Gage is off

[NancyMcQuade]

I am starting a new project ( a sweater). This is the first project (the others were easy cowls) where I have had to worry about my tension/gauge. I have done a swatch which is supposed to yield 4" for 16 stitches and 10 rows of half double crochet using a 5mm hook. I found that I need to go down to a 4mm hook for my width which has worked now, but length of the swatch is too short. The same applied for the 5mm hook. What does one do in this situation?

Nancy

[crochetdiva]

Try making your gauge swatch a little larger and wider with the 5mm hook. Do not use the edges of your swatch to measure your gauge.

[Linda Carol]

I have same problem with gage. I don't quite understand crochet diva answer. If you increase size of swatch wouldn't your sweater be larger? Please help me understand. Thank you

[crochetdiva]

You don't measure your swatch from boundary to boundary. You measure your swatch inside the boundary to get an accurate measurement. This is why you need to crochet a slightly larger swatch. Hope this helps you out.