E.g. Ready to see what Kniterator can do for you? Bonus tip: Our bust line isnt at the underarm. Expect that at some point in the future. You will need to know the number of stitches in the front and each shoulder. You can definitely think critically about the instructions you encounter in patterns you follow or you could use it to write your own knitting pattern. If your pattern has a stitch between the front and the shoulders for the raglan increase itself, assign that stitch to the sleeve. (how scary is that?) Check the illustration below. About the type of fit. Tip: Not sure how youd like your neckline to look? Check out the illustration. This method of FBA can look kind of odd off a body because of how it changes the appearance of the raglan, but it looks just fine on. Knitting In the Round 3 Ways: DPNs, Two Circulars, or Magic Loop? For the hips an a-line shape should work well. Measure from the point where your neck meets the shoulder (right at the top where a shoulder seam would be), straight down to a point level with where you want the bottom of the neckline to be. I am also happy to see Dusty Road, which I managed to miss last summer-gorgeous both in color and construction. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. You'll want to add no more than about 5/8" right beneath the collar, and if you need to make up extra length you can work some short rows in the middle of the back too. It can be US or mm sizes. If a raglan is worked with plenty of positive ease, however, these problems are alleviated. Compound raglans literally bend the curve, adding small arcs along the raglan line that help sweater fabric lay more smoothly on the upper bodys curves. Raglan lost his right arm in the Battle of Waterloo and some have speculated that the raglan style was developed by his tailor to fit better on his armless side than a traditional shoulder and sleeve. If you use some other Yoke depth is determined by the body's dimensions, Raglan shaping needs to mirror the body's shape, "Raising the back neck too quickly," and other short row shaping myths, Myth 1: Short rows in raglans can be worked across the back neck only, Myth 2: Short rows in the neckline can raise the back neck too fast, Modifying a raglan sweater to fit you perfectly. Thanks for your advice CarolI will experiment a little with spacing out my raglan increases. Heres the formula: Stitches to shape out / 2 = stitches used in shaping rate A (round this so its an even number), Youll eliminate the remaining stitches one per turn (work right up to the double stitch, then turn your work), Stitches to shape out stitches used in shaping rate A = stitches used in shaping rate B, Rows used in shaping: Rate A + (Rate B *2). In a traditional raglan, you start with the neck size you want, increase the body and sleeves every second row or round until you get close to the body stitches you want. Swap a round crew for a v-neck by choosing a deeper neckline and binding off just 3 sts at the bottom. I love hearing what you have to say! It's an artifact of the swatch. Note: I've used inches below. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. Knowing your gauge is As long as that shoulder is around 2 wide, you should have adequate room in the back neck without adding extra shaping. The factors are Snug = 2"; Comfortable = 4"; and Loose = 6". NOTE: subtract F from this number to get the number you are increasing to during the raglan shaping. Simple Worked-From-The-Top Raglan Pullover Pattern Calculated by the Percentage Method The pattern is generated so that you can use any size knitting needle with any weight yarn. Posted on 30 Mar 10:25, The Rebirth KAL and Pullover Posted on 21 Mar 22:34, Top down and a little lacy Posted on 26 Feb 09:32, A staple pullover - colorblocked! This decorative seam continues down into the a-line body and forms the focus of interest for the sweater. Whichever unit you use, be sure not to round. I was trying to figure out how to start and how to measure for different sizes because I am newbie in knitting. lol square should be 5 x 5 inches. The reason for this is so that the pattern can be continued down the body when you no longer need raglan increases. This means that for larger bust sizes using traditional construction, the sleeves will be too large. Lets dive in and check out why you might want to try knitting a raglan style sweater! If the front neckline is shallow (like a crew neck), it may be pulled up into your neck. 1. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Hello, thanks for your interesting explanation. