Swatching.....some knitters cringe just hearing the word. For some, the word is profane and should not be uttered in polite company. Some....some look at swatching as the audition for the chorus line of yarn that will perform on one's needles.
Me....I used to be swatch avoidant. It was not fun...it was often disappointing...and sometimes lied.
YouTube...the knitting part of it...has given me a lot of different ideas about swatching....and the realization of just how much I can learn from a swatch.
Now I do real swatches. Larger than one inch by inch. Enough of a swatch so that I can see what the yarn is REALLY going to do before I put it into a project.
What have I not done yet...and should? Launder the swatches in order to see how the yarn behaves when it is washed. Does this make a difference? Two words.....superwash wool. The most recent experience is still too raw to discuss...and resulted in hacking the knitting off a hat and re-knitting it so that it would work for the wearer.
While it is easy to be to impatient to swatch.....or too eager to start the project to swatch....I have learned that taking the time to know the yarn better before using it makes working with it so much better.
Maybe I should have a 2026 resolution to launder swatches..........
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