When we lived in Tucson, I spent a fair amount of time at Grandma's Spinning Wheel, and my friend Vicky, the shop's owner, told me about a question a lot of customers ask. She said tight knitters often don't understand why they always have to go up several needle sizes to obtain the recommended gauge for a yarn or pattern.

We chatted and came up with a couple ideas that might help tight knitters loosen up and have an easier time getting gauge.

  1. Knit happy! When you're frustrated, or anxious, you tend to tighten your grip on your yarn and needles.
  2. Stitches should hug the needles not strangle them. There's no need to intentionally pull the yarn and stretch your stitches out of shape.
  3. Knit on your needles, not on the needle tips. Depending on the size of the needle you are using, the needle tips can be several millimeters smaller than the shaft of the needle. So if you form your stitches on the needle tips they can be significantly smaller than if you form your stitches around the shaft. (For a detailed demonstration of why this happens, don't miss the 3 Tips for Tight Knitters video on YouTube.)

If you prefer to watch without distractions, the ad-free lesson is included in our Ohmo Shawl Pattern and Video Series Bundle.

Get the Pattern PDF + Video Series Bundle