Adventures in bust darts pt. 1
This is not a knitting blog, however, it IS a special interest blog and we believe in posting all special interests because we live loud.
So I knitted a few sweaters for boobless people before I knit one for myself. So when I started knitting things for myself, I thought, no biggie, I like wearing sweaters with a roomy fit, it will work great to pick a pattern size according to my full bust measurement, with the knowledge that it will be a roomy sweater.
But the armholes. The armholes, people!!!!
I have fairly broad shoulders and a G-cup (UK)/ I-cup (US). I do not, however have big upper arms. Most times the shoulders work themselves out, but the armholes decidedly do NOT.
Below is the Mooncrush Tank by Jacqueline Cieslak. The pattern says to choose a size with 4-6” of positive ease. This is the correct size to give 5” positive ease. Notice two things: the armholes are WAY too big. Like, it’d be okay if they were a little low, but they’re also gaping open in the front and showing a huge amount of front bra. But also notice how much higher the hem is in the front versus the back, because boob real estate. (This pattern is knit in front/back panels, so I’m in the process of fixing it by taking in the side seams. Will report back.)
Below is the Carlisle (Raglan) by Maddy Moe. It’s unfinished on both sleeves. The pattern says to choose a size with 3-6” positive ease. This is the correct size to give 0” ease (because I know from clothes sizing in general that this is more likely to work). This is a better fit, but notice how much extra fabric is bunching at the armpit! I love a comfy sweater as much as the next person, but even going down to 0” ease, there’s still WAY too much fabric here. The difference is between properly oversized and just poorly fitting.
Below is the Ursina by Jacqueline Cieslak. Ignore that it does not go with the t-shirt I’ve got it over. The pattern says to choose a size with 2-6” positive ease. This is the size for about 1” negative ease, but crucial difference: this pattern is written with instructions for adding short-row bust darts, which I added according to the pattern (size D darts, which adds 28 extra rows, about 4” extra!, starting at the fullest point of the chest). You can see the short-row dart stitches if you look closely, diagonal on the underboob. I also added five decrease rounds after the bust for a total of a 20 stitch (almost 4”!) decrease. This is by far the best attempt so far, but there is still too much room in the arms and slightly too much in the armpit. And notice how far off my size choice was from the pattern guide in order to get it fitting this well.
Okay, so.
Bust dart lesson #1:
If you’ve got big boobs, you cannot, cannot choose your size based on your full bust measurement. Even though this is how everyone will tell you to choose your size. When I chose the size as directed in the Mooncrush tank, I needed to remove 8” at the side seams to get it even close to fitting. 8”!
I’m unsure yet whether it will be better to choose pattern size based on bicep circumference or on high bust measurement (with the understanding that I will need to add significant boob real estate to that size). Both of these are good possibilities; I think it will be trial and error to figure out which one works better in practice. I suppose it’s also a possibility to use underbust measurement or waist measurement?
High bust measurement is taken under the armpits, but over the boobs. The measuring tape will not be level with the floor. You’d then choose the size with the bust measurement according to your high bust rather than your full bust measurement.
For me, my full bust measurement is 4.5” larger than my high bust measurement. If I was choosing according to pattern ease guidance using my high bust measurement, I should’ve chosen one size smaller for the Mooncrush tank (I don’t think this would’ve been enough to fix the problem 🤔), one size smaller in the Carlisle, and the size I chose in the Ursina (which is one size smaller than if I used the full bust measurement). Because of the big boobs, I may need to ignore their ease suggestions and choose a 0” ease for a sweater they intend oversized and a negative ease for a sweater they intend to be form fitting.
If I used bicep measurement to choose a pattern size, figuring 0” of ease in the bicep, I should’ve chosen the size I did in the Ursina and two sizes smaller in the Carlisle. This may be more promising??? Negative ease in the bicep is fairly common; I may need to use that.
Next up: what I’ve learned about bust darts and experimenting with them to figure out what works best. I’m knitting up a fairly plain sweater in a size chosen according to 0” of ease using high bust measurement, and the plan is to do different types and combos of darts, ripping out in between, and see which is best in the end!
Adventures in bust darts, pt. 2