Getting puzzled.

I took a look at the patterns in knitting magazines. And what I see – in almost all patterns the sleeve cap is shorter than armhole by some 3”. Well, I think, it’s too much difference. It should be some 1.5-2”, but 3”?…

And then I’m asked a question – why sleeve cap is always shorter than armhole? To answer this question, let’s take a look at the sleeve and the armhole. Yes, the sleeve cap is shorter than the armhole, but armhole has to bend over the curve of the sleeve cap and come to the middle of the top flat part of the sleeve. And the perimeter of the front and back armhole parts must be equal the perimeter of the sleeve, since, unlike sewing patterns, when we knit we don’t need ease for the sleeve cap due to the stretch of the knit fabric.

How much shorter? There is a universal answer to such questions – it depends.

It depends on what? 

On number of things – on gauge, on garment style, on garment size. On stitch pattern – garter stitch can absorb a lot of horizontal and vertical inconsistencies; ribbing also has quite a stretch and you can do a sleeve that would be too wide or too narrow in stockinette and be perfectly OK in ribbing. If you want to use some dense stitch pattern, say linen stitch, it’s completely different story, not so much forgiveness here. What to do? How to decide and how to design?

Nowadays when we need to do some research we go to Google. It’s overwhelming, and it’s not enough at the same time. I kept running into the same blogs and the same design advices, and my curiosity was not satisfied. Someone says that vintage patterns usually have higher sleeve caps than contemporary designs. Let’s take a look.

It’s difficult. Instructions are written in completely different way, no schematics. Armholes are usually given in the same way as now – work even until you reach the full armhole height. But sleeve caps – continue to decrease until you have 17 sts remaining. How many rows? Figure it out yourself. And so I do.  I left out patterns with padded shoulders, puffy sleeves, and really oversized patterns. Many vintage patterns are quite difficult, if at all possible to access – no row gauge given; unclear instructions without measurements given; such things. And considering the picture quality of the past, it is difficult to see how sleeve actually fits a human body.

It looks like generally yes, in vintage patterns the sleeve cap/armhole ratio is quite different from what we see today. The sleeve cap/armhole ratio range I obtained is between 53% and 93%. The average is 74%. 

 

In recent knitting magazines I have seen sleeve cap armhole ratio as low as 31%; mostly between 50% and 65% with several exceptions, like 76%; 84% and 92%; the average is 62%. The totally best fitting sleeve had ratio of 74%. 

How did this shift in design happened? I don’t know. Couldn’t find the answer, maybe I don’t know where to look for it.

Well, where to go next? I decide to try to get an answer from professionals – ready-to-wear designers. Ready-to-wear industry employs professional pattern drafters and pattern graders. These people have training, they have access to statistical data on human body measurements, and sophisticated pattern grading software is being developed. And among these professionals there are people who specialize entirely on stretch fabrics.

Armed with a measuring tape and a ruler I head to the mall. I have visited several stores, from Target to Ralf Lauren, and measured knit sweaters in gauge and designs comparable with hand-knit sweaters and in a range of sizes.

Sleeve cap height was easy – just measure overarm measurement, than underarm seam and subtract the second from the first.

Armhole height is trickier. First I would find a horizontal part of the sleeve-body seam. Then I put a ruler at this level perpendicular to the side seam; then I have measured from the ruler to the shoulder.

I have recorded measurements for each sweater separately. At home I have calculated the sleeve cap to armhole ratio. 

Result:  the sleeve cap/armhole ratio across the brands and sizes was between 75% and 83%; average was 77%. 

It piqued my curiosity and I decided to do more research.