This body is mine. I was today years old when I decided to accept that fact. What does this have to do with pattern decisions GG? Is that your question? Well my answer is EVERYTHING!
As you know I am blessed in the chest AND I could stand to lose a pound or two…so once I became confident enough to actually knit a sweater; it had to be oversized. I ran, fast, in the other direction from anything meant to fit this body closely. Can you believe I thought wearing something baggy would hide the twins (they deserve a name). I can remember making the Lizzie by Cocoknits. Because I always feel I need to hide my gut, the plan was to make this longer than designed.
When I decided to send Julie a picture and asking if I should go longer. She said NO! very passionately; so against my normal thoughts I stopped. Can you see the shock in my face? I was so please that I didn’t go longer. I mean it hits my bootie right nicely if you ask me 🙂
Fast forward to the sweaters I just recently finished or hell..the one I am making now. I tried it on and honey that things hugs me like I cooked it a good meal. Hahahahahahaa! When I shared this picture on social media someone suggested I stop and wear it cropped. *insert shocked face* Yea, nope! I am still growing.
I had on a dress the other day, wooo weee I have grown because that thing was holding on to me and I was ok with that. Knitting garments has forced me to face my own personal demons. The truth of the matter is this, if I wanted to change my body, I would/should do something about it.
The more sweaters I make the more comfortable I am with a sweater that hugs my curves. I stop myself every time the urge to make something that I feel will hide my imperfections. It’s a chore, but I do it. If you could hear me talking to myself you would laugh. The dress I had on was yellow, bright yellow and that in itself was a thing. It took me all these years to confidently wear bright colors.
What about you? Do you avoid certain patterns due to your body shape? Let’s discuss.
My momma is a snack baby!
Lol love you
I’ve been waiting ‘to lose weight’ before I knit myself a cardigan. I might wait for the rest of my life so I’m casting on 9ne this coming weekend hopefully. In a very nice yarn. I deserve it now. Took me a while to get to that.
If some miracle happens and I wake up skinny without my nana’s matronly bust then I’ll carefully unpick the gorgeous cardigan and make 2 lol.
While I love a cozy oversized hoodie or sweater, I find that when they are too big, they stop flattering the wearer. Plus, who wants to knit more fabric than is needed when there are so many other things that need to be cast-on for?? LOL
Facts! Lol
I find that styles that lightly skim my shape are best. Anything very oversized or too tight just looks like I’m wearing the wrong size. I don’t care to expose any tummy or midriff so short/cropped for me has to hit about my hip bone. I also avoid tunics because I hate sitting on them. And I’ll probably never knit a round yoke, color work sweater no matter how gorgeous I think they are – my generous chest and short neck looks best in a scoop or V neck. There’s more, but you get the idea – I’ve figured out MY STYLE. There’s no point in knitting or sewing something if you won’t feel comfortable wearing it no matter how pretty it is.
Being able to quickly include or exclude a pattern (or RTW article of clothing) based on the my many personal preferences/restrictions makes it easier to shop. Unlimited choices sometimes leads to decision paralysis.
Just wish I’d have figured more of this out before I was over fifty!
Amen 🙏🏾
So we’ll said. Thank you!
As a woman who is on this side of 50 – I always joke that my “cropped” days are long past. I struggle with fit and – “not too tight” – my sister and I call it lumpy and bumpy – but I feel like I can always find the “right” fit to make my knitwear worth my time and effort so that I will actually wear it and feel like it is flattering. – still a work in progress…
Oh yea, 54 next month and ain’t no cropped nothing happening here 👀
Omg!! This exactly! I’ve never been brave enough to make a sweater because I also have big boobs and a round belly. I’m always afraid I’ll put all that knitting work in and then it won’t look good. So I knit shawl after shawl (love those too). But you are gorgeous in your sweaters and in so many different styles so maybe I need to just be brave and do it!!! Thanks for sharing this!
