You have a new yarn. You have a pattern. You are hot to get started on the project, but the first thing the instructions bore you with is a discussion of GAUGE. Arrgh. Do we have to mess with this stuff?
Yes. Gauge is probably the most important part of knitting or crochet, just as ease is important when you are sewing fabric. If you create a dress using woven cotton fabric using a pattern designed for a stretchy knit, it will fit your full, curvy figure like something intended for a prepubescent male. If you don't test the gauge of your knitting, your finished product won't be the size you want either.
Check out the three pairs of socks shown in the first picture. They are all done by the same knitter (me!) using the same basic pattern (64 stitches around, toe-up, two-at-a-time knitting.) The only differences are in decoration. The red pair has a different lace pattern than the yellow and blue striped pair. I haven't gotten to the embellishment for the green pair yet. Still -- they look like they are for Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear. What happened?
Moving to the yellow and blue striped socks, I felt like I had been set free. The ball band said that it was Size 1, Superfine yarn and it recommended that I knit with 2.75 mm needles which are the small Size 2 needles. I wanted a tighter knit, so I used 2.50 mm, the larger Size 1 needles. Larger needles, somewhat thicker yarn: the socks will still fit a woman comfortably, but they are less delicate than the dainty red yarn. The upside of this yarn is that it is machine washable and dryable. My friend who is getting them will not have to baby these handmade socks.
Yellow and blue striped socks are done. On to the next pair. Again, the ball band says that this is Size 1, Superfine yarn, but it feels nearly twice as thick as the yellow yarn. Compared with the red yarn, it feels like worsted weight (Size 4). The ball band recommended Size 3 needles. Ugh. Heavy yarn, but huge needles for knitting socks. I opted for 2.75 mm needles which are the small Size 2 needles. I am glad I did. These socks are HUGE. I had intended to make them for a woman, but will now make them longer and give them to a man. (Ah, the joys of toe-up knitting. You can adapt as you go.)
When you go back to the first picture you can see that a lot of things are going on here. In spite of all of the yarns being "superfine," they are not identical. They require different needle sizes to work with their yarn thicknesses. Because the yarn is of different sizes and the needles are of different sizes, the socks come out different sizes. If I were trying to get all three pairs to be identical to the yellow and blue striped socks, I would need to use larger needles with the red yarn and much smaller needles with the green yarn. The red yarn would come out very open, even lacy, and might not be as comfortable. The green yarn would be extremely tightly knit and would be a dense, warm sock.
Socks are pretty forgiving. As long as you can get them on your feet, and they cover the arch and fit the heel, the rest is okay. Not all patterns are this easy. If you are making a sweater that needs to fit closely around the bust or to drape nicely around the hips the yarn and the stitches need to be where the designer intended them to be in the row where the designer intended them. You will save yourself a lot of heartaches, frogging, and words that would make my late husband the Sailor blush if you create a test swatch in the beginning and determine that your needles will create the fabric you intend to make. If you are concerned that the size needle you need to create the proper gauge doesn't work well with the yarn (as in the red socks), consider using that yarn for a different pattern and find a different yarn for the pattern at hand.
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