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The pattern stated to start decreases around the fullest part of the bust (or a few centimeters below it if you're large in the bust area) and then to decrease happily every 1.5 centimeters. For me that boiled down to every fifth row, and I was still counting on the blocked row gauge to grow somewhat. (I still don't have a swatch) After seven decreases I would have reached the approximate circumference of the waist (if you're still on gauge).
Ready for a full boob selfie?
No? Well, here it is anyway.
Things I noticed right away:
- The fabric is pretty stretched over the bust area. It's really skin tight.
- That's not my waist.
My 7 times 1.5 centimeters didn't even finish stretching over the full extent of the boobage. I need a LOT more length to even get anywhere near the waist. This may be in part because the stitches over the bust need the stretch width-wise and therefor they get shorter.
How to fix?
Well, first of all: it wasn't uncomfortable. (I'm not going to bore you with further gauge assumptions, but I will admit I've contemplated knitting and blocking a swatch just to get rid of all the uncertainty.)
Even as it is now, it's not uncomfortably tight. I hope the stitches will fluff out a bit so the fabric will become a little less transparent, but I can totally see myself wearing this top with a camisole underneath because I've been knitting with this in my lap for the past few days at 35°C and it's not uncomfortably warm when it's on top of me in this weather. Yay linen!
That said -- I don't like the way the stitches over the bust look so stretched when compared to the stitches right above the bust. I may just rip back more to get the width I need -- and really the only way to do this scientifically is by getting a swatch and calculating how many stitches I will need. With four untouched skeins and a big ball of frogged Songe d'été I will have plenty of yarn. (I may eat these words later, because I know my hips.)
I've also considered doing some short rows to add extra length in the front. The Songe d'été top has a full bust adjustment which does just that. Proportionally my bust isn't very large when compared to my waist and hips but the truth is I do have narrow, EU size 46 shoulders.
But wait...didn't you add a couple of short rows after the lace to the back of the top? And now you're adding short rows to the front....how do you explain that?!
So I took out a photo I took of my t-shirt top pattern. I've used this pattern so many times in the past and although I do have to cut it slightly wider in the side seams under the arm, it is a good representation of my general shape for stretchy fabrics. Note that the back panel is quite a bit slimmer and has a more dramatic curve in the side seam.
Left: front panel; right: back panel.
I drew in two horizontal lines: one is the back height (rughoogte) line, that runs under the arm. The other is (roughly) at the waist (ruglengte).
In pattern drafting both of these are based on a persons body length, and they may differ proportionally because someone has a hunchback figure (=longer back height) or is short-waisted (shorter back length). But it's really important to see WHERE this proportion differs, because you always add the length where you need it.
I am decently proportioned for my height - my back length is pretty much spot-on for a person that is six feet three inches tall. Because most patterns are made for average-sized humans I do need to adjust for it.
I do need a bust adjustment, but in t-shirt fabrics this is not always necessary because they will stretch. You can see in the above picture the front shoulder is almost as tall as the back shoulder. This accounts for my larger bust. Although it's not very exact, because the armscye didn't move up with the shoulder (which is what you'd expect, because the bust is situated below the first line) But you can also see what stretching the knit fabric will do to those poor stitches.
As I'm still working my way through the pattern science, I think I'm correct in adding the short rows after the lace part. I didn't want the back neckline so low that I'd be pulling on it all the time. In pattern drafting the back shoulder sits 2 cm higher than the front, and some short rows will defintely account for that.
Because the underarm point is pretty much a fixed point on the body that will always sit under the arm, the height between the first white line and the shoulder is pretty much fixed. If you don't add the extra 2 centimeters, the back neckline will sit much lower than the front, because it just can't reach up as high.
And I might also need some short rows on the front to get all of the bust into the fabric.
But....
...maybe I should knit that swatch, and figure out what my blocked gauge is first.
And then make plans.
I'm at home with a slight cough anyway (better safe than spread the plague) and with these kinds of temperatures that swatch will dry in MINUTES!
Ready for a full boob selfie?
No? Well, here it is anyway.
Things I noticed right away:
- The fabric is pretty stretched over the bust area. It's really skin tight.
- That's not my waist.
My 7 times 1.5 centimeters didn't even finish stretching over the full extent of the boobage. I need a LOT more length to even get anywhere near the waist. This may be in part because the stitches over the bust need the stretch width-wise and therefor they get shorter.
How to fix?
Well, first of all: it wasn't uncomfortable. (I'm not going to bore you with further gauge assumptions, but I will admit I've contemplated knitting and blocking a swatch just to get rid of all the uncertainty.)
Even as it is now, it's not uncomfortably tight. I hope the stitches will fluff out a bit so the fabric will become a little less transparent, but I can totally see myself wearing this top with a camisole underneath because I've been knitting with this in my lap for the past few days at 35°C and it's not uncomfortably warm when it's on top of me in this weather. Yay linen!
That said -- I don't like the way the stitches over the bust look so stretched when compared to the stitches right above the bust. I may just rip back more to get the width I need -- and really the only way to do this scientifically is by getting a swatch and calculating how many stitches I will need. With four untouched skeins and a big ball of frogged Songe d'été I will have plenty of yarn. (I may eat these words later, because I know my hips.)
I've also considered doing some short rows to add extra length in the front. The Songe d'été top has a full bust adjustment which does just that. Proportionally my bust isn't very large when compared to my waist and hips but the truth is I do have narrow, EU size 46 shoulders.
But wait...didn't you add a couple of short rows after the lace to the back of the top? And now you're adding short rows to the front....how do you explain that?!
So I took out a photo I took of my t-shirt top pattern. I've used this pattern so many times in the past and although I do have to cut it slightly wider in the side seams under the arm, it is a good representation of my general shape for stretchy fabrics. Note that the back panel is quite a bit slimmer and has a more dramatic curve in the side seam.
Left: front panel; right: back panel.
I drew in two horizontal lines: one is the back height (rughoogte) line, that runs under the arm. The other is (roughly) at the waist (ruglengte).
In pattern drafting both of these are based on a persons body length, and they may differ proportionally because someone has a hunchback figure (=longer back height) or is short-waisted (shorter back length). But it's really important to see WHERE this proportion differs, because you always add the length where you need it.
I am decently proportioned for my height - my back length is pretty much spot-on for a person that is six feet three inches tall. Because most patterns are made for average-sized humans I do need to adjust for it.
I do need a bust adjustment, but in t-shirt fabrics this is not always necessary because they will stretch. You can see in the above picture the front shoulder is almost as tall as the back shoulder. This accounts for my larger bust. Although it's not very exact, because the armscye didn't move up with the shoulder (which is what you'd expect, because the bust is situated below the first line) But you can also see what stretching the knit fabric will do to those poor stitches.
As I'm still working my way through the pattern science, I think I'm correct in adding the short rows after the lace part. I didn't want the back neckline so low that I'd be pulling on it all the time. In pattern drafting the back shoulder sits 2 cm higher than the front, and some short rows will defintely account for that.
Because the underarm point is pretty much a fixed point on the body that will always sit under the arm, the height between the first white line and the shoulder is pretty much fixed. If you don't add the extra 2 centimeters, the back neckline will sit much lower than the front, because it just can't reach up as high.
And I might also need some short rows on the front to get all of the bust into the fabric.
But....
...maybe I should knit that swatch, and figure out what my blocked gauge is first.
And then make plans.
I'm at home with a slight cough anyway (better safe than spread the plague) and with these kinds of temperatures that swatch will dry in MINUTES!