YW thanks for reading 👩🏾💻😊🧡
Knitting and sewing has helped me to start to make peace with my body. I love that with both you can find patterns that will flatter many different shapes. As I’ve gotten more experienced with both knitting and sewing, I’ve learned about how to tweak fit, which feels downright magical! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I love magical things! I wish I had that skill! You GO!
I’m loving you and hating me. I’m pretending I love myself by declaring this age and stage in my life my fat and happy phase. I was born into a stout and solid frame in a family of long leggy sisters and a mom. I got a picture of me running through the sprinkler maybe 4 and got dimples on my thighs. I’ve been at war with my body my whole life, and realize whatever I looked like, some disordered eating and thinking was behind it, even when was “fitting in”. And lemme just say, when I am small, people say stuff and look happy and think I’m right. They are wrong. The truth is I am if I just eat normal and self
Care normal – I am gonna have reserves! And I can thank greater forces because my ancestory includes starvation, so no wonder my ancestors survived and passed this ability to conserve energy in my body. What got me to own my body was watching my daughter start to come into hers and look real hard at what message I was sending with spending an hour at the gym everyday in addition to living an active life just to fit in. I decided to become a trend setter! Haha. But inside me, I start with doubt and shame. So what works for me is loving you. It really does. And I am mixing my sewing up with stuff that’s loose and also I have this one simple dress that fits and also a cloth coat that goes over it and yeah, I’ve definitely figured out to let my crotch show as my friend says when making shirts. Cropping it and adding a high wasted pencil skirt or cigarette pants? If you lead, will I follow? I dunno, because I am some kinda pasty white color under there! See? That’s the self talk I am hearing in me. It helps to say it so I can really confront it because without bringing it up
To the surface it plays like a deep hum inside me.
Thank you for sharing 🤗
I’ve always loved things that hug my curves and fit well, admittedly my curves are rather different from what they were 20 years ago; there are more of them and some go in the opposite direction from what they should. I still knit and sew to fit those curves, not to be a smaller size than I am (that never turns out well) or to be larger to try and hide things since that also doesn’t work, but to actually fit what I am in real life. I still feel like that young woman in my head, but that doesn’t translate to real life. Abdominal surgeries and a lifetime of sugar intake pad that out quite effectively!
I never feel comfortable in ruffles though and I need side shaping; my front waist might have disappeared but the side is still there so I fit for that.
I still really want to make myself an 18th century dress, but I’m not sure if I still fit the stays I made before my last surgery. Totally impractical but so much fun!
🤗
I feel you. I used to be a competitive swimmer and have wide shoulders/muscular arms. With the added bonus of being “softer” around the middle after kids and adulthood I do choose patterns based on my body shape and what I perceive will look good. It’s actually held me back from starting a colorwork yoke sweater recently. It’s still on my list, but I have a lot of courage to work up before I go for it.
I do think that starting to make my clothing–whether knitting or sewing–has made me face some long-held body image issues. I think that when we can customize things to our own bodies it can be a way of healing all those “clothes just don’t fit/look good on me” issues of shopping. Instead we can alter patterns and it’s the PATTERN’s issue–not our bodies’. <3
And that sweater looks amazing on you!
Yes I still am not fond of shopping for clothes. Thanks for reading 👩🏾💻😊🧡
I have a love/hate relationship with my body. I love that it works and is pretty healthy, but I have always struggled with how I look. Oh to go back to that 20-something body I thought was so wrong! I was very flat-chested until I had kids and gained a bunch of weight. I am still bottom heavy and have to convert every sweater I make into an aline shape. Now that I know that I can make most sweaters I like and have them fit. Body acceptance is a tough one, but we are more than how we look. And a functioning body is not one to hate!
