Tag: yarn

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Yarn Review: Lion Brand Ice Cream

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Lion Brand Yarns are commonly found at big box general stores and big box craft stores. You can easily browse their selection on their website, which also features free patterns. The price you see on Lion Brand’s website might not be what you pay in stores, especially since big craft stores like Michael’s and JoAnn regularly run yarn specials and feature coupons with up to 40% off.

I used five or six different Lion Brand yarns over a decade ago as a beginning hand knitter and didn’t really care for them, so I moved on. Recently, Lion Brand bought luxury coned yarn company Silk City Fibers (see my review of their Cotton Bambu yarn in this post), so I decided to order a variety of yarns from the Lion Brand website to give them another try.

They now have many different fiber types and blends from wool to yak fiber along with recycled fibers and an eco-friendly cotton version. Their selection has really widened and diversified compared to what they had when I considered them just a cheap yarn company back as a beginner.

Acrylic yarn is what I think of when I think of Lion Brand, so I decided to give one of their acrylic multicolor yarns a try first. Here’s the scoop on

Lion Brand Ice Cream

All opinions are honest and my own. I am not affiliated with any company or individual mentioned or linked unless otherwise noted. I purchased this yarn myself and did not receive compensation for this review.

Lion Brand Ice Cream Big Scoop in Tutti Frutti

About Lion Brand Ice Cream

Fiber Content100% Acrylic
Yardage394 or 1117
Ounces3.5 or 10
Yarn Weight3 / Light / DK
Made inTurkey
AvailabilityOnline, Big box craft stores
Put upskein

Lion Brand Ice Cream comes in two skein sizes, 394 yards for $4.99 MSRP and “Big Scoop” at 1117 yards for $13.49. The smaller size comes in 20 multicolor varieties while Big Scoop comes in 22. The colorways remind me of Dippin’ Dots flavors, and reading the names while hungry is not a good idea!

If you don’t feel like doing the math, that’s about $0.01 per yard at MSRP, and you can frequently find skeins for less at stores like Walmart and JoAnn. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and colorful project, this could be the yarn for you.

Care Guide

Hand WashYes
Machine WashYes
Flat DryYes
Machine DryYes

When it comes to ease of care, it’s hard to beat this yarn. Throw it in the wash with whatever you happen to be washing that time, and the yarn can take it, but don’t iron it or steam it excessively unless you mean to kill the acrylic.

The yarn really softens up in the wash and achieves a bit of drape. I have not used this yarn enough to comment extensively on longer-term wear, but I could see pills forming readily by the fuzz it gained in the wash along with the pills already present in the skein when I wound it into a cake to work with it.

Lion Brand Ice Cream in Tutti Frutti wound into yarn cakes

Knitting Machine Compatibility

4.5mm Standard GaugeYes, But*
6.5mm Mid-GaugeYes
8mm / 9mm Bulky GaugeYes

This yarn can work at upper tensions on standard gauge machines, but they may not be happy about it. It is much more appropriate for mid-gauge machines or bulky gauge at lower tensions.

Swatches, Performance, and Blocking

If you’re curious about how I swatch yarn, please read this post.

It was not a pleasant experience to use Lion Brand Ice Cream on my standard gauge Brother KH-890. My machine didn’t struggle, but knitting with this yarn did not flow like a nicer, smoother yarn would have. My machine did not behave itself at all when I started trying to knit a tuck stitch with a punch card, and after troubleshooting weights, yarn feed, sponge bar, bent needles, and everything else I could think of, I think I have to blame the yarn.

Ice Cream is slightly fuzzy, and my skein came with pre-made pills that liked to catch on the needles. The yarn is not slick, yet it is not scratchy like acrylic “grandma yarns” from years ago or extremely cheap Red Heart acrylic yarn you can find at Walmart. It sits somewhere in the middle that you can be pleased with when you consider its affordability.

All those standard gauge issues aside, Ice Cream worked just fine on the mid-gauge SilverReed LK-150 and Bulky KH-260. I did experience issues with pills catching things occasionally, but for the most part, I didn’t notice any substantial issues.

Lion Brand Ice Cream in Tutti Frutti

Standard-gauge Brother KH-890 stockinette stitch swatch at Tension 10, washed cold on gentle, dried on low*, and gently steamed:

BeforeAfter
40 stitches6.25″6.5″
60 rows7.25″6.75″

*This yarn can be washed and dried at much hotter temperatures, but I throw my swatches in with whatever loads need to be done unless they have special care requirements.

