Sweaters You’ll Actually Wear — Part III Size

This is the third installment of Sweaters You’ll Actually Wear, where I talk about simple things you can think about before casting on your next sweater, to make sure it’s one you reach for again and again.

So, this one might be obvious, but choosing the right size is pretty crucial to a sweater you’ll actually want to put on your body. I can’t tell you how many sweaters I knit, especially when I was first starting out, that ended up being way too small! But how do you know how to choose? Unfortunately, there isn’t a “this will fix everything!” solution to a sizing problem, as it’s usually a combination of things. 

An important thing to decide early on is how much ease you want. But it’s a pretty abstract thing to think about sometimes, isn’t it? What does 2” of negative ease or 6” of positive ease actually look and feel like on your body? My favourite thing to do is to take a closer look at the clothes I’m already wearing! We all have those things that we love and feel comfortable in, so we can use those pieces to get a better idea of what we already like! 

Here’s something you can do right now: take your favourite sweater, whether handmade or store bought, lay it out flat, and take measurements at key parts of the body, such as the bust and upper arm circumference. Then, you can compare that number with your own body measurements to determine how much ease it has. 

Now, speaking of body measurements, it’s very important to have up-to-date and accurate body measurements when you’re choosing your size, because how are you supposed to know what size to pick if you don’t even know the size of your own body?! This was the main issue I was running into when I was making all my sweaters too small — I didn’t take new measurements after I had a baby, and my proportions had completely changed. 

Do you remember the last time you took your measurements, or are you unsure about how to do it correctly? Make sure to check out our free guide, Your Perfect Fit: Essential Body Measurements for Knitters, which includes a video demo of how to take key measurements and a PDF worksheet to keep track of yours.