Plus Size - stuck on a cardigan pattern

[Faufau]

I have completed the front and back panels of my crocheted cardigan. The length ends just past my buttocks. How do I tweak the pattern to ensure the length covers my wide hips and buttocks?

Edited March 26, 2020 by Faufau

[Granny Square]

Hi and welcome to the 'ville!

To make sure I understand the 'tweak'--you have pinned or basted the pieces together for a trial fit, it fits 'around' you OK, and the armhole depth is correct, so are we just talking length armhole down, right?

Assumptions:

1) the pieces were made bottom up--If they were made top down, you wouldn't be asking about length as you could just add more rows to the bottoms of the 2 fronts and back. 

2) that there are no decreases at all from hem to armhole. If there is...your best bet is to find a wide edging pattern, or just add to the bottom with a different, decorative stitch to make it longer.  

3) If it is a drop sleeve (like a t-shirt, no indentation for the sleeves just straight up from hem to shoulder and no shoulder or neckline shaping, the sides are the same width from top to bottom), just re-attach the yarn and add length to the the fronts and back, from the top where you left off. 

4) If it is not a drop sleeve, and has indentations at the sides to fit the sleeves into, with or without shoulder shaping--sorry, some ripping on all 3 pieces, down to the end of the last row before the armhole shaping starts.  Add the # of rows (working the same width as the body) to match the added length you need, then re-do the armhole shaping and shoulder shaping if any.

If you end up adding stitches in scenario 1 or 3--Make sure you check that your stitches are going the right way, in other words 'pick up where you left off' (the fronts and backs of rows look different, if you end up will 2 rows made same side facing next to each other it will look odd.

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Granny Square

[Faufau]

How do I make the bottom WIDE enough to fit wide hips?? The pattern is way too narrow.

Thank you so much!!

[Granny Square]

I thought so, but I guessed by the way you worded your question you didn't want to rip what you had done, and wanted to fix it by length somehow.

On 3/26/2020 at 2:17 PM, Faufau said:

The length ends just past my buttocks. How do I tweak the pattern to ensure the length covers my wide hips and buttocks?

Let me cover some actions that anyone making a garment needs to undertake right at the very beginning of the process.

You (generic you) need measure yourself, or a similar garment that fits you nicely, so you'd know the actual size you need to make (not small, medium, large, but actual hip measurement, including ease (extra fabric so it's not skin tight) of the garment.

You should do a gauge swatch, if not several if that is what it takes to hit the pattern gauge.  At the very least, after working across the first few inches of the front or back piece you should measure it to ensure you are on track.  Right there, if (making up an easy-math number) if your hip measurement plus a little ease is 48", and your back piece wasn't at least 24" across or your front piece 12" across, you'd have know you had a problem right at the very beginning, and could have ripped and re-started with a bigger hook or following a larger size of the pattern.

You know what I'm going to say, right? You are going to have to rip and start over if the pieces were made bottom up, and follow all the steps above to ensure a nice fit. 

If they were made top down, and it fits OK and closes completely in the front armhole-up, you may only have to rip up to the armhole.  Figure out how much you think you need to add all around armhole down to make it fit - let's say 8".  So, you've ripped back to the bottom of the armhole (so the armholes are not connected to the bottom), and the tops are connected at the shoulder seams (it looks seamed in your photo).  You should be at one of the side fronts.  Work across the front, make a 4" chain (half of the amount you need to add) that will be the base of your new underarm area, work across the back, make a 4" chain,  work across the other front.  Turn, and work front to front, on this first row working into the 2 chain spans (or over, whichever you think works best--I'd choose into) to the length you want.