Get Over It!: Measure for a perfect fit.

Anyone who has knitted their own garments has likely come up against the tough decision of what size to choose to make, especially when one owns a fairly bountiful rack (that being a C cup or larger).

Many just choose the full bust measurement and that can come with mixed results, especially if the bust is large and the rest of the body is more petite. This can lead to the bust fitting fine, but the shoulders and everything else swimming on the wearer.

Do you choose the size that matches the measurement of your bust, your bra size or something else?

Well, no, no and yes.

That “something else” is your overbust measurement. This is essentially is the measurement of your chest minus the actual breasts.

The lower pink line in my illustration is the full bust measurement, taken across the fullest part of the breasts.

The upper pink line is where the overbust measurement is taken.

What you do is take both measurements, then average them. For example, the full bust may be 44” and the overbust might be 40”. The average is 42” and that would be the size to choose.

There still may be additional tweaks (such as adding short rows) to make based on your individual body shape, but this method will bring you much closer to selecting your perfect size.

 

Learn more about those fitting tweaks in my Feminine Fit class on Craftsy.com !

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Knit to Fit Part 5: Unifying Two Sizes

For those of us who are not perfectly proportioned, choosing what size to knit can be a conundrum.

Do you go with a size to fit the upper body and hope that it will fit around the tummy/hips, or the size that fits the hips and let your bust/shoulders fend for themselves?

Happily, there is no need to take a chance at all as you can simply choose both sizes and make them meet in the middle.

As an example we’ll use a woman with a smaller upper body and bountiful hips. She wears a medium on top and an XL on the bottom. She finds that for the size garment to fit her hips, she must cast on 100 stitches for the front working from the bottom up.  The size front that will fit her bust asks that she cast on 80 stitches. 

So she casts on her 100 stitches then begins to decrease at the side edges, 1 stitch at each end of her needle every 6^th row 10 times, until the 80 stitches she needs remain.  So, what she has done is gently decreased away the material needed to cover her hips until she reaches the number for her upper body, then she continues working as for the smaller size.

   This can work the same way in reverse for those with a larger bust/shoulders and small hips. Simply cast on for the smaller size and increase gently until the number of stitches for the top half of the garment is reached and continue to work as for the larger size.

http://www.whiteliesdesigns.com features many beautiful styles that lend themselves to this technique.

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Classes at Yarnosphere! October 12-13th, 2013

 

Join me at Yarnosphere!

Join me, Joan McGowan Michael, at Yarnoshpere! Yarn show October 12-13, 2013.

I’ll be teaching my very popular Whip Your Knits into Shape workshops and my fun Bead Embroidery for Knits class!

-With Whip Your Knits  Part 1, students will work in teams to take complete measurements of your own bodies and I will show you how to apply that knowledge to getting the best fit possible in your knitted garments. Alterations, the application of short row shaping, ease, and marrying different sizes are all discussed in this class. We keep this class small enough for me to give everyone the personal attention they need, so sign up early to assure a spot.

-In Whip Your Knits Part 2, students will use the measurements taken in Part 1 and transfer them to brown paper to make a basic hard pattern of their body, then using this new pattern to easily design a custom sweater on graph paper. Again, small class size assures personal attention, so reserve early!

–Bead Embroidery for Knits is where I get to pull out my small but fantastic collection of 50’s beaded sweaters and we re-create one of the beaded motifs on a swatch which we later turn into a fancy eyeglass case! This technique is great for more than just knits; decorate a tee shirt or jean jacket or even Christmas ornaments

It’s going to be a great knitter’s weekend in Orange County and I can’t wait to see you all there!

Knit to Fit- Part 3

Fit problem number 3.- A Baggy Body

     I see a lot of beautifully curvy women walking around in sweaters or tee shirts cut for men, not realizing that instead of hiding the bits they want to cover up, it makes them look larger all up and down their torso.

Any time  a top hangs off the end of the bust as men’s cuts will do on a woman, it lets the mind’s eye of the onlooker assume that the bagginess of the top is filled in with the wearer’s body whether the case or not.

   Counter this  with a little shaping at the sides of the garment; just enough to suggest the waistline and remove some excess fabric.

My free  Shapely Tank pattern mentioned in a previous post  goes into specifics as to how to achieve this (print one out to keep in your knitting bag) but generally, beginning at the upper hip, you will decrease away about 1” worth of stitches at each seam edge prior to reaching the waist area, and add them back in after the waist.

This 4” of nipping is enough to make a huge difference in how your sweater will flatter your middle. Try it on the next garment you knit.

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Just FYI, many of my patterns are now available as digital downloads in my Etsy shop!

Coming Soon : My Craftsy Classes!

I’m so pleased to announce that  I will soon be giving classes through Craftsy.com!

Even better, one of the classes entitled “Feminine Fit” will be based on the Knit to Fit series I’ve been running right here on my blog!

  I’ve hugely expanded the information for this class wherein I demonstrate how to acheive the fit you’ve always wanted in your sweaters but didn’t know how to get. I’ll show how to do this easily and without using a lot of intimidating math equations.

I’ll also be teaching a class on Continental Knitting, so if you’ve been wanting to learn this enormously useful technique,  join me on Craftsy.com for this excellent free class.

I’ll post links, a special discount offer and more information as soon as I have it.

Here I am on the Craftsy set:

 

Joan on the Craftsy set

 

 

It’s coming! Knit to Fit!

Next week we’ll begin posting installments of our very popular “Knit to Fit” series starting with part 1.

Sign up to receive notification of new posts by clicking “follow” in the lower right hand corner of this blog.

Also, the series has been so well received we’ll be writing new installments, so if you have any specific fit questions you’d like for me to tackle,  send them along  to me at  Whitelies@yahoo.com .

Enjoy the series and I look forward to your questions!

Joan McGowan-Michael