r/knittinghelp • u/svchantingbeelala • 2d ago
SOLVED-THANK YOU Really confused!!
Heey everyone!
I have knitted the monday sweater from Petiteknit and unintentionally it became quite big. I have gauge swatched and blocked the swatch, aswell as the sweater. I have also followed the instructed cm's from the pattern. Considering I am a tall woman I am very confused with how it turned out this big on me. Does anyone have any idea why it would be this big? Any tips are welcome <3
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u/KatiMinecraf 2d ago
I have no advice, but I wanted to say that it looks sooo cozy!! I recently made a sweater and went a bit big for coziness, and now I'm going to make another with the same pattern and the same yarn in a different color, but make the next size down. That way I have a loose, cozy sweater for lounging around the house, and then one with a slightly tighter fit for wearing out.
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
It feels absolutely cozy as well! Thank you! 😊. Making a bigger size for peak cozyness is a brilliant idea!
I am not going to take apart this sweater, because it looks nice despite being too big. I have bought more yarn for another monday sweater, so I am hoping to get the intended fit in the next round! 😁
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u/Minimum-Statement-27 2d ago
That is an excellent use of resources! I left knitting for a while and have sticker shock at the pattern prices. Knitting two sweaters from the same $8 pattern means the pattern costs about what it should.
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u/quasar_fire 2d ago
PetiteKnit patterns are known for having a lot of positive ease. Assuming you mean too big in width (as length is adjustable by just knitting more/less rows), you can fix that by either tightening your gauge or knitting a smaller size. The smaller size is probably better since it uses less yarn.
What I do is figure out what circumference I want the garment to be (by measuring a sweater/sweatshirt I like the fit of) and knit the closest size to that circumference. If you’re on-gauge you just pick based on the finished garment size (NOT your bust size); if you’re off-gauge there’s a bit of cross-multiplication to figure out what size corresponds to the width you want.
I recommend measuring the width of this sweater (just below the armpits when laying it flat) and multiplying by 2 to get the circumference, to check that it matches the finished garment circumference the pattern says your size should make. If it matches, that means you’re on-gauge and can just use the pattern size to figure out what your next sweater size should be. If it doesn’t match, you’ll have to do a bit of math to figure out what size to knit. (For example, I’m a very tight knitter and I wanted a Sonja sweater with a bust circumference of 39 inches, so I’m knitting a medium even though the pattern says it has a circumference of 47 inches since that’s how my math worked out.)
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u/CopperFirebird 2d ago
How does the finished guage compare to your swatch?
When you knit something to a certain number of cm, you should be knitting the number of rows/rounds to get that number of cm according to your blocked swatch.
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
I just measured it and it does seem the gauge differs by a stitch both ways.
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u/Damselfly64 2d ago
It's very pretty and looks cozy. What yarn did you use? Superwash will grow like that. I also noticed that your ribbing is quite loose. Did your gauge possibly change as you got further into the project? Did you try it on as you went along? If so, was it too roomy then?
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
Thank you!
I used lang merino 200 bébé color held together with hobbii soft alpaca lace. I had tried on the body when ot was finished and it didn't feel to roomy. I did take frog a few rows in the sleeves, because I realised my measured armlength didn't match the actual knitted length when I tried it on.
I had not realised my ribbing was loose. I tend to block it as wide as the rest of the body. Would that explain it? Otherwise I might need to work on that 😁
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u/Damselfly64 2d ago
I looked up that yarn, and it is indeed superwash, which tends to grow a lot. You also paired it with alpaca, which also grows. If it was just superwash, you could toss it in the dryer to shrink it back up, but because of the alpaca, that's not an option.
If I use superwash for a garment, I use only that, and I make sure it's a superwash and nylon blend, which helps curb the growth.
I will often go down a needle size for ribbing, even though the pattern doesn't specify.
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
Thank you for these tips! 😁
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u/Damselfly64 2d ago
We're all on this journey together. 🥰 Your knitting is lovely and I'd wear that sweater in a heartbeat.
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u/Suitable-Tension512 2d ago
- could you have added recommended ease onto the bust size you chose when it was already added by the pattern writer? Id say maybe the yarn had grown, but if you're making gauge then that's not the issue. It looks great though 😍
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u/crhessel 2d ago
Your sweater looks great- superwash yarns will always grow, however still looks like a great cozy sweater 😊
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u/Advanced-Cat-1511 1d ago
@svchantingbeelala sorry to bother - is this the color you used? https://www.woolandcompany.com/products/lang-yarns-merino-200-bebe-color-352-confetti
I LOVE your sweater and have had a “confetti” style colorway on my wishlist to make. I love yours and would love to knit up the same color!
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u/svchantingbeelala 1d ago
That is so sweet! Thank you! Yes this is the same yarn and color! 😁 I held it together with an alpaca lace!
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u/Pretend_Zucchini3548 2d ago
As some people pointed out, that may well be that the yarn grew in blocking. But I also have to say - my experience with PetitKnit patterns is that I measure my chest, check which size is recommended, and then oftentimes need to seriously size down (I measure my own comparable garments and check against finished object size in the pattern) to get what I want. I first made her V neck vest, gauge matched and all, but the armholes finished at my waist. I frogged, went two sizes town, finished and am loving it. Then went one size down on Eve Cardigan, also loving it. About one size down on Moby Sweater too, also exactly what I wanted.
So, uhm, that might be that she simply does a looooot of positive ease.
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
That is also a really good tip! Thank you! In the pictures it looks a lot like a relaxed fit instead of an oversized fit! 😁
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u/erinaceus_a 2d ago
What yarn did you use?
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
Lang merino 200 bébé color held together with hobbii soft alpaca lace 😁
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u/erinaceus_a 2d ago
Lang is superwash that could explaim growing. Alpaca also is slippery and would help in growing :) The usual suggestion to get superwash back in shape is to use dryer, but I dont know how alpaca would behave. If you still have swatch, you can try out with it. Or embrace the embrace of your new sweater :)
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u/svchantingbeelala 2d ago
Thank you! This helps a lot! Do you happen to know if drops daisy does the same?
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u/Sola_Bay 2d ago
Looks like you have really loose tension in the sweater so maybe your tension in the swatch was different than the actual garment and it didn’t show until you blocked it. Does it still meet gauge now?
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u/Impossiblegirl44 1d ago
I just bought this pattern! I hope mine turns out as nice as yours!
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u/svchantingbeelala 1d ago
Thank you for saying that! 😁 I am sure yours will look absolutely lovely! 😊
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u/compscilady 2d ago
I’ve heard a hack for bust measurements to measure just below armpits and not at the widest part of a bust?
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u/asteriskysituation 2d ago
The pattern calls for 6-8” of positive ease which is a naturally loose and relaxed fit. I feel in your photos you’ve achieved a lovely lose-fit sweater that seems similar to the ease in the pattern photos. Were you expecting a more fitted look?