Let me start out by saying I have been crocheting for more than twenty years and up until about a year (or so) ago, I never used gauge. Yes, I saw it on patterns but I just blew right past it. It wasn't until I started pattern testing for another designer that I stopped myself right in my own tracks. Gauge? What was the point? Just a waste of time I could be using to work on the actual project, right? Oh, how wrong I was. Figuring out which size hook/needle would obtain the right size stitches opened my eyes to a mysterious problem that had been nagging me for a very long time.
Many years ago, I wanted to crochet some gloves. So, I started on it. I got all of my necessary tools and yarn just like the pattern listed. I made the gloves and they looked just right..... well, almost. Had they been for a giant, they'd have been absolutely perfect. Those suckers were huge!! I could not understand what had happened. I followed the pattern to a "T" and all of my stitch counts were correct but I had still done something wrong, I just didn't know what.
As the years went by, I continued to crochet (or knit) and most of the time my finished projects turned out just fine. Every so often, I'd end up with a bigger than it should be blanket or sweater and sometimes, a smaller than I planned hat. However, I just kept on trucking and forgot about those not quite right items. It wasn't until I actually stopped at that word, GAUGE, that everything became so clear and the mystery unraveled. Now, I know about gauge, how very pertinent it is to a pattern and I always use the right hook to obtain that gauge.
If you want to know more about gauge, Lion brand has a nice little FAQ about it right here.
By the way, if I had a picture of those enormous gloves I would post it but that was before camera phones, digital cameras, etc. :)
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