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Beginning at the neck, the number of stitches on the front (s), back, and sleeves increase at regular intervals along these lines. March 8, 2012 - Lauren. The more complicated a design gets, the more challenging it is to make into a formula, and so many of the designs coming out these days are pretty complicated. Its deep back covers any unsightly lumps we may have, and the tailored style is classic. To get from raglan depth to yoke depth, you need to add in one-half of the shoulder stitches. A knitter who does excel! Cant wait to get going! Thank you so much for this information. Yet not all crocheters and knitters embrace the raglan as we have done. Measure the distance straight down from the shoulder seam to the level where you want the neckline to be, in a line parallel to the button placket. You can find themhere.Dusty Road and Santa Rosa Plum are both from last summer, and Im still in love with them both :-). These workshops are designed to be there every step of the way as you work on your chosen project. The shoulder width is less important as there is no set shoulder width. All Rights Reserved. Ex: If your trim will be 1 of ribbing, add 1 to this depth. Since I'm not acquainted with the formula you use yet, I'm not sure if the Divide shoulder width by 2 for starting neck depth. (Not that I expect special treatment for my giant head children) The compound raglan allows for a more flattering fit because the rate of increase varies to more accurately follow the shape of the body. I love the neckline, too. Overall the lack of structure particularly at the shoulders can make for a less durable sweater. If you turned your work at the same stitch over and over, youd create a vertical line, but you couldnt work the next row. Its very rare that a raglan wont need front neck shaping - the shoulder width needs to be about six inches wide for that to work. Knitting on an Airplane and Other Travel Tips for Makers, Why You Shouldn't Buy a Knitter Yarn as a Gift. If you want to join me virtually for a 12-week knitting adventure as we mastergarment fit and modification, then my signature masterclass is waiting for you here. This is a diagonal measurement and is more or less useless for predicting your fit because you won't know where it begins or ends in relation to your neck or your underarm. If you have an odd number of stitches, the formula is: While continuing to follow raglan shaping and stitch pattern: Row 1 (RS): Work in pattern to C sts before the marker / marked stitch, turn. Thanks so much for sharing you work, I really appreciate it!!! Without this shaping, the collar will be pulled to the back. I would not aim for a highly customized fit in a raglan, but you can certainly get a more body-conscious fit in a raglan than you would a drop-shoulder. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Right after the bust, we decrease dramatically in circumference, then we dont change very much in the mid chest, and then our circumference narrows rapidly from the shoulder to the chest. Karen Templer of Fringe Association notes that when she employs compound shaping, she can use top-down raglan methods to produce a sweater with sleeves akin to saddle shoulder styles. Browse designs or Try DIY Knitting is an art, but the engineering-part of my brain is constantly questioning why so many designs can't just be explained as formulas. The Cable Pattern For Body: 2) Each human body follows some geometrical principles and ignores others. Simple Worked-From-The-Top Raglan Pullover Pattern Calculated by the Percentage Method. UFO to WIP: Can This Crochet or Knitting Project Be Saved? Generally I use M1R before and M1L after but reversing it works fine if you keep it consistent. I will definitely take a closer look at your spreadsheets. These steps assume you create a crew neck a shallow, round neckline. Several other designers, following Maggie Righettis advice from Sweater Design in Plain English, similarly praise compound shaping and its endless flexibility. The top down version is entirely seamless which makes it very accessible for beginner sweater knitters. Raglan Construction A Look at Top-Down Knitting Techniques. The shaping of the sleeve must match the front and back shaping so that all the pieces fit together properly. Because knitting is a matter of individual abilities Whats your favorite sweater style to knitraglan, set-in sleeves, dolman? A garment with raglan shaping has seam lines (or shaping lines) separating the sleeves, front, and back parts of the garment through the yoke. Is it possible to cut the armhole and add a rhombus or some similar piece? I have been using Excel for years to ensure I understand the pattern and to create a clear, clean pattern customized just for me! The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. The Ripening of the Raspberry Cheesecake Capelet. Love the changes. PS - many thanks to Anne Marie Hart for technical editing support on this post! If there are just a few stitches at the shoulder, consider adding shaping for the back neck in addition to the shaping for the front neck. try to match someone else's gauge. The content is awesome. Being a word person, I got to wondering about the origin of the word raglan, so I did a little research. Day 5 Pattern - click here for a PDF of sizes XS through XXL! Before launching into your short rows, you will need to calculate the number of rows youll be following the pattern instructions before beginning your neck