Fit to flatter is a ten-part series of tutorials on choosing and modifying knitting patterns to flatter your shape. These tutorials will be released every two weeks both as blog posts (free) and as separate, professionally formatted PDF files for printing (nominal charge). Should you desire the PDFs, each installment can be purchased from the tutorial page as they are released, or via a “buy now” button at the end of the installment. Individual installments are US$2.00 and at the end of the tutorial series the whole series will be available for $US10.00. All text copyright Amy Herzog and all images copyright splityarn 2010, unless where otherwise noted. I hope you enjoy the series!

Well, here we are! Thank you for joining me on this journey for sweaters that flatter as perfectly as they fit. In this final installment, I’ll summarize the basic principles from early on in the series and go through one final advanced topic: What to do when you’re head-over-heels in love with a pattern, when you must make a pattern, but you don’t think the shape of the sweater as written is flattering to your form.

Knitting to Flatter: The Principles.

I began this series by breaking out body types into three categories through the use of imaginary lines drawn at the widest point on the top half of our body (shoulders or bust), the smallest point on our waist, and the widest point on the bottom half of our body (hips or thighs). The differences in these lines tell us whether we’re bottom-heavy, top-heavy, or proportional shapes, and whether our shape is curvy or straight.

Many of the techniques in this tutorial series focus on using horizontal and vertical visual elements in a sweater to balance out and modify the appearance of our basic form. For example, a wide, shallow boatneck to balance out the hip line, a bright and cheery hem treatment to balance out shoulders, a wrap-front cardigan to creates the curve of a waist.

In this part of the installment, I’ll offer a basic review of common visual elements in a sweater and what combinations of those elements best flatter the three major shapes. I’ll discuss modifying considerations for curvy/straight knitters and those with a larger bust before moving into the final topic of this series.

Visual Elements.

There are at least three visual impressions present in every sweater:

• Neckline. The visual impression given by a neckline can be horizontal, vertical, both, or neither. Primarily horizontal necklines are wider than they are deep—a boatneck is a great example. Primarily vertical necklines are deeper than they are wide—a narrow, deep V or a cardigan opened to the bust line are two good examples. When a neckline is both, it opens wide and deep, like many scoop-neck and square-neck sweaters. Finally, the modest crew neck is both narrow and quite shallow. This might draw attention to the neck of the wearer, depending on the rest of the sweater, but it gives a neutral visual impression.
• Sweater hem. The hem of a sweater typically gives a horizontal visual impression and draws the eye to wherever it falls on the wearer’s body. This can be modified somewhat by a curved bottom edge (as is the case with Kate Gilbert’s Sunrise Circle Jacket, for example).
• Sleeves. Similarly, the bottom of any sleeve also draws attention to the portion of the wearer’s body on which it falls. Particularly when the sleeves end in line with the hem of the sweater, they form a primarily horizontal impression. However, there are lots of sleeve varieties in common use. Tulip sleeves and sleeves with asymmetrical hems are common and can form a more neutral or even vertical impression. A deep sleeve cuff treatment can draw the eye to the place on the wearer’s body at the top of the cuff rather than the bottom. Finally, belled sleeves draw attention to the part of the wearer’s body in line with the entire bell, rather than just the edge.

In addition to these visual elements, the design details of any particular sweater will affect how it flatters (or does not flatter) its wearer. Typically, any panel, button band, or other design element that resembles a vertical line will cause that portion of the wearer to look more narrow (cardigan button bands, cable panels, and primarily vertical lace patterns are all good examples). Panels or design elements that resemble a horizontal line will cause that portion of the wearer to look wider. This is often quite flattering, as in a yoked sweater on a bottom-heavy shape. . . but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Waist shaping can keep a sweater from making a curvy knitter appear like a box with some arms. For maximum flattery, the overall fit of the sweater should be somewhat snug, but shaping works wonders even when the sweater is worn with some positive ease.
Finally, some design elements can exaggerate curves for straighter shapes (or curvy knitters who want some extra va-va-va-voom). Wrap sweaters, sweaters with dual vertical panels (see Bonne Marie Burns’s Twist cardigan, below), and sweaters with asymmetrical pattern elements can draw attention to and exaggerate any curves the wearer has.

