Swatching: the why

A few years ago, I shared trunkfuls of ideas for what you can use swatches for, or granny squares/motif squares.  Sweaters, blankets, and pillows, oh my.  Some projects look great with a broad spectrum of colors.  Others will be better with the components being all the same color or range of colors or the same pattern.

But let's examine why we might want to swatch.  I'll go over how to swatch later.

We would want to swatch if fit mattered.  It would be nice if something you are making for a gift would fit the recipient, wouldn't it? So, swatching to be sure your stitching is the same as the pattern is important.  You might need to work many swatches with different sizes and different types of material of hook or needle to get the gauge.

We would want to swatch to see how our yarn choice reacts to the blocking process.  Blocking is part of the cleaning process.  Soak the swatch in a rinse-free wool wash.  Drain and start by patting it into shape. OR better still, treat the swatch the way you will be treating the finished garment or item.   Has it grown? Which way did it grow?  Did it shrink?  Which way?  Now you have to go back to trying a different size tool or a different material.  Will it work with all patterns?  

Personally, and I advise this to many, I think a very patterned yarn hides the beautiful stitchwork I have done.  Is the yarn highly textured?  Is it really fuzzy?  This can hide my beautiful stitchwork also.