Spring Crochet cardigan sizing

[flyinghooks]

I haven't started this pattern myself - but a friend was working on it and has reported that the sizing is way off. She says a large barely fits her size 4/6 daughter. Has anyone made this or knwo of sizing problems?

 

Here's the link

 

http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/projects/june99_crochet.html

[nightowl]

Hmm. . . it seems to me that the finished cardigan should be about the size the pattern says. For instance, the pattern gives a finished measurement of 40½ in. for the largest size. My math [see 1 below] makes the total of the unjoined pieces just under 41¼ in. Take off a stitch each side of each piece for seaming (loses you 1in.), and add 4 rows of button band, and 40½ in. would seem about right.

 

I have to say the sizes I've seen on US patterns confuse me mightily. . . considering a cardigan is meant to go over other clothing, and you have to have room to move ("ease"), I'd have thought a 40 in. or so garment would fit someone with about a 36 in. bust -- and not too loosely, either. How in the world can you call someone with a 36 in. bust Large?

 

1 Gauge 13 sts/4in. = 3.25 sts/1in. 66 sts on back at widest point/3.25 sts per in. = 20.3 in. Fronts: 34 sts at widest/3.25 sts per in. = 10.46 in. Total circumference = 41.22 in. before adding button band.

[salos]

Nightowl, U.S. sizing is two layered. The "Large" bust of 36" is based on "Miss" sizing, which is pretty much for teenagers and small adult women. So a Miss's "large" would fit a smallish woman. "Women's" or "Plus" sizes fit a broader range of women.

 

Flying hooks, I have to agree that your friend probably needs to check her gauge. BTW, that's a really nice pattern.

[flyinghooks]

Thanks Nowl & Salos - I was about to start this pattern and I'm trying to decide what size to make it. My friend who started it ahead of me (at my suggestion!) says her gauge is dead on. (That's the same question I asked, multiple times) I think she's taking issue with the idea of a final bust measurement of 40.5 inches being a "large" since as Nowl says a cardigan should fit over a shirt with a bit of ease. I never thought of misses sizes of only being for teens and small woman since I never see "woman's" sizes under size 14/16.

 

Anyway - I'll go take a million measurements of myself, and my sweaters that fit well and decide if I should try the large or increase it. My friend considers herself a size 10. I usually buy 10-12 depending on how they are made. Most sweater patterns, I follow the medium - but this is a more fitted sweater. well - sorry for rambling - and thanks again for the help!

[nightowl]

Nightowl, U.S. sizing is two layered. The "Large" bust of 36" is based on "Miss" sizing, which is pretty much for teenagers and small adult women. So a Miss's "large" would fit a smallish woman. "Women's" or "Plus" sizes fit a broader range of women.

Ahh, thank you, Salos! That makes a lot more sense

 

Ginny, if your friend insists her gauge is right, then it's a mystery as to what caused the cardi to shrink like that . I think sometimes people confuse actual finished measurements of a garment and "to fit" measurements. That's the type that (at least up until a few years ago) was most common here in knitting and crochet patterns; you know, where it says: "to fit size such-and-such bust", giving no indication of what size the finished garment would be or how much ease they've allowed! I was hopeless at math(s) at school but nowadays a little calculator is my friend

 

Anyway, I think you're definitely doing the right thing by starting with the measurements from a sweater you like and that fits you well. Good luck with it!