Drop shoulder garment measurements
Quick tips to measure chest circumference and upper arm, Fluens tee release date, other updates.
I hope you are enjoying all the sweater talk that’s happening over the past few weeks, as I am getting ready to publish Fluens Tee.
Drop shoulder garments are considered the easiest ones to knit for a beginner sweater knitter, as there is minimal shaping involved. Today, I wanted to share two quick tips for drop shoulder garment measurements.
(1) Finished chest circumference
A defining characteristic of a drop-shoulder garment is that the body of the garment drops off the shoulder and onto the upper arm. So the armholes of the garment are located somewhere on the upper arm and not at the natural point where torso connects to the arms. (Refer A, below)
Exactly where the armholes are on the upper arm will depend on how much ease you have added to the body.
To estimate the finished chest circumference for the garment you are planning, extend both your arms and ask a friend to measure as shown in B, above. (This method and is explained in Amy Herzog’s Ultimate Sweater Book.)
If you are planning to add a sleeve, it should begin from the point where the body fabric hits the upper arm.
(2) Finished Upper arm measurement
Measure the widest part (usually the middle) of your upper arm and add your desired ease (usually 2-3 inches) to it. This should be the finished upper arm measurement of your garment. 💪
In other words, do not use arm-hole measurement for drop shoulder garments. If you do so, your sleeves will end up huge.
Have you knit a drop shoulder garment yet? Do you have some favorite tips for knitting one? Please share in comments. 💗
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CRAFTDOODLING DESIGNS UPDATES
Fluens Tee pattern drops on Thu Nov 28. Please keep an eye out for your discount code. ♥️
This is my fifth year of participating in Indie Design Gift-A-Long. It is an event designed to enable gift-knitting, hosted by a group of indie designers on Ravelry Indie GAL Ravelry group. The event starts around last week of November every year and runs through Dec 31.
Currently, select patterns from 200+ participating designers are on sale at 25% off until Nov 27th midnight US ET.
Code giftalong2024
The sale is followed by a GAL (Gift-along) where knitters and crocheters engage in making, crafty chatter, games, and contests. I hope you will join the fun and make something for yourself and your loved ones, this holiday season. Here is the link to my sale bundle. ♥️
Another event hosted by independent designers, outside of the Ravelry platform is Fasten Off YAL. It is an accessible, inclusive stitch-along especially helpful for makers who are unable to access Ravelry for various reasons. Currently, patterns from participating designers are 25 % off from until Thursday, December 5, US ET.
Code : FO2024
Enter the code at checkout for any product which has been marked on their website as discount-eligible.You can join the stitch along in FOYAL discord server where loads of fun games, contests, and designer meets are hosted. Here is the link to FOYAL Website and my pattern page.
OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE
In case you had missed, here are my posts from the past two weeks about wardrobe knitting. I hope you enjoy them!
The importance of fiber choice
3 best practices for wardrobe knitting
READING UPDATES
Finished Reading 📖
Mornings in Jenin - Susan Abulhawa
The night we lost him - Laura Dave
Currently Reading 📖
The Twyford Code - Janice Hallet
Until next time,
Kavitha. ♡
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Thank you for this tip to measure. I have never knit a drop shoulder garment, with or without sleeves as I feel a boxy garment will not look good on me. I have been tempted to try but then draw back as I would rather use my knitting time at something I am sure of liking. I would welcome any advice on not shying away from drop shoulder construction.
The hint about the armhole vs upper arm measurement is good, thank you! I'm certain I made that mistake at least once.
I have been knitting a few drop shoulder garments, and one of my design wips is also drop shoulder. One thing I noticed is that above a certain ease and a certain upper chest measurement (depending on the shoulder vs chest circumference, though) there is quite some fabric bunching at the underarm. So despite drop shoulders requiring less shaping than set-in sleeves, I think something needs to happen to that excess fabric. I haven't quite figured out yet what, but I think something approaching a C shape of the armhole could be appropriate, where the upper end of the C is slightly longer to keep the drop shoulder. Or maybe something like the opposite of a sleeve gusset: two lines of decreases on the body and on the sleeves ,one coming from the front and one from the back, meeting (or not meeting) at the underarm.
Or, with less ease overall, adding a shoulder gusset. I have seen that in ganseys and found it quite interesting.
Would be interested in your thoughts on this.