Augusta Lessons Learned 1: Focus on the back

The first of my lessons learned from knitting Cecily Glowik MacDonald's Augusta Sweater from New England Knits:

For a good fit, worry about the back.

The good news is that I'm a curvy girl. The bad news is that my hips are 20 inches wider than my waist. That's a huge fitting challenge, pun intended. Basically, this guitar and I were switched at birth. :-)

In terms of fit, everything depends on my butt. I wear and make much larger clothing to fit my hips, which then leaves lots of fabric pooling at my narrower waist. Because of this, I've always worried about knitting sweaters large enough to accommodate my hips. While most knitters think about finished bust size, my only concern was finished hip size. However, after taking classes with Kathy Zimmerman, I learned that the most important measurement on a sweater is neither finished bust nor hip size. Instead, the most critical  measurement is the crossback. Huh? What in the heck is a crossback? It is the measurement taken across your shoulders about four inches down from the neck, but not including your arms.

According to Kathy, if the crossback fits, the sweater fits. Who knew? Make sure your sweater back fits well between your shoulders and your entire sweater will fit better. In my case, my crossback measurement is 18 inches, so I knitted the upper back to be 18 inches.

The crossback isn't the only key for a good fit, however. Kathy Zimmerman says if you want to make a sweater that fits, do back neck shaping. Many designers skip this shaping because magazine editors insist on dumbing-down patterns for novice knitters. But a gentle curve at the neck lets the sweater sit comfortably on your shoulders and drape gracefully to your hips rather than riding up in the back. In fact, Kathy said I should stop making in-the-round, seamless yoke sweaters and make garments with side seams, set-in sleeves, and back neck shaping instead. She said I'd get a much better fit. I'm sure now that she is correct, but I love round yoke sweaters and will keep on wearing them anyway.

The original Augusta pattern does not have back neck shaping but I added it and have a better-fitting sweater as a result. I used Sweater Wizard to figure out the decreases (more on how I used this software in a forthcoming post). Knitting the back neck shaping was easy; see this great video from EasyKnittingDesign.com to learn more.

So, to sum up lesson 1: for a better sweater fit, focus on the only part of the sweater you've never even considered - your back.

Marginally better Augusta pictures

Here I am modeling the Augusta in a denim dress - in 100 degree dreadful DC weather no less! I'll be happy to snuggle up in this cardi come fall however...

Ta da! August Augusta in August

Today is August 31 and I've finished the August Augusta in August. Just in time since today's the last day of the month. I'm posting these crappy pictures; I'll get some better ones taken soon, and next time, I'll avoid the baggy t-shirt and take some pics with the cardigan buttoned, too. But you can at least get the drift. I'm happy with the finished product and am grateful that this sweater took me only five weeks to complete. May every other sweater I ever make go as quickly!

Like I've done with my other sweaters, I'll do a complete lesson learned soon. Until then, thanks for all the support, especially to Kathy Zimmerman who is teaching me so well to make garments that actually fit.

Button time

Okay, now I can say that I'm really, really almost done with the Augusta. All that remains to finish are the plackets, buttonholes, and buttons.

I should be finished tonight, and then what shall I do???? Hmmm... so many knitting projects, so little time. I should probably start on Tom's Christmas sweater. Or maybe that other project I want to make from New England Knits, the Melrose Peacoat.Or maybe a smaller, instant gratification effort first? Like this gorgeous Rowan Lidiya scarf I just spent a gazillion dollars on? To find out, as they say in 12 Step programs, keep coming back!

Four down, one to go

I'm a lean, mean knitting machine!

Well, I'm certainly neither lean nor mean, but I am making great progress on the Augusta. I've finished the two sleeves, back, and now the right front. Tonight I cast on for the left front and look diligently for the end of this (sweater) tunnel.

Actually, this project has come together very quickly. Maybe it's the aran yarn or maybe it's because I studiously engineered this garment beforehand. Knitting is just implementation now. I'm not improvising in any regard; I knit what I planned and miracle of miracle, it works! This time, I'm not going to have to reknit half the sweater like I did with my Handstrikket. Nope, this one is going from needles to my shoulders in one quick swoop.

The august Augusta in August

The Augusta knitted in August is august! Here are pics of the blocked pieces I've completed thus far, as well as the sea glass buttons I'm planning to use. I found some other metal buttons but these sea glass ones are better. They look organic somehow and the Berroco Peruvia does, too, even if it's not.

I wish the color would show up correctly in my photos, but it never does so I'm showing you the yarn swatch again. I've got to buy a new camera one of these days; if I would stop buying yarn, I could afford one!

Back off!

Back off! The needles!

I finished the Augusta back - and sleeves for that matter - and all are now blocked.

I'm knitting from the bottom up so I can't tell if it fits yet, but the pieces all match exactly my planned measurements. Speaking of fit, note the back neck shaping. The original pattern doesn't include this shaping, but my guru Kathy Zimmerman says back neck shaping creates a notch that makes the sweater fit nicely through the shoulders and upper torso. Apparently magazine editors often delete this fitting technique to make sweaters easier for new knitters, but Kathy says I should put them in my sweaters whenever possible.

Back neck shaping isn't possible in round yoke sweaters, but it does help to add short rows on the back neck. When I reknitted the Handstrikket, I added neck short rows and I can definitely tell the difference in terms of fit.

The fronts commence this evening. I am so grateful this project is moving along quickly. After spending nearly six months knitting and reknitting the Handstrikket, the Augusta feels like a cool breeze in August. And after this dreadfully hot summer, God knows I need one!