This project will help you understand more about gauge. Most of the time in knitting, we match the weight of our yarns to the size of our needles in order to knit fabric that is neither too stiff nor too floppy. But what if we need a tighter or a looser fabric? In this project, the finished fabric needs to be firmer and denser, to keep the pencil points from poking through. To achieve that, we can intentionally choose to knit medium-weight yarn on fine needles. The resulting fabric is thicker and firmer than it would be with bigger needles. The finished piece holds twelve pencils (or pens), plus erasers or other items in the widest slot.