I noticed about an half inch of vertical/row shrinkage on my swatch, but I did have some growth stitch-wise/horizontally. Since many of my test yarns and swatches shrink vertically in the wash, I suspect it could have something to do with how I set my stitches after knitting them, so I’ll be sure to test that at a future date.

Ice Cream makes a pleasant fabric. My swatch had a decent amount of drape in it from washing and drying alone.

Pattern Ideas

The gentle colors of this yarn and the easy care scream “baby gifts” to me. I think this yarn is a great choice when making items to gift to busy parents-to-be. Who wants to read a care label when the baby is crying?

I originally planned to feature a tuck baby blanket in this post, but since my standard gauge machine does NOT like this yarn when patterning, I’ll feature the problem swatch, oddly flat honeycomb bubble rows and all, and save the blanket for a future pattern post when repair parts for a bulky gauge machine I’m restoring arrive next month.

tuck stitch test swatch

If you want to make something similar, use Brother Card 2M, knit tuck for four rows and then knit plain stockinette for two rows.

Comparable Yarn

The Bernat Baby Sport line features another DK weight yarn at the same $0.01 per yard cost. Bernat Baby Sport is about as equally available at big box stores, and you’ll find more colors overall with solids, ombres, and sparkles. Bernat Baby Sport is another “just throw it in the wash and forget it” yarn, and it is slightly smoother with less fuzz than Lion Brand Ice Cream.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to Lion Brand, this yarn is almost exactly what my past self expected from them: cheap acrylic yarn. However, this is a pretty decent cheap acrylic yarn with a collection of adorable colorways. The ice cream themed names and colors are very satisfying.

If you’re making a baby gift, I think this is a good choice. As far as budget baby yarns go, this one ranks high up on my list.

I’m at the age where my friends are having kids, and when I ask them what they’d like, “something easy to take care of” is always the answer, even friends who have been more than willing to hand wash an item in the past. There are a few singletons and a set of twins in family friends’ futures, and one of them will receive a gift crafted from this adorably dyed yarn.

As a (former?) yarn snob, I don’t know if any more Lion Brand Ice Cream is in my future. I just don’t seek out budget yarns like I used to as a poor college student, and I like to search for unusual or uncommon fiber content. I really like to work with my standard gauge machine, and she did not care for this yarn. When you get down to it, Ice Cream is still a cheap budget yarn.

Overall, I give Lion Brand Ice Cream a middle of the road 2.5/5. It’s a good value with cute colorways.

Have you used Lion Brand Ice Cream before in your machine knitting? What about in your hand knitting or crochet? What kind of projects did you use it for, and what did you think of its performance?

Are there other properties or categories you think I should include in my yarn reviews? What yarn should I review next? Let me know in the comments!

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Yarn Review: Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu

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Silk City Fibers is a wholesale coned yarn retailer that boasts more than 50 types of luxury yarn for knitting and weaving. Known in the past for their 100% rayon chenille yarn, they became part of Orchard Yarn & Thread Company, Inc., better known as Lion Brand Yarn Company in 2019. Perhaps due to the pandemic, in 2020, they opened up their online store and no longer require a wholesale account to purchase their yarns.

Cone put-up allows for much more yardage per item, and though the price per cone may seem daunting at first, remember to consider price per yard and the amount needed for your project. If you’re really buying in bulk, Silk City Fibers offers a discount after 7 cones and even more after 15 cones.

I remember hearing and feeling some concern about Silk City Fiber’s “luxury” yarn status when learning of their purchase by Lion Brand, but instead of seeing much of a change in Silk City Fibers, I have noticed a positive trend in Lion Brand Yarn’s lines with nicer, softer acrylics and new, sustainable and/or recycled yarn blends.

As a former yarn boutique employee, I’ll admit to some yarn snobbery. I’ll also admit that I wrote off Lion Brand Yarns very soon after I started knitting because I did not like what they offered, but my, have things changed for the better since then.

I’ll be reviewing more Lion Brand Yarns and Silk City Fibers offerings in the future, so stay tuned, but for now, here’s one of my Silk City favorites:

Cotton Bambu

All opinions are honest and my own. I am not affiliated with any company or individual mentioned or linked unless otherwise noted. I purchased this yarn myself and did not receive compensation for this review.

Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu Color 016 Orangeade in different lighting to demonstrate slight sheen from rayon-bamboo

About Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu

Fiber Content51% Cotton, 49% Bamboo-based Rayon
Yardage/Meterage1,050 yards per pound
Ounces / Grams1.2 lbs
Yarn Weight*3 / Light / DK
Made in**
AvailabilityOnline, some LYS or Weaving shops
Put upCone

*There is not a yarn weight listed for this yarn. Instead, you can estimate its yarn weight by “wraps per inch” around a standard No. 2 pencil or comparing it to yarns with known sizing.

**I was unable to find an exact location where this yarn is made, but many Silk City Fiber and Lion Brand products are made in China or in America with source fibers from varying countries.

Cotton Bambu comes in a very limited color palette of 12 solid colors. There is a slight sheen in the yarn due to the bamboo-rayon, as seen on the right in the picture comparison above. Allergy sufferers or those who are averse to animal fibers will enjoy the smooth cotton and bamboo-based rayon fiber content.

At 1,050 yards per pound and 1.2 lbs per cone, you’re looking at just over 1,200 yards per cone and around $0.25 per yard.

You can purchase Cotton Bambu from both the Silk City Fibers and Lion Brand Yarns websites. Your local yarn or weaving shops might carry Silk City Fibers yarns, but stockists are not listed on either brands’ website. You may be able to find old colorways or fiber combinations through Etsy or eBay sellers.

Care Guide

Hand WashYes
Machine WashYes
Flat DryYes
Machine DryYes

When I first purchased color cards and then cones, this yarn was recommended dry clean only, so I’m glad to see its updated care status listed online.

Cotton Bambu machine washes and dries very well, but it is important to always work from measurements from a washed and dried swatch to account for any changes or shrinkage that could possibly occur in the wash.

If you decide to lay it flat to dry, know that it will take quite a while to dry fully and you may need to flip it so the underside is not damp. I noticed after steaming garments, so they were not soaked as they would be in a wash cycle. This is not unusual for cotton yarns as they are very absorbant.

Knitting Machine Compatibility

4.5mm Standard GaugeYes
6.5mm Mid-GaugeYes
8mm / 9mm Bulky GaugeYes

This yarn works well at upper tensions on the 4.5mm standard gauge machine and works well with the ribber attachment. I most frequently use it on my mid-gauge SilverReed LK-150. I have not used it on a bulky machine, but it is an appropriate weight and would likely work well on any bulky depending on what fabric you are looking to create.

Swatches, Performance, and Blocking

If you’re curious about how I swatch yarn, please read this post.

Stripes of various Cotton Bambu colors from a work-in-progress

Cotton Bambu runs smoothly through the machine and patterns well using a punch card. It makes a nice rib using the ribber attachment. If you need to rip out work due to a mistake, it loses a bit of its twist. Loose ends will un-twist and fray due to being a smooth, plant-based fiber, so be sure to securely weave in ends before washing.

If your cat decides to claw up a cone, the individual threads that make up the yarn will run and pull for a bit, so be sure to keep your yarn safe from predators when photographing and storing! I assume catching this yarn on needle hooks might have similar results with individual threads of the yarn pulling.

Mid-gauge SilverReed LK-150 swatch at Tension 4, washed cold on gentle and dried on low:

BeforeAfter
20 stitches4″3.875″
30 rows4.5″4″

Cotton generally shrinks some in the wash, but as long as you are working from the gauge of a “finished” or washed and dried swatch, you should not run into problems. (I cannot stress the importance of this enough!)

Though there was some shrinkage, there was minimal to no fuzzing or haloing of the yarn in the wash and no loss of stitch definition whatsoever in my swatches.

Using the above numbers, my swatch shrank about 3% horizontally/stitch-wise and about 11% vertically/row-wise.

If you’re worried about shrinkage, the rayon-bamboo content does more than simply add to a garment’s drape. Cotton Bambu blocks very well and gives you quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to any surprises you might find in your finished garment. I’ve been quite thankful for its blocking ability before when I miscalculated a stitch conversion factor and wound up with a garment that was just a bit too short for my liking.