shaping. If youve drafted a scoop neck instead, youll need to bind off stitches instead of working short rows. For a crew neck, this is typically 40 55 % of front neck certain stitches. It is acceptable to work a few extra rows into the The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. If the pattern has you decrease evenly between the bicep and the neck, add your new decreases at the top and bottom. That code will be available when you purchase the patterns or digital book. the example covers shaping a sleeve, but the formula can be applied to any shaping you want. Cecelia. Divide shoulder width by 2 for starting neck depth. Step 4: Finesse your shaping - have you used all your rows? Written for a bust measurement of 34 inches around the underarm, with about 6 inches of positive ease. be aware that this pattern is a percentage approximation. Contains spam, fake content or potential malware, How to Sew Crochet Motifs to Your Clothes, 5 Things That Made Our Yarn-y Hearts Happy at Yarn Fest Loveland 2023, Floral Beaded Jewelry Patterns for Mothers Day, Unique Ways to Have Quality Yarn-Time with Mom. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. IMO. Lisas List: 10 Reasons Knitting Is Better Than Dating, Spurned Gifts: When Knit & Crochet Gifts Went Wrong. Thanks again and do keep designing and sharing. If you notice a garment has a funnel shape, thats coming from the shaping rate in the raglan (or if working a round yoke, in the yoke chart). I think many simple designs can be explained as formulasthough it's not the norm, so people don't tend to do it very often. If you've seen a pattern that has short rows that are worked just between the raglan columns in the back, you probably want to skip those rows. Im going to walk you through adding a shallow short-row neckline to a raglan thats knit in the round from the bottom up. If youve got pattern work near the neck, you can even put those short rows lower down the back as well. You also have a stitch count in the shoulder and neck. Whether . The best feature of this method is that you don't need to change your needle size or yarn to Welcome back to the Sweater Construction series! Both sweaters are for my kiddos. maybe using some of the increments from the other sweater calculator that goes in sizes Lift that stitch up with the left needle (see photo #2). Ideally the test The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. So I guess the percentages are a bit different on little ones. I have fallen for more than a few of your designs but was intimidated because I am considered a new-ish knitter. 4607 Library Road Ste 220-206 40% will create a rounder neckline, 55% will be more shallow. As Jennifer Wood explains in Refined Knits (and further explicated in a helpful emailthanks, Jennifer! Typically patterns suggest a Backwards Loop Cast-On. Now compare the raglan sweaters geometry to the bodys geometry. We might need to finesse this later, but its a good starting point. You need room for your neck, or your sweater will ride up onto your neck and pull. Yes, since you're measuring your body, but that won't have anything to do with the raglan length. So, the basic structure of the raglan shaping begins at the neck with increases on the body and sleeves on every round, then it changes to alternating between 1 round of body and sleeve increases and 1 round of shaping on either body OR sleeves (depending on the size), then it changes to working increases on the body and sleeves every other The casual, sporty look of raglans gives them a somewhat youthful look that has long made them a favorite in knitwear. It doesnt always create perfect results, but with a little bit of knowledge, you can easily adjust patterns to suit your body and taste. Contains spam, fake content or potential malware, How to Sew Crochet Motifs to Your Clothes, 5 Things That Made Our Yarn-y Hearts Happy at Yarn Fest Loveland 2023, Floral Beaded Jewelry Patterns for Mothers Day, Unique Ways to Have Quality Yarn-Time with Mom. It's knitting a little pocket for a nonexistent neck boob. You can add an inch or two here easily, and the whole sweater will be wider in the front only. Im familiar with the general concenpt, but unsure of how Ill know where to start the raglan increases. I love the lace. Remember - we are avoiding knitting front stitches, and finishing the sleeves and back of the shoulder as normal. Use spreadsheet software to create custom grid paper that matches your gauge by adjusting the number of pixels in the rows and columns, and then applying a light gray outline to each cell. Knitting is about 90% (don't quote me on that %, it's an estimate) math, and that's what Excel is great at, so it's pretty natural, I think, to use them together. Please consider supporting me by purchasing the 100% ad-free PDF with full charts, schematics, and waist shaping formula for this pattern on my Ravelry or ETSY pages. The pattern is generated so that you can use any size knitting needle with any weight yarn. I enjoy raglan sweater knitting, and I know