#KnitPetiteProject

http://www.ebay.com/itm/name-/162533854793?roken=cUgayN

Teresa (who I interviewed here) is starting a project to focus on the fitting needs of petite knitters. You can check it out here. Her plan is to "demystify the sizing system we live within today, so we can better understand how to fit our knits to our own bodies." I'm currently working on an interview for the project where I'll be answering questions related to petite fitting challenges. I'm 5'2" myself and have had to figure a lot of this stuff out along the way. 

I've been reading through the material she has provided so far and I have already learned something new from her fit survey information. Many clothing items have a bigger difference in the hip to waist ratio than I have. Pattern making systems often use a ten inch difference and mine is generally seven to eight inches. It turns out this is very common with petites. Understanding these differences is key to developing good fit for our own garments. 

I'll let you know when the interview goes up. 

 

Why are Knitters Afraid to Adjust the Fit?

Knitters and sewers differ greatly on their attitude to pattern adjustments. I have a sewing background so it is an automatic process for me to adjust anything I knit for myself to optimum fit. It is important to do this as garments that do not fit, often draw attention to the parts of our figure that we may not want others to focus on. As an example, I have short arms. Most observers do not notice that unless I wear overly long sleeves. When I buy garments I often choose 3/4 length sleeves or long sleeves that have cuffs that can be folded back. Well endowed women usually don't want clothing that stretches tightly over their bust-line because it emphasizes that feature.

So what is the difference between the two skill sets? In sewing, you take fabric, cut it into pieces that are sewn together to form the garment.  When knitting, you are creating the fabric stitch by stitch in the shape of pattern pieces which are then sewn together with more yarn, or in some cases the item can be knit in one piece, for example a top down raglan with knit in bands. In both cases you start from a flat pattern draft. The basic concepts of garment fitting are the same in both disciplines.

It is very clear to me that knitters frequently don't want to take on the challenge of fitting yet I hear many complaints about how patterns don't fit. What I have been trying to sort out is why is there such a big difference between sewers and knitters? Sewers rarely complain about pattern fit, they just accept that our bodies are all unique and that fitting adjustment will be required. So where is the disconnect for knitters?

Is it education? Sewers also learn their skills working on simple projects that don't depend on fit. In sewing classes, first projects are commonly a draw string bag or a pillow cover, then sewers move onto simple tops and skirts.

I don't think the three main learning styles are at play here. If you are a visual, auditory or tactile learner there are both knitting and sewing learning opportunities in all three areas.

Is it possible that knitters focus on skills at the expense of concepts and that sewers focus on both? I don't have an answer to this. I'm just trying to answer the question so that I can sort out how to best help students and the readers of this blog. If you have any ideas about this topic please help me by commenting on your experiences.