Standard-gauge Brother KH-890 swatch at Tension 10, washed cold on gentle, dried on low, and gently steamed:

BeforeAfter
40 stitches6.5″6.75″
60 rows6.5″7″

When I say “gently steamed,” I mean that I passed the steamer head above the yarn swatch and used it to iron out wrinkles and unroll the sides of the stockinette stitch swatch. I did not pin or mark desired dimensions and pull or push the fabric to create stretch, I merely used the steam to relax the swatch to see where it would go without coaxing.

You cannot “kill” cotton as you can acrylic, and bamboo-rayon doesn’t quite “kill” like a normal acrylic will and lose all of its elasticity, but steaming Cotton Bambu does increase the drape. The cotton content prevents and protects the rayon-bamboo from behaving as a fully acrylic yarn will.

Using the above numbers for my standard swatch, my steam blocking was able to increase the horizontal/stitch gauge by around 4% and the vertical/row gauge by around 8%. Over something like the 15″ body of a garment, that is an increase of over an inch of length.

Blocking can make a significant difference, and if you need more give than a gentle block, Cotton Bambu will be able to stretch more than I demonstrated, but it does have limits due to the cotton content. I suggest double-checking your math instead of relying on the yarn to save you as I had to do!

Pattern Ideas

I’ve used Cotton Bambu in many projects and have plans for many more for both customers and myself. Click the pattern name for a link to the download page of each pattern.

Left: Kelso by Meghan Kelly (hand-knitting pattern) in Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu Color 116 Grass. $8.00 USD on Ravelry. Sample knitted on SilverReed LK-150

Right: Mid-Gauge Ladies Lace Yoke Top by Irene Woods (machine knitting pattern). Free from Clearwater Knits. Size XL on a Size L dress form. Sample knitted on SilverReed LK-150

Both of these patterns involve hand-transferred lace. Irene Woods’s pattern includes very detailed information on the lace in a circular yoke for those who have not tried it before.

Lion Brand CoBoo

I have not been able to officially confirm this, but I believe Lion Brand’s CoBoo yarn is Silk City Fiber’s Cotton Bambu yarn.

Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu and matches in Lion Brand CoBoo

Lion Brand CoBoo comes in 3.5 ounce, 232 yard cakes, is 51% cotton and 49% rayon-bamboo, and has the same care instructions. (The online listing description states 50/50 content, but the actual ball band label reflects the 51/49 ratio.)

While CoBoo comes in 20 colors, it features many exact matches to Cotton Bambu right down to color names (Grass, Steel Blue, and Orangeade are pictured above). It also has the same number of plies and the same twist.

Lion Brand’s website list price is $5.99 per cake, which puts price per yard around the same $0.25 as Cotton Bambu, but you can find it on sale for as low as $2.99 per cake on JoAnn’s website depending on their sale of the week.

Final Thoughts

Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu is a wonderful yarn, and at $30.99 a cone, it feels pricy. Silk City Fibers touts themselves as a luxury brand, after all, and I feel they live up to it with Cotton Bambu. At around a DK weight, Cotton Bambu makes substantial but not heavy garments appropriate for spring, summer, and fall or year-round wear in warmer climates. Its drape adds to the luxurious and smooth feeling of this yarn against the skin.

For a similar drape and smooth feeling and the same ~1200 yard amount in Berroco Comfort DK, a 50/50 Nylon Acrylic blend with 178 yards per skein at $3.75 per skein, you’d pay around $27.00 (about $0.23 per yard). I think a cotton blend costing about the same as a nice, quality acrylic yarn is a very good deal. (For a review of Berroco Comfort in Worsted weight, check out this post.)

With only 12 colors to choose from, Cotton Bambu has work to do in the color department. Three of the twelve Cotton Bambu colors were added very recently, so I am hopeful for more colorways in the future. Lion Brand’s CoBoo version it better at 20 colors. If you’ll be working with a smaller amount of yardage or you want to do colorwork, I’d opt for the CoBoo version.

In fact, if you simply want to try this yarn before you invest in an entire cone, I recommend choosing the CoBoo version first.

Cotton Bambu is a wonderful yarn and one of my absolute favorites overall for any type of knitting, but price and limited color palette affect its rating when I look at it more objectively. The fact that a more colorful and widespread/readily available through big box craft store version is around detracts a bit from its rating, for me. Combining all of that with great drape, a smooth and sleek feel, and a decent price, I give Silk City Fibers Cotton Bambu a 3/5.

