Beauty is Bought by Judgement of the Eye

"Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye" Shakespeare

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-barbara-franklin-cardigan

Knitters struggle with body image in the same way that virtually all women in our culture do. When I work with them on custom fit projects I find myself feeling sad that they can't be kinder to themselves. They use derogatory descriptive terms about themselves and argue against fitting suggestions because they are trying to hide the parts of their bodies that they hate.

Whether a garment flatters or not is in the eye of the observer. No one can tell you what exact hem length, or neckline shape is most flattering for your body. That’s your choice, however if you don't make peace with your body you won't be able to figure it out either. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-barbara-franklin-cardigan

Here are my rules:

• Ignore sizes and measurements.
• Assess proportions and shapes unemotionally.
• Accept that clothing can make those shapes look different.
• Find something you do like about yourself.
• Stop comparing yourself to other women.  

The sweater I'm wearing was customized to fit me. If you look at the schematic from my drafting program you will notice I don't have much of a waistline. I have very short arms. My armhole depth is shorter than the average. Did you notice any of those things before I pointed them out? Probably not and other people won't notice how you differ either.

Knitting garments that make you look and feel wonderful is all about accepting the shape you have, and then selecting patterns and custom fitting them to your body.

You are Smaller than You Think!

http://babydustdiaries.com/2012/02/15-tips-for-raising-kids-with-a-positive-body-image/

One of the best part of being one of the organizers of our own retreat is that we get to take each other`s classes. Typically teachers are themselves life long learners and we don't always have time at teaching events to take classes. 

Last year at YarnOver SleepOver I took Elizabeth Fallone's class:

Knit to Fit  

Has this happened to you? You find a pattern you love, yarn’s that perfect, make a swatch to gauge like a good knitter, spend hours knitting, block to perfection, then – it doesn’t fit.

With Knit to Fit, you’ll learn how to customize your favourite sweater pattern or ensure a new one fits your body the just the way you want it to. We will dissect both bottoms up and top down sweaters.

Bring tape measure, coloured pencils, calculator, and your favourite sweater or top.
Wear a T-shirt or fitted top so you can be easily measured.

Elizabeth had us pair up and have everyone's partner draw our outline around our body on large pieces of paper hug against the wall. The idea was to be able to judge our proportions more accurately.

The big surprise for me! While I do have a clear understanding about my own proportions, I am smaller than I thought.

The One Fashion Mistake Most Women Make

The one fashion mistake most women make - they dress the part of their body that they don't like! 

Just think about it. The focus is on what you are trying to hide, disguise or camouflage. Is that really what you should be paying attention to? It sets you up to feel bad about yourself. Most style guides are written this way. It makes sense from a design perspective but it ignores the emotional content that most women add to the categories. 

Read this interesting article to discover just how wrong your self image may be.

The Fear Factor and Body Image

In the past I was always motivated to keep my weight under control for reasons of personal vanity. I haven't become any less vain however recently FEAR kicked in!

I'm a few years past menopause. I've slowly gained a little weight since then but the big change has been in how it is distributed....all on my torso. This type of weight pattern is considered to be the most dangerous to an individuals health. I've read that the change in estrogen levels is causing the redistribution of body fat. This has been bothering me for a few months now. My Dad had Mixed Dementia which ultimately lead directly to his death. It was late onset which is less likely to be genetic and more likely to be lifestyle based. He was a poorly managed diabetic, had high blood pressure, rarely exercised, wouldn't follow his diabetic food plan, and I suspect that occasionally he manipulated his insulin to eat things he shouldn't. I could go on and on but you get the picture. The thought of experiencing the same decline that he did is terrifying.

The good thing about fear is that it does motivate you. I've been slowly increasing my daily exercise and cutting back a little on food. I'm using the Canada Food Guide as my basis, as I'm not a big fan of dramatic diets that no one can maintain in the real world. I'm already a pretty healthy eater so this has been more of a dietary tweak as opposed to big changes.

I'm a month into the changes and I'm having some success. My clothes are a little looser and some new better habits have been established.

Many Knitters don't knit for themselves due to body image issues (real or imagined). In my case the problem has been with things that I have already knit. What has surprised me is that my interest in clothing and by extension my knitting has been re-energized. I haven't been wearing some of my summer knits due to the fit issues the weight shift has created but I can see that I'm close to being comfortable enough to enjoy them soon. Yahoo! 

Body image issues are a major threat to the garment Knitter. I'm going to ask all of my readers to try to make peace with their own special shape. Either accept what you have or make realistic changes for improvement. Little changes can made big improvements in how you feel about yourself and to how much you are enjoying your life.