Gallery: Flutter Sleeve Cardigan, design by Pam Allen
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 As
you can see, the same sweater looks very different on different women!
We give general suggestions for customization for your inspiration.
Only you can choose how you want your sweaters to fit and which
customizations will work best for you and your beautiful self!
Flutter Sleeve Cardigan
Sample garment shown is 36" at bust.
General comments on the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan
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Sarah
Her bust: 35.5"
Ease at bust as shown: 0.5" (zero to minimal ease) For
Sarah, I would keep the waist shaping on as written, but I might
(might!) work fewer ribbing rows after the shaping was completed, and
compensate by working more stockinette rows over the bust area. This
would help the ribbing to end sooner, just under her bustline, thus
giving more definition to her shape. It would also give more
stockinette fabric to stretch over her curves up top. The reason I say
"might" is that the sweater looks wonderful on Sarah as is. |
| Kerry
Her bust: 37.75"
Ease at bust as shown: 1.75" negative ease For
Kerry, who has a very high waist, I would start the ribbing about 1"
sooner than written, so that the beginning of the ribbing corresponds
to her natural waistline. I'd leave the shaping in the ribbed section
just as written—this would move the entire ribbed section down, thus
giving more definition to her bustline. Again, I would have to work
more stockinette rows on top to achieve the proper fit over the bust. |
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Debbie
Her bust: 34.5"
Ease as shown: 1.5" positive ease
Debbie is wearing the Flutter with the same amount of
ease as recommended in the magazine. Her natural waist is a bit lower
than the beginning of the ribbing, so I would start the ribbing about
1" sooner. However, her waist is long, and I like where the bust
shaping falls as it is on her, so I might work an additional 1" of
ribbing before the stockinette section. In other words: lower the
beginning of the ribbing, but leave the top where it is, making the
whole section longer. Adding another inch or two to the hem length
would help balance out the long waist. |
| Toni
Her bust: 33.5"
Ease as shown: 2.5" positive ease
The extra positive ease helps the sweater fit over
Toni's long sleeve layers. I'd make the sweater a bit longer for her.
Other than that: Completely adorable. |
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Annie
Her bust: 31"
Ease as shown: 5" positive ease |
| Trish
Her bust: 34"
Ease as shown: 2" positive ease |
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Laura
Her bust: 33.5"
Ease as shown: 2.5" positive ease |
| Bertha
Her bust: 34"
Ease as shown: 2" positive ease
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Bertha - Back
Her bust: 34"
Ease as shown: 2" positive ease |
Sandi's general comments on the Flutter:
First of all: I love it! Knit at 5 sts to the inch, there is a lot of
"give" and stretch to the fabric of this sweater. The cotton/silk/nylon
blend yarn, however, has quite a bit of memory, so the sweater does not
get stretched out of shape! It gracefully fit everyone from Kerry, on
whom it has 2" of negative ease, to Annie, where it had 5" of positive
ease. More positive ease means that you can wear it as a cardigan, over
other clothes (see Toni's photo); negative ease gives it a more fitted
look, like a suit jacket, allowing you to wear it alone, or with a tank
or sleeveless blouse.
The wide waist ribbing gives this sweater a long-waisted shape,
which is quite slimming on many larger gals. Because Pam used a clever
combination of needle-size changes, short rows, and
decreases/increases, you have a lot of flexibility in terms of
adjusting the waist ribbing.
Needle size changes are often used to achieve simple shaping without
actually increasing or decreasing stitches. Use a larger needle for the
places you want the sweater to be bigger, and a smaller needle size for
the places where you want the sweater to be smaller. In the Flutter,
Pam works the bottom section in size 6, switches to size 3 for the
waist, and then goes back to size 6 for the bust and shoulders. Smaller
gauge, smaller waist. Note that Pam combines changing the needle size with standard waist increases and decreases for an even more dramatic curvy shape. Clever!
Adjustments: For a larger waist, switch to a size 4 or 5
instead of a 3, depending on your gauge. (Yes, this means you have to
swatch carefully, but then you knew swatching would work its annoying
little self into this somehow.) Or, for less dramatic waist curves,
work the entire waist section in the same size needle as the
body--you'll still get curves, because of the increases and decreases,
but they will be more gentle curves.
Posted
Feb 14 2008, 10:49 PM
by
Kat
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