How do you gauge success?

In knitting and crochet, gauge is measured by the number of stitches per inch (or centimeter). I want to be able to talk about gauge with the lucet, but no one has come up with a standard gauge measurement yet. That meant I needed to develop my own gauge standard.

I first tried to measure the pairs of stitches per inch or centimeter. That was great for braids from large yarn. It became difficult when I tried to measure braids from smaller yarns. It was just too difficult to count all the stitch pairs.

I decided to go by a less exact method. I now measure gauge by sample. Gauge by sample means making a braid from two meters of yarn, then measuring it in both length and width. Additional information about the sample includes whether the braid was “tight”, “medium”, or “loose”. But I have definitions for each of those. Then I compare the braid for the actual project to the sample to see if I’m braiding it to the same gauge. While it’s not my favorite way of measuring, it was the best one I could live with.