OhSewCrafty Blog

I admit Lizette isn’t exactly a new wip, but I made so many mods before starting, all on paper, and I was reasonably confident but not positive that it would fit.  Only after finishing the body, pinning it together, and trying it on, can I say definitely, yes, my mods worked, so I’ll share.  Warning: below is a detailed and technical discussion on how I got this pattern, which I believe was written for the flat or small-chested, to fit me when I am decidedly neither.  If you don’t care, skip it and please come see my next post, which will be FO pics.

Mod #1 (for my curvy hips): The original pattern is 18.5″ from underarm to hem in my size and I knew that would cut across the widest point of my rear (and I do have one), which is not flattering.  I took off 3″ for a total of 15.5″, which is bit long but not tunic length.  For the back piece: my hem band was 17″ across, I picked up stitches and re-spaced the decreases accordingly, to obtain the proper stitch count for the 33″ size by the time the decreases were complete, and finish per pattern. 

Mod #2 (for my curvy hips): Accordingly I also had to shorten the front piece.  In the pattern, the lower front is worked for 12.5″, including edging before waist shaping is begun.  I began the same as the back piece, worked 3″ less, as in the back piece, and then 1″ less to accommodate the mods to upper front, as discussed below.  So, I worked 8.5″, including edging, before beginning waist shaping. 

Mod #3 (for my bust measurement): My bust is 34″ and I wanted this a bit bigger than 33″.  So I did 3 extra increase rows on the upper front only, for 6 extra stitches or about 1″ extra inch.  I had to space my increases a bit differently to fit everything within my row count.  Also, after dividing for the neck at center as per pattern, I had to do more neckline cable decreases to eliminate those extra stitches.  By the time I finished with neckline cable decreases, I had the proper stitch count for the 33″ size and I was able to finish it per pattern.

Mod #4 (for my cup size):   Let’s talk inches: I wear a C-cup.  I need 5.5″ from underarm on the sides, and 6.5″ at the center front, to reach my underbust.  The pattern measurements for the upper front piece are 5.5″ tall (from bottom to underarm) at side seam and 3.5″ tall over center front (the empire waist curves up at center).  In the pattern, the cable/lace panel that goes over center bust is only 3.5″ high.   This empire waist would cut across my bust in an unflattering manner. 

To reposition the empire waist, I decided that I needed 6.5″ from bottom to underarm on sides, and 5.5″ at center front.  This would come up into my bust a bit, not but bisect it.  Given that my upper front was 6.5″ long at sides, rather than 5.5″ as in the pattern, I knew the lower front would need to be 1″ shorter, as mentioned above.  Since the chart covers center front and is only 23 rows or 3.5″ high, I knew I would have to retool it.  The online Knitchart was extremely helpful here.  I basically added another cable crossing to make it 39 rows or 5.5″ high.  To keep the outer point of side angles centered over my row count, the side angles went out a bit farther, so my chart was 49, rather than 41, stitches wide.  

For the upper front piece (revised schematic below), I completed the empire waist short rows for 2″ as per pattern, then worked an additional 4.5″ (33 rows) before underarms to get my 6.5″ length.  Meanwhile, about 0.5″ below underarms, I did 3 sets of short rows for bust darts.  I typically do about 1″ of short row shaping to accommodate my C-cup bust, plus this was necessary to get the 6 extra (39 total) rows at center front for my modified chart.  

Final verdict: This fits perfectly!  I am so happy.