No Swatch Needed - Any Gauge

I know, and in your heart you know, that we should all be swatching for every project but sometimes it's great to jump into a project without this first step. Choosing the right project will ensure a good outcome.

Several years ago I gave a talk at a local spinning guild and the comment was made several times that spinners are not always able to make yarn in commercial gauges. So knitting up their homespun becomes a challenge. To respond to this, I went home and wrote up The Gaugeless Hat. (Check out these patterns on our Cabin Fever site if it's easier than the links I've included.)

It starts by casting on for the I-Cord tail at the top. As you work the stripes, the hat gets bigger and bigger. When it's long enough you then check your gauge, measure the head of the wearer, do a simple multiplication to find the number of stitches needed for the body of the hat and work the number of increases needed to get the correct number of stitches for the size of hat you want. It works with any yarn. It's fun and easy and we've been sent some wild looking hats made from this pattern. Fun yarns definitely figure largely in these spectacular hats.

So a hat, knit from the top down works great.

Also bags work. They don't have to fit anyone! They are large hats with handles, aren't they? They're fun and fast to knit. You can felt them, use any weight of wool you like, put patterns in or knit them plain. I use the Felted Satchel every week. It holds my bank deposit books very nicely.

Our favourite two bags are the Sheepstring Big Bag

 and the Fairisle Tote which is fantastic size for knitting projects.

Our newest bags are in the Need An Accessory book. I'm really happy with the straps on these bags. They don't stretch, yay. This is the latest one I've knit. I have several more in my future. I think they make great gifts.

You can knit swatchless without feeling guilty!
Happy Swatchless knitting,
Deb
For printed copies of any of these patterns email us: info@cabinfever.ca