Amen to all of that🙌🏾 thanks for reading 👩🏾💻😊🧡
GG! You’ve got sunshine sitting on your chest! You’re amazing!! <3
Lol Thank you 🤗
I had my babies back to back in the past couple of years. I’ve always struggled with my body image and now even more so. I am overly body conscious and I’ve just started knitting sweaters. At first I knit them in the size I THOUGHT I should be, now I am not sure what I’m doing but I am worried that after finishing that they will not fit. I notice that I choose patterns with tons of positive ease. While they look nice, but I think perhaps they make me bigger than I am. I’ve never been tiny (at least not since college) now 13 years and two children later, I am even more subconscious.
Thank you for sharing your story as a Black dark skinned woman it is great to have someone who can make me rethink my mindset.
That ease almost got me one time too. Once I understood I had to start over. You got this
I’m also “blessed in the chest” and find I am making a lot of scarves, shawls and socks – not sweaters! I also find a lot of upper arms too small and tight, I have to try to make adjustments so they will fit properly. Your lovely bright colors are an inspiration!! I am resolving to make one of the several sweaters I already have yarn for for myself this year!
Yay!! Do that!! Thanks for reading 👩🏾💻😊🧡
I definitely choose patterns for me based upon fit/shape/style (and skill level and patience – “Will I really finish that?”). My chest and my belly have always been spots I wanted to hide or not maybe hide so much as not draw attention to. So I don’t do crops, I definitely go on the high end of positive ease when I’m making a garment. I buy t-shirts that aren’t form-fitting because I just don’t feel comfortable in them. And I want to feel comfortable in my clothes. That’s my main thought when making (or buying) something – will I feel comfortable. I’ve accepted this is my body, I’m not about changing it by any means, but I want to feel comfortable in what I wear. ♥️
That’s the key! You feeling comfortable
I very much related to this. Like you, I have, ahem, curves in the front, and it’s been very hard to accept and learn to dress for/with them. With knitting, I’ve found that a bit of ease, but not too much, looks best on me
I’ve also recently bought a yellow dress (very yellow background, with flowers), which is not my usual style, and I live it too! I’ve really surprised myself here,. But unlike me, you’re already someone who’s not afraid of a bold colour. You’re an inspiration!
🤗 yay for the yellow dress
I made sweaters when I was younger, thinner, used less yarn! Now, I’m 58, have a deaf ear & a severe hearing loss in the other (masks are a killer for the mostly deaf), happily wear my hearing aid & bling it up, have shaved both side of my head (ever try to tuck glasses, a hearing aid, mask ANDhair behind your ear?! I am at the, whatever works stage for my head!
For my body, I have severe fibromyalgia pain daily. My fibro meds have made me gain 35 pounds on top of the 65 pounds stress with 2 special needs kids gave me. My husband still loves me even tho im100 pounds above what he married. I’m going to knit myself a sweater soon. I have a couple things to knit for my Etsy store first. 😊 Then, I have some beautiful silk for a cardigan. ❤️ A cardigan with colorwork.
Smidgentigre on Ravelry
That’s right! You do what makes you happy..when you are ready. Thanks for reading and responding. I appreciate you
All of this. My husband has helped me be happier about my body, to celebrate my body and what it accomplishes. I finally started knitting for my body as is, to enjoy my work and creativity. Then I got sick and lost a size. Seeing my sweaters be too big shocked me, because I was happy. I hadn’t waited for this day. I wore them with joy, and I still wear them with joy. And I’ll make some alterations to keep wearing them with joy. Thank you for shining healing light on these wounds and scars and lifting us all up. <3
Thank you for reading and sharing!
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 for Hubby and you
I’ve been thin my whole life but when I had my babies things changed and I wasn’t quick to embrace them… now I have a pooch and I always feel the need to hide it so I wear dresses over leggings and that’s my uniform… I really need to get over trying to hide the parts of my body that grew life bc being able to do that is a miracle and should be treated as such ❤️
It is a miracle and your feelings are valid
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with this post. There’s so much going on: if we knit something we’re uncomfortable wearing, will we wear it? But, if it’s unflattering is it worth the time? At the end of the day, if we could accept our own personal shape and size, it would be easier to knit all the things.