Have you used Silk City Fibers Cotton Bamboo before in your machine knitting? What about in your hand knitting or weaving? What kind of projects did you use it for, and what did you think of its performance?

Are there other properties or categories you think I should include in my yarn reviews? What yarn should I review next? Let me know in the comments!

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Yarn Review: Berroco Comfort

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Welcome to the first of many yarn reviews! In this series, I’m going to analyze each yarn for its compatibility with knitting machines, ease of use, ease of care, affordability, and much more. I’ll include pictures of my swatches along with notes on how the yarn performed, thoughts about available color choices, and updates on long-term wear.

Let’s get started!

All opinions are honest and my own. I am not affiliated with any company or individual mentioned or linked unless otherwise noted. I purchased this yarn myself and did not receive compensation for this review.

Berroco Comfort in Color 9747 Cadet

About Berroco Comfort

Fiber Content50% Nylon 50% Acrylic
Yardage/Meterage210 yds / 193 m
Ounces / Grams3.5 oz / 100 g
Yarn Weight4 / Medium / Worsted
Made inTurkey
AvailabilityLocal Yarn Store, Online
Put upSkein

Care Guide

Hand WashYes
Machine WashYes
Flat DryYes
Machine DryYes

Berroco Comfort is a hardworking acrylic blend worsted weight yarn that comes in over 60 colors. Available at your Local Yarn Store (LYS), it usually retails for around $6.50 a skein. This acrylic is NOT your grandma’s scratchy acrylic yarn. Soft and with a very slight metallic sheen, it can be easily blocked with steam to produce a fantastic drape in a fabric. It comes put up in a center pull skein, but if you’re planning to use it with your machine, I advise winding it into a cake to avoid yarn tangles.

Comfort also comes in Sock, DK and Chunky weights with slightly less color availability in the larger sizes and mostly variegated options available in sock weight. With the exception of the Comfort Sock, the Comfort line of yarn sticks to solid colors the majority of the time.

The wide variety of colors makes this yarn a good choice for colorwork. Comfort has a pleasing stitch definition and does not tend to lose itself as it wears in my experience.

Since it is machine washable and dryable, a gifted item with this is “safe” for any recipient as far as care instructions go. If you’re worried about your garment, you can still hand wash it and lay it flat to dry, but know that it will be just fine in your laundry machines.

In addition, those with wool allergies will enjoy this yarn, as will those who live in areas with warmer climates or milder winters.

Knitting Machine Compatibility

4.5mm Standard GaugeYes, But*
6.5mm Mid-GaugeYes
8mm / 9mm Bulky GaugeYes

*This yarn will knit at upper tensions on the Brother KH-890, but it produces a stiffer fabric that is not as pleasant as one it will make on a mid-gauge or bulky machine. Color, as in dye lot and the chemicals used to achieve different colors, can affect how yarns perform. Always swatch your yarn before starting a project!

Swatches and Performance

If you’re interested in learning about how I swatch yarn, please check out this post.

This yarn knits like a dream on the mid-gauge and bulky machines. The yarn glides smoothly through the tension mast and carriage once the skeins have been rewound into yarn cakes and does not catch on itself. I’ve used over 10 skeins of Berroco Comfort over the years in both hand knitting and machine knitting, and I have never experienced a knot in any of them.

I found Tension 3 on the SilverReed LK-150 was a bit too tight of a fabric for my liking, but I enjoyed T4 and T5 and found that their fabrics offered a nice mix of drape and coverage/lack of excessive light showing through between the stitches when held up.

The same ideal knitting experience can’t be said for Comfort on the standard gauge. My machine did not struggle, but it wasn’t happy with me for using this yarn on it. The fabric produced was stiff and more appropriate for a purse or bag than any wearable garment. If you’d like to try out this yarn on your standard gauge machine, I recommend trying Comfort DK or Comfort Sock instead.

Berroco Comfort Color 9747 “Cadet” knitted at Tension 5 on the SilverReed LK-150 mid-gauge machine

The above swatch was washed on warm, dried on low, and gently steam blocked, not killed, so that there is still some elasticity left in the fabric. Some stitches did catch and pull a bit on other items in my washer, so you should be sure to wash your knits in their own load or in a mesh bag or pillowcase for protection.

