This problem is not particular to the design we are discussing. This problem is present in 99.99% of designs for hand knitters. This is The Problem.
Here it is: usually we look at ourselves, at the pictures of the models from the front, sometimes from the back, but we usually don't take a look from the side. But the side look is very important for correct fit of the garment. If a designer doesn't pay attention to the side view of a human body, the fit is going to be badly off.
As people gain weight, the bulk of it goes to the front of the body. The back, though it gets some additional padding, doesn't accumulate as much as front.
The side seam of a garment is going to go from the center of an armpit and down. But the arm doesn't move away from the back as one gets larger in size, it stays at the same place plus a little padding. All the additional weight we proudly carry in front of us. Let's take a look at the position of the side seam and the position of the line equidistant between the front and back:
Yes, if we divide the necessary fabric evenly between the front and the back, the side seam is going to to start in the armpit, then bend toward the front. And it is going to torque the whole garment.
It doesn't matter, if you do your sweater in parts and seam it later, or if it's done in the round without seams. If there is no seams, vertical columns of stitches are going to bend and they will torque the whole sweater the same way as if there are seams. No difference.
The result will be the excess fabric on the back, across the shoulder blades; too little fabric on the front and it's going to pull; the whole thing is going to ride up in front and the neckline will choke you; the hemline is not going to be horizontal.
All these ills are more pronounced in garments made of woven fabric. Knits are much more forgiving. For smaller sizes hand-knit fabric is forgiving enough to be able to divide stitches evenly between front and back. But as we go closer to the size 40" bust, or a slender woman wears a bra with a cup size C or larger, the width for the front and back of a sweater have to be different.
Of course, it presents the problem for a designer. It makes it impossible just to plug in the same numbers for front and back. It requires actually to redesign a whole sweater, and the area of armhole and above armholes presents a challenge.
The lower part of the armhole itself for a hand-knit sweater might be successfully designed the same for the front and the back. Initial armhole bind-off and shaping decreases up to the vertical part of the armhole we can plan the same. But then there are additional stitches on the front that have to be decreased, since we need to arrive to the same stitch count for the shoulders. How and where to decrease these stitches?
These extra stitches may be divided and decreased in several places.
The Problem.
The front and back of the sweater are planned to be the same width.
Why is it such a huge problem?
Because people are not air balloons. An air balloon expands evenly in all directions as the air is blown in. When people get larger in size, it is different.
I prefer to explain with pictures. Let's take a look at woman's silhouette, say, size 34, front and side:
And take a look at the silhouette of a woman of the same height, but, say, size 42:
Here it is: usually we look at ourselves, at the pictures of the models from the front, sometimes from the back, but we usually don't take a look from the side. But the side look is very important for correct fit of the garment. If a designer doesn't pay attention to the side view of a human body, the fit is going to be badly off.
As people gain weight, the bulk of it goes to the front of the body. The back, though it gets some additional padding, doesn't accumulate as much as front.
The side seam of a garment is going to go from the center of an armpit and down. But the arm doesn't move away from the back as one gets larger in size, it stays at the same place plus a little padding. All the additional weight we proudly carry in front of us. Let's take a look at the position of the side seam and the position of the line equidistant between the front and back:
The solid red line goes through the center of the armpit; the dashed red line is at the same distance from front and back of the figure. See the difference?
In real life it means that the side seam is not going to stay strictly vertical if we don't make front wider than the back. It is going to be like this:
It doesn't matter, if you do your sweater in parts and seam it later, or if it's done in the round without seams. If there is no seams, vertical columns of stitches are going to bend and they will torque the whole sweater the same way as if there are seams. No difference.
The result will be the excess fabric on the back, across the shoulder blades; too little fabric on the front and it's going to pull; the whole thing is going to ride up in front and the neckline will choke you; the hemline is not going to be horizontal.
All these ills are more pronounced in garments made of woven fabric. Knits are much more forgiving. For smaller sizes hand-knit fabric is forgiving enough to be able to divide stitches evenly between front and back. But as we go closer to the size 40" bust, or a slender woman wears a bra with a cup size C or larger, the width for the front and back of a sweater have to be different.
Of course, it presents the problem for a designer. It makes it impossible just to plug in the same numbers for front and back. It requires actually to redesign a whole sweater, and the area of armhole and above armholes presents a challenge.
The lower part of the armhole itself for a hand-knit sweater might be successfully designed the same for the front and the back. Initial armhole bind-off and shaping decreases up to the vertical part of the armhole we can plan the same. But then there are additional stitches on the front that have to be decreased, since we need to arrive to the same stitch count for the shoulders. How and where to decrease these stitches?
These extra stitches may be divided and decreased in several places.
- Some of these stitches may be decreased along the vertical part of the armhole. It'll make this part of the armhole not exactly vertical, but there is no harm in it if these decreases are planned carefully and thoughtfully. What is not a good idea is to get rid of these stitches all at once, or over a short distance. But if you spread decreases over the whole height of the armhole, it is going to work.
- You can transfer some, not all of these decreases to the neck opening.
- You can plan and design a vertical bust dart. Women will be very grateful.
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