Swatch Study: Summer Yarns Compared

There are many interesting fiber blends available to the hand knitter these days, but how do these yarns behave? Will a garment made with these yarns be a pleasure to wear? I chose four unusual summer yarns used for projects in Interweave Knits Summer 2023 issue and put them through their paces. I knitted swatches, blocked them, hung them with a little weight, and evaluated the results.

Editor’s Note: Tahki Yarns Classic Superwash has been discontinued, so we have not included Karen’s findings in this online version. You can see her notes about that yarn in Interweave Knits Summer 2023.

The Method

1. Swatching

My goal was to make swatches about 6″ square. Since the gauge suggestion on a yarn label is usually given over 4″, by casting on 50% more stitches than is listed, I should end up with a swatch about 6″ wide. For example, if the label suggested a gauge of 20 stitches to 4″, I multiplied by 1.5 and cast on 30 stitches. For all these yarns, I used the needle size recommended on the yarn label. I made three swatches with each yarn, using the same number of stitches and rows for each.

2. Blocking

For each yarn, I blocked two of the three swatches. The third was left unblocked, just as it came off the needles.

To block a swatch, I wash and dry it the same way that I would if I were going to wash and dry a finished garment. This is the only way to get an accurate idea of how the fabric will behave with normal care. For most knitting, this means wash the piece (by hand or machine), then lay it flat to dry (or machine dry if that is appropriate for the yarn). When I lay my swatch flat, I make sure that it is shaped into a rectangle, with relatively straight sides and square corners. I don’t use any pins or other tools unless I plan to pin every time I wash the finished garment.

3. Hanging

To simulate the pull that gravity exerts on a sweater when worn, I hung one blocked swatch in each yarn for 24 hours. I inserted a double-pointed needle along the top and bottom edges of each swatch so that the pull would be distributed evenly, clipped the swatch to a hanger, and hung a 50-gram ball of yarn from the lower double-pointed needle.

Related: Characteristics of Summer-Friendly Yarn

Measuring Gauge

We all knit differently. Some people knit more loosely, and others more tightly. Just because a yarn label or pattern specifies a particular gauge using a particular needle size, that doesn’t mean you or I will match that gauge with that needle. Although I used the needle size suggested on the yarn label for each yarn, I did not match the suggested gauge (with the exception of HiKoo Rylie, which suggested a wide range of possible gauges).

Related: Nail Your Gauge

When measuring gauge over 4″, when you get to the 4″ mark on your ruler, you rarely land exactly between two stitches. This means you must estimate how much of a partial stitch you see. Is it a quarter-stitch, third-stitch, half-stitch? Or maybe you just ignore the partial stitch? The slight error in gauge that is introduced if you don’t estimate the partial stitch accurately gets multiplied over the circumference of a sweater and can result in your sweater being several inches larger or smaller than you intended. This means it’s important to measure gauge as accurately as possible.

Rather than trying to estimate a partial stitch, I measure over about 4″, but over an exact number of stitches. I use a ruler with markings to 1/16-inch, record the width of the stitches that I counted, then divide the number of stitches by that measurement. I measured in three different places on each swatch and found the average of those measurements to account for normal variations in tension.

Summer Yarns Compared

Plymouth Yarn Pima Rino Tweed

Content: 56% Pima cotton, 26% Merino superwash wool, 18% Donegal
Put-up: 109 yd (100 m)/1¾ oz (50 g)
Weight: Worsted
Recommended Gauge: 20 sts and 24 rows = 4″ on size 6 needles
Care Instructions: Machine wash gentle, tumble dry low
Featured Project: Skippy Tee

I knitted this yarn using a size 6 (4mm) Addi Turbo circular needle. To block the swatches, I washed them in my front-loading washing machine with my regular laundry on delicate, using a warm wash and cold rinse. I dried the swatches in my dryer with my regular laundry on low.

The Numbers

The Knitting

Of the four yarns sampled for this article, I found this to be the easiest to work with. The yarn had a surprising amount of elasticity. It has a very round profile because of its four plies. Sometimes yarns with many fine plies are splitty, but that wasn’t at all the case here. I found the yarn to be extremely well behaved. I occasionally found one or two of the tweedy bits in my lap, but not enough to bother me.

The Blocking

These swatches came out of the washer and dryer looking beautiful. The stitch definition is crisp and the swatches are turning up only slightly at one edge. They shrank a little widthwise and a bit more lengthwise. My gauge is definitely tighter than the label states, making the fabric more stable than it would probably be if worked to a looser gauge.

The Hanging

The swatch flattened out after hanging. The row gauge got a tiny bit tighter; the difference is minor.

