When trying to figure out the weight of my handspun yarn, I usually rely on visual comparisons to commercial yarns. Occasionally, I’ll bother with a grams/yds comparison.
I want to be extra careful and rigorous with my freshly spun batch of Texel. So I buckled down and knitted up a bunch of swatches with needles US7 to US10. Each swatch is knitted with the same number of stitches and rows.
What may be a little hard to see in the photo are the t-pins I inserted marking out 4-inch squares on each swatch.
Which one of these needle sizes wins?
All She Wants To Do Is Knit 
I think it depends on what you are going to knit then you can decide which needle and gauge you like. at least that is what I would do.
It depends what you’re going to knit. If you want something drapey, go with the larger needles. Something that needs to be more windproof, like a hat, go with the smaller needles.
7 looks way too tight, 10 too loose, so that leaves 8 or 9. That looks like a good weft for most clothing items.
I think you also want to ‘feel’ the heft of the sample and decide which feels good to you. š
Tricky…. I voted 8, but none of them look far too tight or far too loose.
Yeah, for me it’s between 8 and 9 too. 7 is a bit on the stuff side for a sweater. And 10 could work but isn’t better than 9.
I’m really one who needs to *feel* a swatch and how drapey it is. For fibers with memory I like a tighter gauge than fibers with no memory, but it also really depends on what I’m making. Misty Morning had plenty of wool but I still went drapey. Unless one of the fabrics really speaks to you, I think you’d be better off getting a vague idea of what you want to make first.
definitively prefer the 8th needle version. great to see a gauge’s girl too!
I am a new spinner. I think I am learning I need to buy a lot of ounces of fiber to have enough yarn to knit swatches and still have enough yarn for a wee something. How much fiber do you usually purchase? I recall you had a whole fleece.
Thanks!
This was about 1.5 lbs.