Of course, this is far from an exhaustive list—for more detail on any particular topic, see the related installment. With these visual elements fresh in our minds, let’s next review the best combinations for the three main shapes.

Three Main Shapes.

Bottom-heavy shapes are defined by a substantially larger “bottom” line, either at the hip (classic pear) or lower at the thighs (this is my shape). Recall that in our trusty group of knitter guinea pigs, Sarah (classic pear) and I (thigh-heavy shape) were the two bottom-heavy examples.

Good guidelines for bottom-heavy shapes are to choose sweaters that exaggerate the width of the top half and minimize the width of the bottom. That is, choose (or modify) sweaters with horizontal elements at the top, and vertical or absent elements at the bottom.

Flattering elements for bottom-heavy shapes:

• Necklines that are wider than they are deep (or that at least are both wide and deep) typically flatter bottom-heavy shapes the best. They draw attention to a delicate collarbone, show off some cleavage, or otherwise highlight the top of a bottom-heavy knitter. Yoked sweaters, which typically have a neutral neckline, are often extremely attractive on bottom-heavy knitters as the wide, eye-catching yoke not only draws attention upward but broadens the appearance of the shoulders as well.
• Sleeves should typically not end in line with the hem of the garment for a bottom-heavy knitter. Often, bottom-heavy knitters look best either in sleeves that are elbow-length or shorter or that somehow break up the visual lines at the bottom of the sweater (see the bright trim on Sarah’s sweater, above).
• It is usually most flattering for a bottom-heavy knitter to wear sweaters that end above their widest point. Tunic-length sweaters are a less-flattering choice if they are fitted. Bottom-heavy shapes are the most likely to be flattered by a cropped sweater.

Less flattering choices for bottom-heavy shapes include sweaters with a strong visual element at the hem, particularly if the sweater also ends at the wearer’s widest point. This tunic-length, bulky sweater leaves me looking rather heavier than my Arm Candy, above.

In contrast, top heavy knitters are defined by a substantially larger “top” line. It is important to note that this can either mean the bust or the shoulders. Many models are actually slightly top-heavy (think of a clothes hanger on an umbrella stand), due to their broad shoulder line. We had examples of a variety of top-heavy shapes in our knit night group:

(From the left: Erin has narrow shoulders and a large bust; Danielle has broad shoulders and a large bust; Beth and Thea have broad shoulders but smaller busts.)

Good bets for top-heavy shapes are to choose sweaters that minimize the width of the top half and exaggerate the width of the bottom. That is, choose (or modify) sweaters with vertical (or absent) elements at the top and horizontal elements at the bottom. Some examples are pictured below:

Flattering elements for top-heavy shapes:

• Necklines that are deep and narrow typically flatter top-heavy shapes the best because they break up the expanse of the torso (as in Nantucket Red which Erin is wearing above). Note that a neckline does not necessarily have to be cleavage-baring to be flattering: A cardigan worn open, like Lara on Beth, above, gives the same vertical impression as a plunging neckline like Danielle’s.
• Sleeves that end at the wearer’s widest point look great on a top-heavy knitter, as do shorter sleeves if they fall at the wearer’s narrowest waist point. Cap sleeves are generally the least flattering choice for a top-heavy knitter, though there are some sweaters with enough other elements to overcome the horizontal line they draw on the shoulders.
• It is usually most flattering for a top-heavy knitter to wear sweaters that end exactly at their widest point. Sweaters that include a substantial and eye-catching hem element are even better, as that hem element can work to visually enlarge the hips to balance the shoulders/bust.
• Finally, top-heavy shapes often look utterly fantastic in a knitted skirt.

Less flattering choices for top-heavy shapes include sweaters with a strong horizontal element on the top of the sweater, either with a bold boat neckline:

Or with horizontal stitch elements combined with Dolman sleeves:

Proportional shapes have equal (or nearly so) top and bottom lines, and so have more freedom (or, put another way, fewer modifications) so long as visual elements used in a sweater balance one another. A good rule of thumb for proportional shapes is that the knitted item itself should look balanced. Yoked sweaters with colorwork repeated at the hem, V-necks or scoop necks with an interesting bottom detail, cardigans worn closed only in the middle, short sleeves, long sleeves, and anything in between can look great on the already-balanced proportional figure.

