Day 8 – Part One: Body Shaping Basics

Today you will begin working the body of your sweater but before you begin knitting you may want to consider adding some additional shaping for a more flattering fit. You by no means have to add body shaping but in this post we’ll show you how it works.

How Far To Knit Today

Today you will be working with the body stitches that you separated from the sleeve stitches on Day 6. For a pullover or steeked cardigan you will be working this section in the round. For a traditional cardigan this section will be knit flat.

Over the next 10 days you will be working 1/10 of the body length each day. This will be the same if you do or do not include waist shaping.

_______ Desired body length  x 0.10 = _______ Length of body to be knit today

If you do not care to add waist shaping – work back and forth or in the round in your desired stitch pattern until you have reached 1/10 of the total body length.

Body Shaping 101

There are a few different ways to shape the body of your sweater.

1. You could not shape it at all
2. You could add hourglass shaping to suggest a smaller waistline
3. You could add stitches to accomodate a larger waistline
4. For men you could add what I call Johnny Bravo shaping, by decreasing all the way down to the hemline to create an inverted triangle shape.

NOTE: Normally hourglass waist shaping is not added to men’s or children’s sweaters.

How It Works

You will need your measurements from Day 1 for this section.

This section might look a little bit intimidating, don’t worry! You can skip to the section that applies to you and ignore the rest.

hourglassshaping

For this type of shaping you’ll be decreasing the number of stitches at the waist and increasing back out to suggest a more hourglass-like shape. Using this method you can shape the sweater down to your exact dimension. However, that would be very obvious and likely would actually end up being less flattering when worn. My recommendation is to only decrease out about 2 inches worth of stitches to just slightly nip in the waist. This will create a nice effortless shape, if you have a natural hourglass shape it will accentuate it and if you don’t have an hourglass shape this will suggest to the world that you do.

Download and print this worksheet to fill out as you work out the math for hourglass shaping.

Click here to download the Hourglass Shaping Worksheet

1. Desired amount of shaping (I recommend 2″) = _______Inches to be decreased

2. _______Stitch gauge  x _______Inches to be decreased (see answer to equation #1)= _______Stitches to be decreased

3. _______Waist shaping 1 (see measurement worksheet from day 1) x _______Row gauge= _______ Rows between bust and natural waist

4. _______Rows between bust and natural waist (see answer to equation #3) ÷ (stitches to be decreased _______÷ 4) = _______How often to decrease stitches for the waist

5. When you begin knitting the body (after the sleeves have been taken out) place one stitch marker on each side of the sweater where the sleeves were taken out, marking each half of the sweater. Work in your desired stitch pattern and decrease one stitch before and after each stitch markers every _______ (answer to equation #4) rows. Continue in this manner until you have decreased out your desired number of stitches for the waistline.

At this point you have reached the narrowest portion of the waist and will begin increasing stitches to build the fabric back out to the desired size for the lower portion of the body of the sweater.

6. _______ Number of stitches at waistline after completing step 5

7. _______ Measurement at hips (Or at desired length of sweater)  x _______ Stitch gauge  = _______ Desired final number of stitches

8. _______ Desired final number of stitches  – _______ Number of stitches at waistline (see answer to equation #6)  = _______ Number of stitches to increase

9. _______ Waist shaping 2 (see measurement worksheet from day 1) x _______ Row gauge = _______ Rows between waist and hem

10. _______ Rows between waist and hem (see answer to equation #9) – Desired length of hem/ribbing at bottom of sweater = _______ Rows available for increases

11. _______ Rows available for increases (see answer to equation # 10) ÷ (stitches to be increased _______÷ 4) = _______ How often to increase

Continue knitting the body, working in your desired stitch pattern and increase one stitch before and after each stitch marker every _______ (answer to equation #11) rows. Continue in this manner until you have reached your desired number of stitches, then work your desired hem/cuff.

Increaseshaping

For this type of shaping you’ll be increasing the number of stitches in the body of your sweater to accommodate a fuller waistline. This type of shaping is generally used for a person whose bust measurement is smaller than their waist measurement but it could also work nicely to create a drapey, flared look sweater.

Download and print this worksheet to fill out as you work out the math for increase shaping.

Click here to download the Increase Shaping Worksheet

1. _______ Natural waist measurement  – _______ Chest/bust measurement  = _______ Inches to be added (for a comfortable fit)

NOTE: If you are just trying to create a flared sweater substitute the “natural waist measurement” with your desired measurement at the widest point of your sweater.

2. _______ Stitch gauge  x _______ Inches to be added (see answer to equation #1)  = _______ Stitches to be added

3. _______ Waist shaping 1 (see measurement worksheet from day 1) x _______ Row gauge = _______ Rows between bust and natural waist

4. _______ Rows between bust and natural waist (see answer to equation # 3) ÷ (stitches to be added _______ ÷ 4) = _______ How often to increase stitches for the waist

When you begin knitting the body (after the sleeves have been taken out) place one stitch marker on each side of the sweater where the sleeves were taken out. Work in your desired stitch pattern and increase one stitch before and after each stitch marker every _______ (answer to equation #4) rows. Continue in this manner until you have reached your desired number of stitches for the waistline, then work your desired hem/cuff.

decreaseshaping

This is a type of shaping usually limited to men’s garments as it highlights a trim waistline and large upper body. Using this method you will remove stitches to create a smaller waist on the sweater. If you decide to use this type of shaping I recommend leaving about 4-6 inches of ease at the smallest portion of waist for a flattering but comfortable fit.

Download and print this worksheet to fill out as you work out the math for increase shaping.

Click here to download the Decrease Waist Shaping Worksheet

1. _______ Chest measurement – _______ Waist measurement = _______ Difference between Chest and Waist (if the difference is not at least 6 inches, I do not recommend this type of shaping)

2. _______ Difference between Chest and Waist + _______ Desired ease at smallest point (I recommend 4-6 inches) = _______ Inches to decrease

3. _______ Stitch gauge x  _______ Inches to decrease = _______ Stitches to decrease

4. _______ Body length measurement (#4 on your measurement worksheet) – _______ Desired hem depth = _______ Inches available for decreases

5. _______ Row gauge x _______ Inches available for decreases = _______ Rows available for decreases

6. _______ Rows available for decreases (see answer to equation # 5) ÷ (stitches to be decreased _______ ÷ 4) = _______ How often to decrease stitches for the waist

When you begin knitting the body (after the sleeves have been taken out) place one stitch marker on each side of the sweater where the sleeves were taken out. Work in your desired stitch pattern and decrease one stitch before and after each stitch marker every _______ (answer to equation #6) rows. Continue in this manner until you have reached your desired number of stitches for the waistline, then work your desired hem/cuff.

Lessons in this course: