Loose tension gauge

Some call it tension. Some call it gauge. For now, I'll call it tension gauge.

This is a short sleeved summer sweater which I knitted a few summers ago. I wanted to make something light and luxurious for the summer months.

It is just one example of what any of us can knit.

Sometimes I get into the mood of wanting to knit something different - something that nobody else has. So off I went to my local yarn store. Browsed and mulled. Went for a coffee and came back. Took a liking to this Bergere de France Bigarelle yarn as I loved the feckles going through it. Not that I need to knit for sensitive skin, this (mostly) cotton and linen blend felt so kind on my skin.

To get the loose stocking stitch effect, I used a pretty big needle. It was twice as wide as normal! 6.6mm (US 10.5) needles instead of a recommended 3mm (US 3) for this 4ply (feathering/fingering weight)! Knitting a tension gauge was extremely important here ... ahem, ahem to those who think that they can wing it!

It only took 2 balls of yarn whereas a standard needle would have needed 5 balls.

No wonder then that one commentator on Ravelry said that it is a great knitting pattern for making something with luxury fingering weight yarns besides shawls.

If you decide to knit something like this, do make sure that you knit a tension square (gauge swatch). Mine worked out as 15 stitches & 17 rows for a 10 x 10cm (4" x 4") square.

I've put this up as a free knitting pattern on my Ravelry store.

Better still, make your own pattern ...