TENSION TROUBLES
QThe tension for the sweater I am knitting says 16 stitches and 26 rows to measure 10 by 10cm on 7mm needles. Brilliant me didn’t make a tension swatch and I think I have to undo and redo. My 16 stitches give me 10cm but I get 28 rows for 10cm instead of 26. What needles should I use? I could kick myself. I always have a problem with the rows. Should I continue with larger needles or undo and start with bigger needles? Thanks
Linda Segel, via email
We know how you feel – it can be so exciting to start a new project that it’s hard to stop and make a tension square first! The best option is probably to put your knitting aside for now, grab another ball of the yarn you’re working with and do a few tension squares with di erent sized needles. Even if you are getting the stitch tension on 7mm needles, you might be able to meet both stitch and row tension on another size, so it’s a good idea to play around a little and see if something works. If you can meet the stitch and row tension on another size needle, it would be best to frog all of your knitting and start over, as the di erent tension will be noticeable on the finished garment.
Row tension isn’t as important as stitch tension (especially if your pattern works in measurements rather than rows), so if you can’t meet both at the same time, always use the needles that give you the correct stitch tension, but make sure that you have plenty of yarn (as knitting more rows will use more). Good luck, and please send us a picture of your finished jumper! Jen