Unlock the Secrets of Sweater Sizing with the Rose Thrift Knitalong

One of the potential problems with knitting garments that can keep people from wanting to knit them is that they have to fit your body. Not only do you have be aware of what your actual measurements are, which can be hard for some people to face, you also have to make sure you’re getting the right gauge and knitting the right size so that the finished garment will actually fit.

If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around how you might figure out the right size to knit for you or how to alter a pattern to make it fit the best for you, check out the Rose Thrift Cardigan knitalong guidance from Plymouth Yarn Magazine.

This cardigan (you can buy the pattern on Ravelry for $5) is interesting because the back is worked in a lace pattern that has a 12-stitch repeat. That means each change in size is an increase in 3 inches in width on the back and about 6 inches on the front.

If you don’t need all that extra width, you can work different parts of the sweater in different sizes that will fit your body better. The blog post goes through how to think about which parts should be worked in which size, how to swatch in lace, tips for other ideas for altering the pattern and more.

Even if you don’t knit this particular pattern, this post provides lots of great advice for how to think about sweater knitting, sizing and alteration that will no doubt be helpful in the future.

[Photo: Plymouth Yarn Magazine.]

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

Next Pattern:

If you’re looking for a sweater knitting pattern that uses up some of your stash and allows you to make just the sweater you want, the Marlina Rib by Shay Johson might be just the thing.

It’s worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight gauge, so you can use the same two yarns throughout or change one or both regularly for an even more colorful look.

The pattern has options to make it either a crewneck or a henley style with buttons, tapered or relaxed sleeves, and a straight hemline or a split hem with buttons (which sounds so cute if you do the henley with split hem and match the buttons on both parts).

It’s also knit from the top down so you can make the body and the sleeves as long as you want. There are 10 sizes available in the pattern, with a chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 81.5 to 172.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 4-6 inches/10-15 cm of positive ease at the chest.

The pattern page on Ravelry includes tons of measurements and yardage estimates so you can make sure you’ll get a good fit for your body before you even buy the pattern. Shay also shows a few variations of the sweater so you can see how different options look before you decide how you want to put them together.

The stitch pattern is 1×2 ribbing, which is really easy to do and gives a look almost like fisherman’s rib that’s relaxed and easy to wear.

This sweater looks like a great option for people who are somewhat new to sweater knitting or those who love to have lots of customization options (because it’s like getting multiple sweater patterns in one!).

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself at Ravelry.

[Photo: Shay Johnson]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply