Guage for Ella Rae coat

Okay, as you all cast on for the Ella Rae Coat knit-a-long, make sure to check your guage!!! This is super super important!!!!

The guage for this project is 18 stitches=4 inches. That means 3.5 sts/inch.

***GUAGE TIP*** When you cast on for a guage, always cast on two more than what the guage calls for. In this case, we will cast on 20 stitches. We do this because the edges in stockinette stitch always curl. Since we will have 20 stitches, the 2 edge stitches will curl and then we can measure the remaining 18 stitches with no problem.

See in my picture above (sorry, not the best pic..) that I am measuring my guage as 18 stitches=3.5 inches. THEREFORE, my guage is too small. I either need to go up a needle size (I used a size 7), or find a bigger yarn. There is also a third option (which I am doing). I am making a bigger size. I am choosing this option because when I made another guage using a larger needle, the stitches became too loose & holey for my likes. I'd rather have a tighter weave using the smaller needle.

SO...I did the math. Ready for this????

Okay, we are looking at the "Coat Bodice" section AFTER all of the increases. Final stitch counts: 152 (172, 188, 208, 224, 244 sts)

I would normally want to make the 152 stitch count size.

Guage should be 4.5 sts/inch. (18 divided by 4)

I am getting 5.14 sts/inch. (18 divided by 3.5 which is what my guage square measured)

152 stitches (the size I want to make) divided by 4.5 stitches/inch (what the guage should have been) equals 33.8 inches.
Now, take 33.8 inches (my desired measurement) and multiply it by what my guage actually is (5.14 stitches/inch) and I get 173. This is closest to the second smallest size. Therefore, this will be the size that I am going to make!

Confused?? Well, if you need help, feel free to stop by and I can help you figure out what size to make! :)

***TIP #2***

Noni suggests to weave in your ends as you go. This is such a good idea because nobody wants to get to the end of their project and then have to weave in 9 gazillion ends!!! So, stop by Fun with Fiber and we can show you how to weave in your ends as you knit. Way easier than weaving them in afterwards.