I love the Grace Pullover by Denise Bayron but feel the thick yarn will add unnecessary pounds to my short frame. But Ms Bayron pushed back which made me reconsider. I bought the yarn. Now to cast on.
Thank you for sharing.
Yes make that sweater ma’am
I first want to say GG ….You are awesome!!!! & it was wonderful to take a picture with you at NY Vogue Knitting Live. I was slightly blessed in the chest until I reach my 40’s. Suddenly any weight I gained went straight to the girls. I gradually went from a 34B to a 34DD. I just learned I’m actually a 32DDD. It was a big adjustment in terms of what I wore on top. I started wearing a lot of baggier sweaters and shirts until I realized I actually made myself looked larger than I actually was. I haven’t made myself a sweater yet ( I run hot) but I want to make a short sleeved fitted sweater.
Yes! I remember when I first started paying attention to folks asking “did you lose weight? It would always be when they could see my waist line
Thank you for this. I knitted my first garments last year after knitting hats and scarves for years. Two no sleeve tops. I had to totally remake one because it was too small for my ++ body. I keep wanting to make a real sweater, but I find patterns difficult to read, in the first place. In the second place, I would love a pattern that was truly written for the big woman, not adjusted from the small body. But the deeper work, is the work of loving this way of being a body in the world—with all these rolls, folds, and bumps. Thank you, again.
I completely understand. The biggest project is your mindset
Oh goodness yes. I’m always picking patterns by what I think will hide my belly and not accent my chest too much. It’s one of the things that held me back from trying a colorwork yoke sweater. When I was younger I got a lot of comments about ‘flaunting’ my chest, wearing clothes that were too tight, people that called me some not so nice things and made some unkind assumptions just because I had a large chest. I wasn’t trying to flaunt anything, just wear clothes that fit me! I know it’s silly now, but the words of those people still haunt me and I often still feel uncomfortable accenting the girls!
OmGawd you just hit a nerve! I didn’t wear orange most of my life because of things said to me as a kid! Ugh! I TOTALLY understand. Thanks for sharing
I’m trying to learn to love this body. It has had two babies and it has some post menopausal roundness in the middle going on. And my shoulders are broad. Figuring out how to knit a garment that feels good is a challenge. Definitely no cropped sweaters here! But I’m starting to figure out that a bit fitted across the bust and slightly a-line body is my sweet spot. It isn’t just about look but also about what feels right. But it isn’t easy to learn how to measure and knit so the sweater comes out the way I want.
I don’t know why we are so hard on our bodies. None of them are perfect. And social expectations of how women should look are so tyrannical. But our bodies come in so many shapes and sizes and are capable of so much. My body isn’t perfect and it’s hard to love the way it is changing with age. But it is strong. It lifts weights. It has earned a black belt in karate. It can swim and bike long distances. I know I should be more forgiving.
My goal is to learn how to knit the garments that fit me in a way that makes me feel good. The beauty of making clothes is figuring out how to make a garment for my body, not some media generated ideal. Thank you for posting!
There are always “reasons” to hate our bodies at every stage of life, right? And where does it get us? One wake up call I had was after my mastectomy at age 50. The doc made my new breast out of my belly fat (a complicated surgery–but because of previous treatment I couldn’t get an implant) essentially giving me a tummy tuck. Like magic: no more belly fat! My stomach was flatter than it had been since I was 10. And you know what? THAT JUST GAVE ME MORE TIME TO HATE ON MY UPPER ARMS! It is a hard, hard task, but you have to make peace somehow: you have to have to have self-compassion, you have to find joy in your physical self. Thank you, GG, for modeling that! (And, BTW, my belly fat doesn’t know it’s been moved, so when I gain weight, one side of my chest grows!).