you will, too. That will tell you how your stitch counts change as you move from the underarm to the neck. Because the top of the sleeve forms the neck edge, the front neck shaping can be included in the final rows of the sleevesangle the top of the cap by working more shaping on the side that will correspond with the front of the body. For a raglan to fit correctly, you would typically increase/decrease on each side of the body (and at the front and back) and on each side of the sleeve on every right-side row or every other round if working in the round. What I frequently do instead is space the increases out so increase rows are every other row instead which correct both issues I find. WORK NECK SHAPING ROWS Work back and forth in rows, increasing on both sides of each raglan on every right side row (or as desired) and at front neck as needed for your intended neck shaping (every other row for crewneck or shallow V; every fourth row for deeper V; or as desired). Now we see why the sweater might poof out just above the breasts or right at the armpit. Neither of these is carved in stone, and as you'll read below, it's rare that all sizes will require the same shaping rates. To counter them, add a few extra decreases in the yoke. If the pattern already has them distributed in compound shaping, add your new decreases evenly. Anyway, I can deal with it pretty easily, but it does make it a little more tricky for Your continued efforts to share knowledge is a treasure and so encouraging to knitters of all experiences. All Rights Reserved. You will also need to have stitch holders I am still wondering about when I am knitting a cardigan with raglan sleeves and Im using an increase like a make one which leans right or left, which one would I do first, the M1R or M1L? Copyright 2023, Kristen TenDyke Designs | Powered by Shopify. The style is was named for Fitzroy Somerset, Lord Raglan, the commander-in-chief of forces during the Crimean War. This blog post from Amy Herzog is a fantastic resource for different neckline shapes and the shaping rates that create them. Thanks for the tutorial. Amy Herzog combines compound shaping with a seamed yoke, so that sleeves and body can be shaped independently of each othershe simply eases the pieces together as she seams, no matter how differently they curve. 6-7 - somewhere in that range. Short Row Shaping at the Back Neck. You do this by knitting to the sleeve, using a tapestry needle threaded with waste yarn and slipping all of the sleeve stitches onto the thread (tie it together, so you dont lose the stitches!!). I wouldnt increase all the way to the underarm as that will make your sleeve and body too large. Please note: This can mean that you will be limited to yarn choices that include some structure and elasticity themselves, such as wool or wool blends, and plied yarn. I added red lines to make these changes easier to see (and to make Euclid cry). We change narrow dramatically from the full bust to the mid-chest, more slowly through the mid-chest, and fast again as we approach the neck. I have to learn a lot!. Both sleeve cap and yoke are truncated triangles. They look a little different at the top because of the final bind-off, but that difference disappears when you work in the round. This is the shoulder width, and from the top of the shoulder, half the width will fall the front and half to the back. Beginning at the neckline the sleeve cap expands to become the shoulder of the garment. Hi, everyone! Raglan. And it addresses the difference between the stitch gauge and the row gauge which very rarely are equal. Short rows cant accommodate long vertical lines because all the stitches stay live on the needle. the top. Heres Interweave Knits Editor and Knitting Plus author, Lisa Shroyer, to tell you more about raglan construction and how it works for plus-size knitting. There's one special thing about raglan sweaters that I see overlooked in so many designs. raglans darts button hole placement skirt flares bias knitting gathered sleeves circular yokes If you need to increase (or decrease) a specific number of stitches within a specific number of rows there is a reliable way to calculate this. This is the shoulder width, and from the top of the shoulder, half the width will fall the front and half to the back. Front length: 19inch Back length: 20inch Bust: 41 inch (finished and wet blocked) Materials critical to the proper fit of any sweater pattern. One last thing - about that short row shaping rate. If you still have rows leftover, you can re-evaluate your neck depth or consider working bind-offs instead. body or the arm length. When the raglan increases end early and there are many rows of straight knitting before getting to the point where the stitches are added for the underarm join, I have found that the finished sweater doesnt always lay flat just in the upper chest and back. These lines extend from the underarm up to the neckline finish. If youd like to see this in action, check out Soft Structure. Lisas List: 10 Reasons Knitting Is Better