Check Your Tension

 

The way you knit is your personal and individual tension. To check your tension or find out what your tension is – i.e. how many rows and how many stitches will give 10cm of knitted fabric for the yarn and needles that you are using, you need to make a tension swatch.

 

There will be a tension guide on the yarn label, see Reading a Yarn label, or the pattern you are using will include a tension guide in the measurements in the instructions.

The way to check your tension is to knit a test square, known as a tension swatch, and count the number of rows and stitches per cm. For details on how to do this see 'Make a tension swatch'.'