While learning to crochet, I ignored terms like Gauge and Tension. It was challenging to master the many different stitches and techniques, let alone worry about what those terms meant.
There weren’t any sources to reference while I was learning back then. The only sources I knew of were other people and the pattern directions. If the pattern was in a magazine, the basic stitches were usually listed in a separate part of the magazine.
Being as young as I was, pre-teens, I had no desire to make anything that would need gauge or Tension. Well, at least not that, I thought anyway. All I knew was I wanted to make something that was pretty and had nothing to do with potholders. Since everything I made was with cotton thread, I stayed with patterns that called for that. Mainly doilies, bedspreads, and tablecloths were all that was readily available. I opted to disregard anything that had more than one piece. Bedspreads and tablecloths fell under this group.
It wasn’t very long before I was growing tired of doilies. I wanted to try yarn and some of the afghans I had seen. Moving onto yarn brought me right up to Gauge and Tension. I now had no choice except to learn.
Gauge really only matters when you are making more of the same piece to join together. Then the squares or shapes need to be the same size. On the other hand, Tension is essential all the way through the project, no matter if the item you are making is one piece or multiple.
I often tried different techniques such as changing the hook size recommended or holding the hook another way that I was accustomed to. Finally, I just stopped caring and stayed with the simpler patterns.
Then one day, I decided to try this one stitch that I was intrigued with called the Bavarian Stitch. Most of the patterns given for it were one-piece items. Afghans, table runners, and scarves, to name a few, left me a wide variety to choose from for my learning the stitched piece. I decided on a baby afghan. Within an hour, I was absolutely enthralled with the complex look this stitch pattern looked like, but how easy it was to learn and remember. Within a few hours, I was in love with this pattern. I could change the colors and the number of rounds for each color.
One day looking around online at some of my favorite crochet websites, I saw the Bavarian Stitch done in squares to make up an afghan. Now, I was in trouble. I wanted to make this but knew I probably would get very frustrated with getting the gauge correct. I was in for a surprise. Not only was my Tension right on the mark, so was my gauge. It seems that the two go hand in hand. Once I had relaxed into any pattern I was making, I didn’t realize that my Tension evened out. Once I found that I understood things that had always alluded me before, like when you are at the end of a row, where exactly does the hook enter the chain stitch? Once I knew things like that, my rows were now straight, and so was my Tension.
Once my Tension was consistent, the gauge was a piece of cake!
The two pictures shown here are of the same afghan. I have six squares in one lined up but not attached to each other. You can see the diamond pattern of one square is in perfect line with the next one, top, bottom, and side. The other picture is of the afghan completed. All 12 squares lined up and were a breeze to join.