Though it is not visible in the picture, some very minor halo or fluffing of the yarn occurred. It has not changed the stitch definition, only added to the softness of the yarn. Garments in this yarn could possibly halo or fuzz more over time, but I have not noticed this in my experience. I have not noticed any pilling whatsoever in my swatches or garments, and my mother tells me she has not had issues with a gifted tank top made from this yarn that she has worn and machine washed for over two years, and she has experienced no fuzzing, pilling, or garment stretching. It should be noted that she does dry the top flat.

Berroco Comfort Color 9747 “Cadet” knitted at Tension 5 on the Brother KH-890 standard gauge machine

This swatch was also washed on warm, dried on low, and gently steam blocked. I did not stretch it or force it, merely smooth it out from the shape it dried in in my dryer.
Note: Because the LK-150 swatch is an older one from before my current swatch records system, I do not have its before wash measurements to calculate any shrinkage.

Here are the before and after measurements for the standard gauge swatch:

Before After
40 stitches5.875″6″
60 rows6.1875″6″

With only 3% row gauge shrinkage and an actual increase in stitch gauge of around 2%, this yarn does not change much in the wash, but you should always work from your finished swatch measurements in any case.

Blocking

Comfort blocks well with a steam block. I do not “kill” the acrylic with the steam heat, only lightly run the steamer head over the fabric as I move it to the desired dimensions. I do not think this yarn needs to be “killed” to achieve drape or a desirable fabric, especially as the “kill” process slightly melts the yarn, and, I believe, can affect the integrity of the garment. If you do desire or need a more aggressive blocking experience than what I prefer, Comfort can and will meet your blocking desires for the most part without killing the yarn.

Final Thoughts

Comfort performs well no matter what yarn weight you choose. At around $0.03 a yard for worsted weight, you’re looking at a nice, quality acrylic for a good price. A sweater quantity (1000-2000 yards) of this yarn retails for around $35.00 to $75.00, and some shops will give you a bulk buy discount. It’s not exactly a “budget” yarn when you compare it to what you can find at big box stores, but it is definitely worth the price when you consider the quality of what you’ll be running through your machine or your hands and then wearing next to your skin. Plus, when you buy from your local yarn shop, you’re supporting smaller, local businesses, and I don’t think you can go wrong there!

As a sucker for hand-dyed yarns in all kinds of gradients, I usually find myself wishing for rainbow magic colorways in whatever yarn I’m using at the moment, but that isn’t necessary here, and that isn’t what Comfort is trying to do. If you’re looking for a go-to acrylic yarn, Comfort is a great choice.

I’ve used Comfort in tunics, dog sweaters, and scarves, and I’ve seen customers and students use it in baby items, hats, and blankets. If you have a project, you can usually find a Berroco Comfort line yarn that will fit.

I give Berroco Comfort Worsted a solid 4.5 out of 5 score.

Have you used Berroco Comfort before in your machine knitting? What about in your hand knitting? What kind of projects did you use it for, and what did you think of its performance?

Are there other properties you think I should include in my yarn reviews? What yarn should I review next? Let me know in the comments!

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How I Swatch Yarn

elyknits

There are SO MANY different methods floating around about how to swatch your yarn, but the one I’m about to share with you is the best one I’ve learned yet. It can take a bit of extra time and scrap yarn (let’s be honest, who doesn’t have a ton of scrap yarn tangling around?), but if you keep your swatches (and you should!), you’ll save yourself some trouble in the long run, especially if you find yourself returning to the same yarns over time.

Why this method? Well, do you have Multiple Project Syndrome? I sure do! I often dive into a new project or swatching a yummy new yarn and then end up giving in to the lure of yet another squishy new yarn before I’ve completed using a previous one.

That’s where this method comes in handy–you don’t have to remember anything about the swatch other than what yarn it is! The tension number or knitting needle size, the stitch numbers, the row count? It’s all right there in the swatch itself when you do it this way. There’s no guessing. The eyelets you see in the picture below are a code that tells you what machine was used and what tension the swatch was knitted at! The contrasting scrap yarn marks the beginning and end rows, and the small loops around the stitches in the middle mark the same number of stitches between them every single time.

This method is consistent, and I’ve found it to be the most accurate way of calculating stitch and row gauge because it leaves extra fabric around the area to be measured, which makes for less distortion of the stitches. The contrasting color markers make it easy to immediately find your measuring start and end points.