Flattering elements for proportional shapes:

• Necklines of any shape work, so long as they are balanced by the rest of the sweater. Deep V-necks, with their slimming properties, should be paired with slimming hem treatments or other vertical visual elements. Wide necklines can be paired with belled sleeves or interesting hem motifs. Proportional shapes with smaller busts are the shape most flattered by the classic crew-neck cabled sweater.
• Sleeves should not imbalance the visual impression given by the rest of the sweater. For example, that same deep V-neck sweater (which narrows the torso) will look best when paired with shorter sleeves or sleeves that do not bell or otherwise widen the hip region.
• For sweaters that are generally plain, it is usually most flattering for a proportional figure to choose a hem length that ends above or below their widest point (unlike bottom-heavy figures, proportional figures often look great in tunic sweaters that cling to the hips). If the sweater has an eye-catching visual element on its top, the hem should either be eye-catching itself or it should end at the wearer’s widest point.
• Proportional shapes can often look great in knitted skirts, as well.

In the pictures below, Crystal and Jess have both chosen balanced, flattering tops to their proportional shapes:

It is possible for a sweater not to flatter a proportional figure, despite what you may believe. Typically this is either because the visual elements at play are not balanced with one another, as is the case with Crystal’s vest (the narrowing V-neck is paired with a hem that falls exactly at her widest point):

Or because the sweater in question does not flatter a modifying aspect of the wearer’s figure. Speaking of which. . .

Modifying Factors.

The first modifying factor I’ll discuss relates to the sweater vest below, which doesn’t help Jess look her best: Curves.

Knitters with curves are most flattered by sweaters that preserve (or even enhance) the ins and outs of their shape. This is easiest to accomplish with very fitted clothing but even sweaters with some positive ease, provided they have an inherently curvy shape, can highlight and suggest curves rather than turning the wearer into a box.

Jess has a very classic, curvy shape that is completely obscured by the boxy vest she’s wearing. (The imbalance of the narrow top combined with the hem falling at her widest point is not helping, either.) Her figure would be much more flattered by choosing a shorter vest that buttons snugly across her small waist.

Straight shapes have the opposite challenge: to use visual tricks to create the illusion of curves even where none exist. Typically this is best accomplished by using diagonal, curvy, or asymmetrical lines with the design of the sweater, as is the case with wrap sweaters or (again) cardigans worn with some negative ease and closed only over the midsection. The one often-unflattering thing a straight shape can do is place a straight line on the waist (this highlights its width, sometimes even making it appear larger than the bust or hips).

Busty shapes should generally choose sweaters with elements to break up the expanse of their torso—either through deep necklines (Erin, below left) or (when done well) striking visual elements. A great recent example of the latter is Norah Gaughan’s Orange Pop, featured in the latest Twist Collective. Mary Heather, a busty shape, is exceedingly flattered by the eye-catching yoke, which minimizes her bust and makes it appear less prominent in comparison to the rest of her figure.

Compare the narrowing, minimizing look of Erin in Thea Colman’s Short Lucky

With the bulkier expanse of fabric covering Erin’s bust when she wears a thick turtleneck sweater:

Longtime readers of this series will recognize the sweater on the right as one that flatters Jess’s curvy, proportional shape exceedingly well. The bottom line?

There is no unflattering sweater. There is no unflatterable knitter. The magic lies in finding, or modifying until you have, the perfect combination of the two.

With that brief refresher under our belts, let’s turn our attention to the final topic of this series.

Outside the Box.

At this point in the series, we’ve covered nearly every topic relating to knitting to flatter your shape, at least in brief. But I want to bring focus to a positive, encouraging topic in this last installment: How to have your cake and eat it too.

We’ve focused a lot of attention so far on sweater elements that flatter and those which do not. Sometimes, I think this can make a knitter believe that there are just some sweaters she should put out of her mind—sweaters beyond hope for her figure. This is the opposite of the message I hope you’ll take away from this series.

As we have discussed, there are a plethora of relatively simple modifications to most sweater patterns that can have a strong impact on flattery:

The popular February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne offers many opportunities for modification to best suit the wearer. Several of our group had knit the sweater, each with her own twist. Leaving Erin aside for the moment, notice how Beth and Thea have chosen to wear their sweaters pulled out at the bottom and with longer sleeves, to balance out their tops. Jess chose a nicely fitted size with elbow sleeves that draw all attention to her small waist.

