Happy Friday! You all responded so very well to our first CustomFit sweater post, and the beta-tester sweaters popping up everywhere are so amazing, that I thought I’d make something of a regular series of these “From Scratch” profiles.
So this week for Fashion Friday, let’s look at Kim and her CustomFit sweater. I asked Kim to tell me a little bit about her style desires, fit issues, and her sweater. Her comments are in quotes throughout this post.
Kim’s style desires, in her words, are:
- “I want to look longer and more balanced. Less round and squat.”
- “I have a shape. I want to enhance the curves I have.” (Amy here, going on record as saying that Kim actually has a gorgeous shape, rather than just “a” shape!)
- “I like and look best in simple shapes with something special and a little different. Touches of ornamentation that highlight the piece.”
- “If it’s not comfortable, I won’t wear it. I need fabrics and shapes that can be dressed up for professional events and teaching, but that I can wear in my small town.”
- “And I want sweaters that make others want to knit sweaters! When it looks right on me, others believe it’s possible for them too.” (Amy here again: I love this. Kim is such a wonderful sweater ambassador, and it feels so amazing to wear a sweater you love.)
Given those desires, Kim’s fit issues are:
- Her shoulders are “…relatively narrow compared to width of [my] bust. The whole width of my torso at bust level is visually significantly wider than the rest of my torso.”
- [I have a] “…long torso, short legs and short arms.”
- [I’m] “…plus sized AND petite, requiring rapid and drastic shaping in order to show any shape at all.”
Kim went on to add that “it’s really the alternating and extreme narrow/wide/narrow/wide/narrow curvature of my body. It’s curvy, but not smoothly and they aren’t easy curves to knit for.”
Now, Kim is another case of “modifications really help“. She’s got a whole whack of sweaters that look great. And yet…
And yet…
This sweater is better.
Pattern: CustomFit. Relaxed fit, 3/4 sleeves, mid hip length, V neck.
Yarn: Indigodragonfly Merino Sock. Colorway? Special, one of a kind, as fabulous as Kim.
Size: Kim’s. Everywhere.
So let’s start by talking about shaping, which is Kim’s most challenging issue. Working waist and bust shaping independently on the front and the back of the sweater go a really long way toward sweater nirvana…
…but as it turns out, when you need to shape more than ~every 4th row in one place? The fabric starts to bias and look a little strange.
CustomFit handles this by placing additional dart lines whenever shaping every 4th row isn’t enough. For Kim’s sweater, she needed double lines of darts for the shaping. So CustomFit figured that out, and put them in.
It handles bust, shoulders, armholes, and biceps independently. So Kim gets a great fit everywhere.
Again, CustomFit knows how to fit all of you. So Kim’s sweater fits perfectly, everywhere, without Kim ever having to take a single note or make a single calculation or change a single thing. It was built, from scratch, for her body, instead of retrofitted.
It’s still so amazing to me that the best sweaters are also the easiest sweaters. I’m thrilled with the way Kim’s sweater turned out.
- I love that even though the fit is relaxed and it’s clearly not tight anywhere, Kim’s curves shine through.
- I love that Kim looks comfortable in all of these pictures. She glows.
- I love that Kim didn’t need to change anything, or fiddle, or stress about everything working. She just knit.
Kim loves it too. She wanted me to add her thoughts on the sweater, so I’ll share them with you here:
[Here’s] what I noticed when I first tried on the finished sweater that has NEVER happened before:
The fronts fall straight down, exactly where they’re supposed to fall. Even with modifications, there’s always a bit more of a “split” at the widest part of my hip (high hip). Not here.
The front shaping exactly follows the curve of my body. It’s looser fitting, but you can see the curves! It gives me a waist from all angles. Not just the back.
Sleeves: I finally understand how sleeves are supposed to fit. These follow the shape of my arm, but aren’t too tight and aren’t too loose. The shoulder sits at my shoulder.
I’m not sure it’s possible to be more thrilled with a sweater, but I bet Kim will try. Like many of the beta-testers, she’s already cast on for her next CustomFit sweater.
We are so, so excited about sharing these sweaters with you. Until the next installment in the “From Scratch” series, which will be 2 weeks from now, keep an eye out on Rav for the customfit pattern (which we expect to be adding soon), and don’t forget that if you want be among the first users, you should join the newsletter.
Have a great and yarn-filled weekend!
Amy Herzog Designs