And this method isn’t just for machine knitters! I use it when hand knitting, too. Instructions are for machine knitting, but a hand knitting summary will follow.

Note: This tutorial does not include how to calculate gauge, only how I swatch yarn.

Drag arrows to see front and back sides of this Jody Long Coastline Color 005 yarn in my swatching style.
Eyelet code marks rows in the bottom of the scrap yarn, and you can clearly see the beginning and end of the main yarn on the purl/wrong side of the swatch.

Materials

  • Main Yarn (to be swatched)
  • Scrap yarn of similar size but contrasting color. It should be able to handle the wash/dry/blocking you plan for the main yarn
  • Knitting machine set to tension of choice with coordinating latch tool, transfer tools, weights, and cast-on accessories
  • Metal, Plastic, or Wooden Ruler (not a tape measure, which can stretch with use and time)
  • Straight Pins
  • Towel or blocking board

Skills Needed

  • Cast On
  • Using Weights
  • Using Transfer Tools to make eyelets
  • Using Latch Hook Tool
  • Switching Yarn Colors
  • Cast Off

How To for Standard Gauge Machines

Cast on 60 stitches with your cast-on of choice in scrap yarn. (L30 to R30 on your needle bed)
Hang your cast-on comb and weights as you normally would.

Knit 2-4 rows.
About 4-6 stitches from the right side edge of the work on your machine, use a transfer tool to make eyelets equaling number of stitches for each number in your machine’s model number, skipping 3-4 stitches in between each number.

Examples:
Make eight eyelets, three plain stitches, nine eyelets, three plain stitches, and then one eyelet for the machine model KH-891.
Make one eyelet, three plain stitches, then five eyelets for the model LK-150.

Knit 2-4 rows.
About 4-6 stitches from the edge, make the number of eyelets that equals the number setting on the tension dial that you are swatching, e.g., five eyelets for Tension 5, eight eyelets for Tension 8, etc.

Knit 2-4 rows.

Switch to Main Yarn.

Knit 30 rows.

Using scrap yarn and your latch hook, secure the scrap yarn around the stitch on needles L21 and R21. There should be 40 stitches between the marked needles. If you wish, pull these stitches all the way out to HOLD position on your machine to ensure they knit.

Knit until you have completed 60 rows in Main Yarn.

Switch to Scrap Yarn.
Knit 2 rows.

*From this point, you may repeat the process from the eyelet row that marks the tension dial number if you wish.*

Knit a total of 4-6 rows after Main Yarn.

Bind off using bind-off of choice.

Measure stitch and row gauges before blocking and record those measurements.

Wash and Block swatch as you intend to wash and block your project. Consider hanging weights (machine weights or fishing line weights work well) to mimic how the bulk of a larger garment might wear.

Measure stitch and row gauges AGAIN after you have washed and blocked your swatch. Record your measurements. Note any shrinkage, yarn performance, and anything you noticed about the yarn along with your measurements.

Always work from your finished swatch measurements.

Drag arrows to see the front and back side of connected swatches, or a “security scarf” of gauge.
This yarn swatch is Berroco Comfort in Color 9747 “Cadet.”
You can see eyelet rows denoting tension size changes in the red or grey scrap yarn between the blue main yarn.
You can see wrapped stitches denoting 20 stitches between markers.
(I apologize for the messy cast on that obscures the machine model number code row. This was knitted on the LK-150.)

Measuring Your Swatch

Gather your swatch, straight pins, ruler, and blocking mat or towel.

When you measure, your swatch should be on a flat surface and unstretched. Pin it to the blocking board or towel for stability so it will not move while you measure, but don’t stretch it out.

Stitch Gauge:
Measure with the knit side of the fabric facing up.

The stitches wrapped in scrap yarn always denote 40 stitches between them for standard gauge swatches or 20 for mid-gauge and bulky swatches, but the wrapped stitches can distort the stitches next to them a bit. Simply move your ruler a couple rows down and measure between the marked stitches.

Record your measurements! I use a binder. Some people prefer to write notes in their ravelry.com yarn stash pages. Whatever you do, keep a record of your measurements.

Keep your swatch! Do you need to meet a specific stitch gauge from a hand knit pattern that you’re translating to the machine, but it’s given over a different number of stitches? Just count them out on your swatch and go from there!