Finally, Erin is wearing my adaptation, the February Fitted Pullover, which is especially suited to a larger bust. Post-children, my bust line is somewhat lower than it used to be and still fairly large—not a figure characteristically flattered by large amounts of solid fabric over the top of my chest. So I took the gull lace pattern edged with garter stitch, the eye-catching and lovely design elements of the sweater, and adapted them to an elbow-sleeve, scoop-necked sweater that would better flatter my form.

Modifying the FLS in this way no longer requires a leap of intuition or inspiration—examples abound on its Ravelry page. Before closing, I’d like to offer you some inspiration and modification ideas for the next big sweater you have to have (but know won’t flatter your form).

Since we’ve covered many of the easier modifications one can (and should) make to a sweater pattern in prior installments, in this section I’ll discuss two categories of more advanced modification: Those that largely leave the original sweater intact, and those that use the original sweater as a jumping-off point.

Think Outside the Box.

Sometimes it can be difficult to see beyond an iconic picture provided with the pattern to make an exceedingly eye-catching change, even if that change is simple. I want to encourage you to try anyway!

Here’s a first example: Cecily Glowik MacDonald’s sweater Goodale, at the top of the charts for most of the summer, features as its main photo a shot of Cecily wearing her sweater up against a cheery blue wall. She, and the sweater, look utterly stunning.

(Photo credit Melissa LaBarre; used with permission.)

Personally, I love everything about this sweater. I love the clever construction, the wide neckline, the gorgeous yarn, the designer’s style, and the way she also appears to love the sweater. I love the many, many examples of other knitters looking just as phenomenal as Cecily herself in their own versions.

However, I also know exactly what my chest will look like when placed underneath those buttons. And I fear what the triangle formed by the buttons and hem will do to highlight my thighs enough that I know I’ll be uncomfortable wearing the cardigan regardless of what it actually looks like. Despite this, Goodale is near the top of my queue.

Whenever you’re confronted by a pattern you adore, but know you won’t be comfortable in as written, think about similar garment constructions that you know work for you (in attitude and in shape). For me, with Goodale, the first thing I notice is that I’m generally very flattered by short-sleeve cardigans. This allows me to focus in on the particular element that I’d want to change: The button placement.

The next step for me is one I’d encourage you to take as well: Sketch.

Here, I’ve sketched out Goodale in a shape that’s likely to be much more flattering to my bustline and waist. To my pleasant surprise, the change I most want to make requires very few, if any, modifications to the pattern itself. Sometimes, all it takes is trying to see the sweater in a slightly new light.

Other times, it can be the entire class of garment that (erroneously) turns a knitter away. A friend commented to me after the last Twist Collective went live that she thought Kiloran, by Cirilia Rose, was utterly lovely but that she wasn’t planning to make it because she didn’t feel comfortable in knit dresses. While I sympathize with (and share) her discomfort, I was surprised to hear her make that statement, because Kiloran’s construction readily lends itself to a number of different modifications. Aside from the fact that it is a dress, I find the most eye-catching elements of Kiloran to be the inset lace panel, lovely sleeves, and the more densely knit (almost woven in appearance) fabric panel encircling the waist.

If we remove the skirt from our minds for the moment, I hope it’s easy to imagine that one could take those three stunning design elements and construct many different variations on Kiloran without changing much of the pattern itself:

Kiloran would be utterly lovely as a sweater; here, I’ve sketched ideas for three very different implementations of this great pattern.
First, a cropped sweater: This would focus precisely in on the wearer’s waist, with a secondary focus on the bust. As further inspiration, I would love to see this variation (fit snugly) on Sarah.

Second, the variation that first popped into my own mind: Swapping out the skirt for a plain hemmed bottom, perhaps with a repeat of the buttons on the side. Depending on fit, waist shaping, and hem length, I think this would be a knockout sweater on me or Erin.

Finally, one could keep the overall proportion of Cirilia’s original design but shorten the dress to a tunic-length sweater (perhaps adding pockets!). This would be utterly, utterly fantastic on Jess and could be taken in either a more fitted direction or a slightly less fitted one.