The Verdict

This is a great yarn. The wool gives spring to the cotton, it is easy to knit, and it holds its shape well (at least when worked at a tighter gauge than the label recommends). It would make an easy-care summer top, cardigan, or shawl, and would show texture well.

HiKoo Rylie

Content: 50% baby alpaca, 25% mulberry silk, 25% linen
Put-up: 274 yd (250 m)/3½ oz (100 g)
Weight: DK
Recommended Gauge: 20–24 sts and 24–28 rows = 4″ on size 3–6 needles
Care Instructions: Handwash, lay flat to dry
Featured Project: Abundant Tee

I knitted this yarn using a size 6 (4 mm) Addi Turbo circular needle. To block the swatches, I soaked them in lukewarm water with Eucalan for about 30 minutes, spun the excess water out using a salad spinner that I reserve for this purpose, and laid them flat on a mesh sweater dryer, guiding them into a rectangular shape with my hands, and leaving them until dry.

The Numbers

The Knitting

This yarn felt soft and warm against my fingers but was a little slippery while I was knitting it. It also felt somewhat thin for the recommended needle size. The yarn was slightly uneven or textured; I found an occasional stiff strand of flax that I pulled out while knitting. I expected the swatches, based on the fiber content, to be heavier, but they are fairly light. They also have a nice body to them.

The Blocking

The stitch gauge of the swatches tightened up with blocking, but the row gauge loosened a little. The stitches filled out somewhat with blocking; the gaps between the stitches are gone. The swatches had more drape after blocking. This is a very fluid fabric.

The Hanging

The fibers in this yarn are known for their tendency to stretch but not bounce back, so I expected the swatch to stretch quite a bit when hung. A sweater that was 20″ from shoulder to lower edge after blocking would have stretched to 201/3″ based on the change in the swatch, which I think is minimal.

(Note that my row gauge is considerably tighter than recommended on the label, although my stitch gauge is within the recommended range. If my row gauge had been looser, the swatch probably would have stretched more.)

The Verdict

This yarn could be a good choice for spring or fall because of the warm alpaca and silk fibers. With this yarn’s 2-ply structure, I imagine it would show lace well. The fabric is suitable for a top with some movement or for a shawl. Just be aware that stretching may be an issue with a looser row gauge.

Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy

Content: 41% cotton, 34% hemp, 25% modal
Put-up: 153 yd (140 m)/1¾ oz (50 g)
Weight: Sport
Recommended Gauge: 22 sts = 4″ on size 4 needles
Care Instructions: Machine wash, dry flat
Featured Project: Branchport Cottage Top

Listen Now: Hemp: The Fall and Rise of a Forbidden Fiber on Fiber Nation

I knitted this yarn using a size 4 (3.5 mm) Boye interchangeable circular needle. To block the swatches, I washed them in my front-loading washing machine with my regular laundry on delicate, using a warm wash and cold rinse. I laid them flat on a mesh sweater dryer to dry, guiding them into a rectangular shape with my hands.

The Numbers

The Knitting

This yarn felt stringy and dry in my hands as I was knitting it. It also kept tangling, which surprised me because I don’t usually have that problem. It was easy to knit; I could feel the stitches on my needle without looking. The swatch feels very drapey and lies quite flat.

Related: Tips for Working with Hemp Yarns

The Blocking

After blocking, the swatches are a bit less drapey and the stitches have filled in a little. The blocked swatches are noticeably shorter than the unblocked, but the width is the same. An unblocked 20″ long sweater would have shrunk to 18½” according to my swatches. My stitch gauge is quite a bit tighter than the label suggests; I generally expect a looser fabric to change more when blocking, so results would probably have been different if I had matched the suggested gauge.

The Hanging

The swatch stretched somewhat when hung. A sweater that was 20″ long from the shoulder after blocking would probably grow to 20½” with wearing.

The Verdict

I like this fabric a lot and think it would make a great summer top. It has a nice drape, holds its shape well, and would be comfortable to wear. Just be sure to take shrinkage into account. At a looser gauge, it would be very nice for a summer shawl.

I hope you are encouraged to try a yarn or blend that you have been curious about. This swatch study is a reminder that gauge varies from knitter to knitter, so it’s good to begin a new project by swatching. Knit a big swatch or two, do some blocking, and see what you think. \

Related: Not-So-Casual Summer Yarns

After working with all these beautiful yarns, I’m excited to knit a summer top!

What are you favorite summer yarns? Let us know in the comments!

Karen Frisa is a freelance technical editor of knitting and crochet patterns. She thinks that swatching is the key to success for many projects.

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