Than Dating, Spurned Gifts: When Knit & Crochet Gifts Went Wrong. I do have a question that Im wondering if you could help with. I have a difficult time picking up the neckline where the front increases have been. In the picture to the left, the top swatch is worked with short rows and the bottom is worked with bind-offs, but the shaping is the exact same. UFO to WIP: Can This Crochet or Knitting Project Be Saved? If this is your first sweater I recommend starting with the Tilda pattern. Thank you! In raglans worked from the bottom up, the raglan shaping is achieved with decreases. and styles, the information on this site is presented without warranty regarding This is because you can keep working in the same direction as that type of cast-on. The chest measurement is treated as the 100%; all other measurements are some portion of that measurement., This is a pattern for working the body of the sweater as one piece starting from the top. Very nice overview of techniques! For example, sleeve length can be easily extended or shortened simply by ceasing knitting at the desired point. Sara Dudek similarly acknowledged her appreciation of such sweaters when she dove deeply into design considerations for knitters and crocheters. The 2 wider cones become the garments front and back, while the narrower cones form sleeves. If the front neckline is deep (like a scoop or v-neck), the whole sweater may slide down the back. Hey, I just came across this while making a search on raglan. With the left needle tip, reach down and pick up the left leg of the stitch 2 rows below the stitch on your right needle. *Membership cannot be purchased with Gift Cards. It seems very useful - can't hardly wait to "play" with it.Thanks for sharing!/Lisbethk, Dear Kristen,I have always loved working raglan sweaters from the neck down, but your instructions are so thorough and easy to follow. The sleeve cap extends all the way to the neck edge. Thank you for the information it is very helpful. Either print and draw right on, or highlight cells to illustrate your dream shaping. Another option is to eliminate more than two stitches in your first rate A row, which has the added benefit of creating an even more smooth curve. In this video we learn how to use a formula to easily calculate shaping in knitting. This is a useful construction that allows you to try on the sweater as you go. I wanted to make sure it was perfect for you, and I'm grateful for her sharp eye and clear voice. As weve already seen, raglan sweaters too employ geometry ruleswhether theyre constructed from the top down or the bottom up, the neck opening is essentially a rectangle that grows at its 4 corners into trapezoids or cones. Raglan length goes all the way up to your shoulder so it will be different for every sweater depending on neck width, depth. I've made one sweater so far, and have nearly finished the planning stage of my second. Youll need to add one more row to resolve all those double stitches, so the formula is: Rows worked in raglan shaping per pattern - neck shaping rows - 1. At the underarm, a few stitches We dont reach our widest measurement until several inches below the underarm (and the larger you are, the truer that tends to be!). When I get to the other side of the sleeve do I do it in the same order or do I reverse the way they lean? In the fashion illustration below, the side view reveals a curve just below the neck (between shoulder and high bust), then another curve where high bust becomes full bust. How do I know where to put them, so that it will fit on me? Fundamentally, a raglan is a sweater that is shaped between the underarm and the neck with four columns of decreases that go from the front and back of each armhole up to the neck. On the left side, in red, there are two arrows showing raglan length. The shaping of the sweater is based on raglan styling from the top down. Divide the number of shoulder stitches by the stitches per inch from your gauge. Is this correct? I am in a happy place. Short rows keep us from knitting stitches. Sometimes, then, well see necklines that work well in the middle and larger sizes, but because the shoulder gets more narrow as sizes get smaller, the smallest sizes dont have adequate depth. This was traditionally the most common method of top-down knitting as its very easy to knit. (8 sts inc at raglans, 2 at front neck, per inc row) You can use cm - it all works the same. In this video we learn how to use a formula to easily calculate shaping in knitting. that which is calculated by this method. Important: Make a test square in the pattern stitch in With adding these instructions I will be able to knit easy Things that fits well.Dorothee. Ysolda Teague explains how she calculated her compound raglan yoke for Stripy, a multi-part tutorial on fit. If youre used to knitting a shaping row every other row from the neck to the body, it can be a surprise to learn thats not always going to work. Im about to start knitting a top-down raglan sweater in the round with short rows in the back.