominator isn’t going to interest everyone, so I am saving it for another video & blog post combo for the die hards who want to understand why this works.

For people whose brains have shut down because they are just not here for the numbers that’s ok. This concept is another way to help explain why gauge matters, and aspect ratio comes in to play especially when it comes to intarsia.

Understanding Gauge in Intarsia Knitting: Learn about aspect ratio in knitting, how it relates to gauge, and how understanding it can help you achieve better intarsia knitting results

Graph Paper vs. Knitting Paper & its impact on intarsia designs

Everyday graph paper, the paper many folks will have on hand or first reach for (particularly when drawing up their first intarsia knitting design!) is square. Often, charted patterns we find in knitting publications/books feature graphs with square cells. So if we grab a generic pixel art drawing app or standard piece of notebook graph paper to draw up our first intarsia design, the picture we are drawing might be accurate to that app or piece of paper, but when knit up at an aspect ratio that is not the same 1:1 as the chart we’re working from, our finished intarsia sweater looks a bit… squished.

I’ve heard people say that they just don’t like how their finished intarsia knits up. Or worse, that they think all intarsia looks kind of wonky. When an intarsia project looks off, it often makes me wonder about this aspect ratio concept.

Understanding Gauge in Intarsia Knitting: Learn about aspect ratio in knitting, how it relates to gauge, and how understanding it can help you achieve better intarsia knitting results

Looking at the chart for the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest chart and reference image is a great example, especially because they’re side by side in Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town. The chart used in the book features graph paper with a 1:1 aspect ratio. I designed the pattern with aspect ratio in mind, but for printing they used a 1:1 chart, which isn’t uncommon. As you can see, Spiral Hill looks sort of tall and oddly proportioned in the chart compared to hill in the movie. That’s because the chart knits up at a 5:3.25 aspect ratio but the chart depicts a 1:1 aspect ratio.

Please please reach out in the comments if I can help clarify this concept. I think it’s an important one to help better understand intarsia.

Another way to think of it in terms of resizing images on the computer

Here’s another example to help explain aspect ratio. If you’ve ever resized an image on the computer, you’ll know that it’s easy to accidentally make it look a bit off. If you grab one side of the image to resize it, you can easily make an image look squashed or stretched. If you grab the image by the corner, you’re scaling it, which changes the width and height of the image at the same rate. Rather than making the image just taller or just wider, scaling makes the image get proportionally wider and taller, preserving the aspect ratio.

Video Lesson

Learn about stitch aspect ratio in knitting, how it relates to gauge, and how understanding it can help you achieve better intarsia knitting results.

Filed Under: Knit Along, Knitting Tagged With: aspect ratio, intarsia, intarsia gauge, kal, knit along, spiral hill sweater vest, spiral hill sweater vest kal, spiral hill sweater vest knit along, squished intarsia, stitch aspect ratio

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « Spiral Hill Sweater Vest is Here + Knit Along Details
Next Post: 10 Intarsia & Technique Tutorials for Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knitters »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • 10 Intarsia & Technique Tutorials for Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knitters10 Intarsia & Technique Tutorials for Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knitters
  • Spiral Hill Sweater Vest is Here + Knit Along DetailsSpiral Hill Sweater Vest is Here + Knit Along Details
  • Weaving in Ends: Tips for Intarsia / Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along Lesson 4Weaving in Ends: Tips for Intarsia / Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along Lesson 4
  • Knit Better Intarsia: Tips for Joins / Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along Lesson 3Knit Better Intarsia: Tips for Joins / Spiral Hill Sweater Vest Knit Along Lesson 3

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

learn more / work with me

Find Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer helping makers untangle various techniques with a blog & YouTube channel
.
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
Stitching around the Christmas tree 🧶 . Working Stitching around the Christmas tree 🧶
.
Working on a new sample of an old sweater today, and I can confirm: a tree makes a pretty decent yarn holder. 
.
Yarn: @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Orange Peel
.
#handsoccupied #eweeweyarns #orangeyarn #knitting #wip #knitters #knittersofinstagram
Meet Yarn Citizen, a new line of sustainably sourc Meet Yarn Citizen, a new line of sustainably sourced and affordably priced yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool. Enter to win a kit featuring this yarn in the November yarn review & giveaway on the bl0g!
.
Yarn: @jimmybeanswool Yarn Citizen Harmony Worsted
.
Review & entry form 🔗 are where you’d think. 😉 
.
#handsoccupied #yarncitizen #yarncitizenharmonyworsted #yarnreview #knitting #knitter #knitinspiration
Happy with how the mini Nightmare Before Christmas Happy with how the mini Nightmare Before Christmas sweater vest turned out! Now my dog and I can go on walks in matching seasonal fits 😂
.
1. I knit this bottom up with scraps and ran out of black yarn. If the vest consistently drifts down her chest upon wear, I might extend the collar or redo the chest panel at a smaller size. If you’ve read this far, what do you think? As a designer, I so rarely get to improvise a knitting project, and I’m having fun working with fewer rules than usual. 🧶
.
2. June has a grooming appointment this weekend. She’s currently the mayor of scruff town, I know. 🫡
.
Pattern: Chart is from the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest pattern by yours truly in the official Nightmare Before Christmas knitting book 
Yarn: @brooklyntweed Imbue Worsted
.
#spiralhillsweatervest #spiralhillsweatervestkal #handsoccupied #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #nightmarebeforechristmasknittingbook #dogknit #knitsfordogs #handmade #brooklyntweed
I finished June’s doggie version of the Spiral H I finished June’s doggie version of the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest & it’s so cute! 🥰
.
Do you think June appreciates the fact that she now has a sweater made with @brooklyntweed yarn? 😂 
.
#handsoccupied #dogsweater #dogjumper #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #spiralhillsweatervest #spiralhillsweatervestkal #handmade #brooklyntweedimbue #brooklyntweed
Squeezing in some stitching on a selfish sweater t Squeezing in some stitching on a selfish sweater this Saturday morning 😋
.
Pattern: Fruit Stripe Pullover with some intarsia mods on the front panel 
Designed by Rachel Brockman for @universal_yarn 
Yarn: Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Dragon’s Breath & Antarctica 🧶
.
#handsoccupied #knitting #weekendknitting #sweaterknitting #universalyarn #fibranaturacobblestone
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy