Pattern Help

[Tammy Leggetter]

A BIG thank you firstly to everyone who has supported my by answering previous questions I have posted.

I am very new to the world of crochet.  I have purchased a couple of patterns and taken the plunge and made a start on an Intermediate pattern, a vest.  It’s a very detailed pattern of five pictures and so I thought this would be the best first pattern for me. I have attached a picture of the vest from the pattern with the schematic.

I made a gauge (to correct gauge size) and started the pattern itself.  I noticed very shortly after starting the vest body in size XS that it just wasn’t going to work, despite having the correct gauge and measuring my stitches often.  The body shortly started to ripple and increase despite keeping to the correct stitches.  I ripped all out the body and tried less stitches but still the body rippled, I then ripped out the body and part of the ribbed waist band and started again with less band and less stitches (calculating down from the XS size) and I am now going off pattern but using my own measurements and taking into consideration the stretch in the fabric.  Going off pattern does somehow now seem to be working and I am trying on the garment often to ensure it still fits.  However, maybe I am all wrong in my thinking it’s ok to go off pattern?  I’ve attached a picture of my work so far.

I found another picture of the vest made by someone else (picture attached) and this vest really doesn’t look like the pattern.  The pattern has a lovely curved in waist and lovely shaped shoulders and a really nice shaped neck.  

My questions to anyone kind enough to answer is, do you sometimes find that your finished garments don’t look exactly like the picture on the pattern? But with your experience and making adjustments you can get it to look like the pattern?  If you are making a garment do you suggest you need to keep holding up your work at stages to your body and measuring?  

A HIGE thank you for taking the time to read my very very long post and any advice you can offer.

I think I would be giving up my now if it were not for this forum and your kind support.

Tammy 

 

[Granny Square]

In general, my experience is ribbing is going to/meant to stretch a little to fit, and when you start adding the fabric along the side of the ribbing the fabric part might tend to . . . ruffle is too strong of a word, but not lay flat, but will look better when you are wearing it.

I agree the human version looks different from the mannequin version in the depth of the neckline (higher on the person) and apparent distance from shoulder to hem.  The person has a shorter waist than the mannequin (in fabric sewing patterns, back waist measurement = distance from back neckline to waist).  It's easier to 'eyeball' as distance from under-bust to waist.

I modify sweaters for body and sleeve length probably most the time (I'm short waisted like the model), primarily by removing rows, which is what probably was done on the human version.  The only time I've tinkered with stitch counts is if I don't hit pattern width gauge, I look at the size bigger or smaller than what should be 'my' size based on the pattern measurements (example, my actual measurements usually fall in the 'medium' range, so if my stitches are too tight I'll look at the large size stitch count) and do the math on my wrong gauge per stitch x the number of stitches at the bust, and follow the 'wrong' size to get the 'right' fit--I hope that makes sense.  Aside from being short waisted I don't have a model's figure so am not aiming for a precise fit anyway...

So bottom line, sure it's OK to tweak to fit you, but keep track of a few things.  I like to measure a garment I'm making against another one I own that I like the fit of, and is similarly stretchy, and use that as I guide as I go for things like how deep should the armhole be, how deep from shoulder to hem, depth of armhole, length of sleeve, and so on.  Lay the old garment on the bed and put the new one over it and see how the new one is tracking.

Pay attention to armholes.  This is a sleeveless vest, meant to be worn over a shirt, so it might tend to have a deeper armhole than a sleeveless top; the human version's armholes appear to be a little tighter than I'd like them for a vest.