I used to knit tents. I wasn’t trying to but I honestly had no idea about ease or how to knit for me. Like yourself, I’m “blessed in the chest” as my burlesque dancing sister says. Then I found a sweater pattern that told me to measure my over bust and pick a size based on that number and my desired ease. I actually knit a sweater that fit me! I now approach sweaters much differently than I used to, and I knit sweaters that fit and I want to wear them because they fit and look good.
Ugh! I’m sorry you got those comments. My mother was the one who talked about how CHESTY I was. (I was supposed to be a boy, not that anyone could tell in 1962). I was a massive disappointment to my mom. I was extremely smart. Thankfully, I had a caring dad. He taught my car engines, plumbing, electrical work, plaster repair, etc. He always said he would NEVER have a junior. When I was 19, I looked up the meaning of my name, suggested by my dad on day 6 at the hospital, Laurel Ann. My mom liked it & we could leave on day 7. Laurel: Victor, the leaves of the wreath of the victor. My dad had a junior! 😂😂😂 His name was Victor. 😂😂 dad supported me. My mother verbally abused me all her life. Sadly, I only felt relief when she finally passed in 2007. Dad died in June 1999. Our daughter was originally Viktoria, she is now Gabrielle Victoria. Adopted from Russia in 2004. We have another junior! 😂😂😂😂
My mom was as flat chested as I dreamed of being. I have always been well endowed & not a day went by that my mother didn’t comment on my chest. Daily, weight & chest. Mind you,I was 5’7” & 118 pounds, but I have forever had a pot belly. I’m 100 pounds more thanks to Lyrica for fibromyalgia meds. Our daughter is 4’11” with a 22 D chest. She has fetal alcohol syndrome. Her birth moth drank & did street drugs. She was born full term at 3#12 oz, 14”. She’s now 4’11”, 84 pounds. I say nothing about the size of her chest. The only thing I can find to fit her for a bra is a sports bra for tiny girls. Some day she will let me knit for her skinny, well endowed figure. Till then, I knit for me!
Oh, I love this! I definitely make choices by my body shape and size. I really need to re-evaluate my choices and sizes. Not everything needs to fit like a sack.
Thank you for this.
Totally do patterns to fit my body, but I try to flip it to the positive – “ what will emphasize what I like about me?” Rather than “what hides what I don’t like?” I feel like I get better results that way and am more excited about what I am making because I am think about how it will make me look good rather than how it will keep me from looking bad. I’ve also learned nothing is worse than trying to make something other than the size you are… both too small and too big are unflattering.
Am I always successful? Nope. But I keep trying.
And I love your honesty about yourself and the fights you fight.
Thanks for reading 👩🏾💻😊🧡
Great post. Acceptance is hard. Celebration of my shape feels out of reach. I’m still working on resolving my shy personality with my love of bright colors and over the top design. I LOVE over the top, definitely not understated, bright knits covered in flowers, or polka dots. I finished my first sweater, the Whatever Sweater. It’s huge and cheerful, and reminds me of my grandmother, who loved everything neon. Basically I knitted a sweatshirt you could see from Mars. 😂. Knitting something more fitted would require acceptance. (Knitting something classic and understated would require a totally different person!) I’ll work on it…as soon as I find a way to resolve shy vs. over the top! Since both things are true of me, there has to be a way though…I just haven’t found it yet. Thanks for sharing this….
I have always felt the same as a few others here. That I’ve be afraid of making a sweater because of my boobs and belly. If feel more motivated to try now. Thank you for sharing!
yay!
I can say I have boobs but when I look at myself proportionally I don’t think that I look good. Ha ha in other words I am way too top heavy. I am never comfortable in tshirts nevertheless thinking about making a sweater or shirt especially knitted. I want to try but most people make sizes that fit my thumb or just don’t fit because they are big all around. I just need to figure out how to knit and customize what I want to make but its just learning how to do it… I love that you make what you want! It gives me courage that I can do it too!
Yes figure out how to make you happy
Thank you very much for this beautiful article. This is really great & impressive. I read it & know about your thoughts. I appreciate your writing. Great.
thanks for reading and the lovely comment