Row Gauge:
Re-pin your swatch with the purl side of the fabric facing up. Do not stretch out your swatch. You can clearly see the purl bumps of color where the main yarn begins and ends. Using your ruler in the middle of the swatch, measure from the start of the main color purl bump to the last of the main color purl bump.

Record your measurements and keep your swatch! This is so helpful in the long run, so I will keep stressing this!

Drag arrows to see the front and back sides of this swatch. Yarn is 316 Dye Studio’s House DK in Spruce.
As you can read from the code rows’ eyelets, this was knitted on the LK-150 at Tension 5.

How To for Mid-Gauge and Bulky Gauge Machines

Cast on 30 stitches with your cast-on of choice in scrap yarn. (L15 to R15 on your needle bed)
Hang your cast-on comb and weights as you normally would.

Knit 2-4 rows.
About 3-5 stitches from the right side edge of the work on your machine, use a transfer tool to make eyelets equaling number of stitches for each number in your machine’s model number, skipping 3-4 stitches in between each number.

Examples:
Make eight eyelets, three plain stitches, nine eyelets, three plain stitches, and then one eyelet for the machine model KH-891.
Make one eyelet, three plain stitches, then five eyelets for the model LK-150.

Knit 2-4 rows.
About 3-5 stitches from the edge, make the number of eyelets that equals the number setting on the tension dial that you are swatching, e.g., five eyelets for Tension 5, eight eyelets for Tension 8, etc.

Knit 2-4 rows.

Switch to Main Yarn.

Knit 15 rows.

Using scrap yarn and your latch hook, secure the scrap yarn around the stitch on needles L11 and R11. There should be 20 stitches between the marked needles. If you wish, pull these stitches all the way out to HOLD position on your machine to ensure they knit.

Knit until you have completed 30 rows in Main Yarn.

Switch to Scrap Yarn.

*From this point, you may repeat the process from the eyelet row that marks the tension dial number if you wish.*

Knit 4-6 rows.

Bind off using bind-off of choice.

Measure stitch and row gauges before blocking and record those measurements.

Wash and Block swatch as you intend to wash and block your project. Consider hanging weights (machine weights or fishing line weights work well) to mimic how the bulk of a larger garment might wear.

How To Modifications for Hand Knitting

Skills needed:
Cast on
Knit
Purl
Stockinette stitch
Yarn Over (YO)
Knit 2 together (k2tog)
Bind off

Instructions:
With scrap yarn, cast on 30 stitches.
Knit 2 rows in stockinette stitch.
On the Right Side or Knit Side of the swatch, perform a “Code Row” by creating the number of eyelets that equals your knitting needle size.
For example, on a size 6 needle:
Knit 4 stitches, (YO, k2tog) six times, and knit to end.
Knit two more rows in stockinette stitch.
Switch to Main Yarn.
Knit 15 rows. Use a small piece of scrap yarn to mark the fifth and twenty-sixth stitches by wrapping them with the waste yarn and looping it on itself or tying it in a knot around the stitch.
Knit 15 more rows for a total of 30 rows with main yarn.
Switch to Scrap Yarn. Knit 2 rows or Repeat from “Code Row” with another size needle.
Bind off.

Notes

Feel free to fiddle with the number of scrap yarn rows in between your main yarn as long as you leave some space around the eyelet rows to allow for any distortion they might cause in your fabric. Sometimes I will knit more rows and sometimes I want to do as few as possible.

If you’re working with a limited amount of yarn, you can always unpick your swatch and use it, but you should try to buy enough yarn to keep your swatches as reference. If you’ve recorded your measurements in a safe space, I suppose you don’t have to keep your swatch around if you don’t want to.

I store my swatches in an old Lebkuchen-Schmidt Nuremburg tin, but you could graft your swatches together to make pet shelter blankets or use them for coasters if you know you’ll never need them again. (Oh the sadness of discontinued yarns!)

How do you swatch on your machine? Do you use this method or something similar? Do you save your swatches? What about favorite yarns? Are there any you return to that would benefit from swatching this way? Let me know in the comments!

Credits and Sources
Pamela Carrico of CMO Designer Knits— my knitting machine teacher, mentor, and friend.
Diana Sexton Designs of Lafayette, IN– handout packet pages 57-58, “Security Scarfs.” I was unable to locate an online presence.
“How to use your Knit-Leader” KL-116 manual, page 7. You can find various machine and accessory manual PDFs at machineknittingetc.com.