Finding the Right Fit

Next to my desk is a tote bag full of clothes (mostly spring and summer dresses) destined for the tailor. I am short-waisted. At 5’6”, this means that I have long legs—which I love—and a very short torso to the point where there is only a two-finger width gap between my natural waist and the bottom of my ribcage. I don’t mind this, but it does present a challenge when finding clothes that fit.

Unless a clothes model is also short-waisted (and why would a clothing company intentionally design for that?), I always end up with extra fabric above my bust. At best, this means I’m frequently shimmying shirts and dresses down to compensate and at worst it means straps that don’t say up and modest V-necks that become quite scandalous without any styling effort on my part.

Hence, the trip to the tailor whenever I accumulate enough new things to make the time worth it.

Why am I writing about my challenges with commercially produced clothes on a knitting Substack? Because the longer I make my own clothes, the less I am willing to tolerate clothing in general that doesn’t fit my body.

This year, I am trying to be more conscious of everything that goes into a well-fitting garment from gauge swatching to understanding measurements and ease to adjusting increases for my short-waistedness and adding waist-shaping where I think it’s necessary. It also means trying to find patterns that work for my body shape and my style.

Cumulus Blouse

My most recent finished project is a good example of this. In February, I started the Cumulus Blouse by PetiteKnit. It’s a popular, “looks store-bought” pattern with over 7,800 projects on Ravelry. Part of its appeal to me is that it’s simple: a raglan jumper with a v-neck and a slightly bloused sleeve that cinches at the cuff. It’s knitted with two strands of Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair (in the colorway Bordeaux) which, here in the UK where spring has a personality that can only be described as temperamental, is perfect for a transitional garment.

I cast on the Cumulus Blouse a couple of days before a trip to New York City. It was my travel knit, and that meant that I did the bulk of the work before I split for sleeves while on the flight from London. I loved the way that the fabric knitted up with a nice drape that still managed to by cozy. However, given my short-waisted challenges, I was concerned that the V-neck might be too low. After I finished the neckline, I was prepared to rip back to adjust the V if needed.¹

Before adding the I-cord neckband…

I was very please, therefore, to try the jumper on after splitting for sleeves and find that the V-neck wasn’t too low. Although lower than I would normally wear my jumpers, the V-neck has an applied I-cord neckline that I suspected would help bring the entire garment up a bit.² Once I knitted that, I found that it actually added an incredible amount of structure to the garment, helping it sit in a way that’s less…floppy? It also brought up the V-neck and helped fix the problem I usually have with extra fabric above my bust.

I knitted this jumper from the raglan to the sleeve split, and down to about half the body. Then, because of issues I had with running out of mohair on my Olive Cardigan, I worked on the sleeves two at a time on magic loop, applied the neckline, and then finished the body and the I-cord bind off for the hem. I will be honest, the only thing I disliked about this jumper was the amount of I-cord finishing I had to do. However, it looks so good and so polished that it was worth it.

Ridiculously pleased with the finished product!

Finding a pattern where the fit just works for you with no major adjustments feels like finding gold. However, now that I have a raglan V-neck jumper that works as well as the Cumulus Blouse does, I can use it as a reference point for measurements that will help me find my perfect knitwear fit.

I already have plans to make another Cumulus Blouse in a white and black variegated superwash merino yarn that I picked up in NYC. My hope is to create a cross between the casualness of a sweatshirt and a more polished mohair blouse that drapes beautifully. Hopefully more on that project soon!

1. My husband, The Gentleman, has become an excellent double-stranded mohair frogging assistant over these last few months as I’ve experimented with the yarn.

2. The Gentleman did see my trying this on and very gently said something that amounted to, “It’s rather low, isn’t it?” I quickly explained about the missing neckline and that a shirt quite this low wouldn’t be my choice.