On Finding My Fit, Part 1

Can we talk about fit today?


My husband and I have long gone back and forth about the clothes that I wear. Not in a bad way, mind you- he's just always encouraging me to try something new. In fact, my sister tackled my closet not too long ago at his insistence. She made me get rid of several things and make a list of what I need- mostly because much of what I have is old (and worn) enough to make all the clothing lovers out there cry.


Fact: The last time I bought jeans was in 2008. And I only bought those because the last time I had bought jeans before that was in 2003.


I know. Some of you are still trying to get up off the ground after that one. At least that's what happened to my sister.


It's not that I hate clothes, I just have a terrible relationship with them. Part of it has to do with my upbringing, some with body image (especially after having this third baby), and the greatest factor of all: not being able to find exactly what I want for a reasonable price. I'm totally willing to put money into my wardrobe, but not for things that aren't exactly what I want... which leads to my sister excavating my closet and saying "you've had this since college- and you still wear it???"


I think this is part of why I've always been so attracted to the idea of making my own clothes. I thought maybe if I made clothing items myself they will actually fit me correctly. My naivete in this area became clear after making a few items that turned out wearable but nowhere close to an actual and proper fit. After all, in both sewing and knitting you are still following a pattern that someone who has never met you designed. While the design can be beautiful and flattering, it still isn't personalized to your exact measurements in every single aspect. This leads to the gorgeous sweater that fits perfectly in the bust, but then is a bit baggy through the body, arm scythe issues, or that slightly tight across the shoulders thing that happens on a lot of patterns for me.


I've been taught to find my size in a knitting pattern by going with the bust measurement. I figured out about a year ago (through great trial and error) that if a sweater is actually going to fit me well I almost always have to knit 1 size down from my bust measurement to get an accurate fit at the shoulder and arm scythe, but then knit a longer body and longer sleeves. My sad truth is that while I'm decent at crafty math, I'm just not mathy enough for some parts of knitting and would like to rectify that AND finally have some clothes that fit me well. Handmade is an incredible bonus.


Two books are serving as my guide right now: Knitting Pattern Essentials by Sally Melville and Cal Patch's Design-It-Yourself Clothes (which I've had on my shelf for an unreasonably long time. I've set aside time this summer to specifically work through these books so that I can learn how to better fit my body as well as how to adjust the knitting patterns I adore to fit me better.