Gauge Measuring for Hard-To-See Stitches

Have you ever struggled to see your stitches when measuring a gauge swatch? Whether it’s due to the fiber you’re working with (textured or tweedy for example), or you have a visual impairment that makes seeing your individual stitches a challenge, it can be a common and frustrating experience.

A few years ago I wrote a blog post sharing 5 tips for Swatch Stitch Counting. They included things like:

Using some kind of pointer (like a small double pointed needled) to help trace each stitch as you count.
Using a ruler (instead of a tape measure) for more stability.
Trying a gauge-measuring magnifier tool.
Taking a photo of your swatch (with measuring device lined up) and then zoom in on the photo.

But I have one more method to share now, thanks to a fellow knitter and instructor (Jocelyn Denault of https://www.questionstricot.com/) who shared this additional idea with me and graciously allowed me to share it with you all. Jocelyn works with visually impaired knitters, sharing tips and tools to make knitting more accessible and I’m so grateful that she shared this super helpful tip with me. Whether you have a visual impairment or you’re just working with hard-to-see yarn, I think it’s such a great technique!

So what’s this additional idea for gauge measuring hard-to-see stitches?

The main idea of this technique is to separate the measurement aspect from the counting aspect. First you mark off your measurement area with locking stitch markers. Then you measure the width from marker-to-marker. And then you count the stitches in-between the markers. By doing this, it allows you to count the stitches in whatever way is easiest for your eyes, whether it’s holding the fabric close up or gently stretching the fabric out to reveal the stitches more clearly. Then you divide the number of stitches counted by the measurement area to get your number of stitches per inch.

I go over this entire technique step-by-step in my video lesson below!

And if you’re new to gauge measuring in general, it may be helpful to also watch my gauge measuring for beginners video – check it out by clicking here! I hope these tutorials are helpful should you ever encounter challenges measuring gauge.