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. :)