Again, the trick is to see what you like (in this example, my picks were the lace panel, sleeves and waist), recognize what makes you uncomfortable (knit fabric on my thighs, let’s say), and imagine what the sweater would look like without the element that doesn’t speak to you.

Even when the changes are not difficult to implement, this process might sound like a lot of work—but if it’s a pattern you love? It will be more than worth it when you’re walking around in a sweater that both makes you feel great and indulges your knitterly passions.

Huge Changes.

Sometimes, of course, a knitter’s form really is best flattered by an entirely different sweater. Although lots of people look fantastic in it, this was the case for me personally with the February Lady Sweater. In closing out this tutorial series, I want to encourage you not to give up hope even in those cases. We’ve discussed my modification, the February Fitted Pullover, already—let’s finish by considering ways to preserve the best parts of an entire class of sweater while flattering an entirely different class of knitter.

Yoked sweaters with stranded colorwork are lovely to behold. As written, they typically flatter bottom-heavy or proportional knitters because they widen the appearance of the shoulders. That same widening can often pose an issue for broad-shouldered, top-heavy knitters. In the Ravelry group that has sprung up around this series, I recently read something to the effect of “It’s too bad, too, I really adore the Plum Frost Cardigan.”

(Photo credit Elinor Brown; used with permission.)

While I can’t honestly say that I think Plum Frost would flatter the commenter’s figure, I don’t want her, or anyone else in a similar situation, to give up! Armed with the implementation notes from Installment 9, you can take any pattern you like and turn it into a sweater that pleases you just as much.

Although Elinor’s knitting is exquisite, my bet would be that the big draw of Plum Frost for most knitters is the exceedingly lovely colorwork around the yoke. The big drawback for a top-heavy and broad-shouldered shape is that it’s around the yoke. The problem is not the colorwork, per se, it’s the placement. Repeating the process from earlier in this section, what types of sweaters flatter a top-heavy knitter like our hypothetical one? Sweaters with vertical visual elements on the top, and horizontal visual elements on the bottom. The solution to adapting many yoked sweaters to flatter a top-heavy shape is simply to move the pattern’s horizontal element down from the neckline to the hem.

While the shape of this sweater has changed, such an implementation would be immediately recognizable as a Plum Frost (particularly if it were also steeked and cardiganized). We’ve kept the essential design inspiration of the sweater intact while modifying the canvas on which it appears.

This trick can be applied to many circular yoke sweaters, which tend to be quite popular. As an added bonus, the decreases worked into the yoke can be used on the hem of the sweater too, to accomplish waist decreases in an elegant way. (Can you now imagine what Owls, Cottage Garden, or the Shalom Cardigan might look like when modified in this way?)

Closing Thoughts.

Modifying patterns, or simply using them as jumping points, is a lot easier than you think. When you’re stuck the problem often lies in imagination rather than implementation. When considering modifications to make a pattern you love into a sweater you love, try the following steps:

1. Write down the things that most appeal to you about the design.
2. Write down the things you think absolutely won’t work for you (either for reasons of flattery, style, or comfort).
3. Do some free-association on similar sweater styles that make you look fabulous.
4. Sketch some of those other styles, incorporating your items from Step 1.

Often, you’ll find that the steps you want to take aren’t very complicated after all.

As a designer myself, I want to make one last plea in this portion of the series: No matter what kind of modification you undertake, even if it is a drastic one, please support the designer who inspired you so thoroughly by purchasing the pattern in question (if it is for sale). Even if you only wind up using a chart that you might be able to reverse-engineer, designing is hard work and it’s important to support those who do it well. Thanks.

This Is the End.

Wow. Thank you so very, very much for sticking with me this far! I feel passionately that you should have a closet full of hand-knits that you’re proud to wear wherever you go. In this series, I’ve gone through principles and techniques to help you understand what your own shape is and how the visual elements of a sweater can highlight, draw attention away from, or change the appearance of different parts of your body. We’ve covered how to choose patterns what will play up your best figure elements, how to make modifications simple and complex, the effect different sweater details can have on the overall picture, and more.

It’s my sincere hope that the work I’ve presented in this series will help you take every pattern you love and turn it into a sweater you love even more. I hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorials, and I look forward to what the future holds!

To purchase a PDF version of this installment (US$2.00), or the entire series (US$10.00): Buy this Buy all