{"id":7055,"date":"2021-05-04T13:10:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T10:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/?p=7055"},"modified":"2022-11-15T20:13:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T18:13:13","slug":"7-common-sweater-knitting-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/blog\/7-common-sweater-knitting-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"7 common sweater knitting mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Knitting garments take time and money so wouldn&#8217;t it be great if the garment would look and feel fabulous on you. Below I have listed 7 most common reasons why knitters end up being unhappy with their sweater project and how to avoid these mistakes. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/join-my-newsletter\/\">If you enjoy content like this subscribe to my newsletter to get notified when new articles are available.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"4608\" class=\"elementor elementor-4608\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2e95fbce elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2e95fbce\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3796a110\" data-id=\"3796a110\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78c7d413 elementor-align-left elementor-icon-list--layout-traditional elementor-list-item-link-full_width elementor-widget elementor-widget-icon-list\" data-id=\"78c7d413\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"icon-list.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/elementor\/assets\/css\/widget-icon-list.min.css\">\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-icon-list-items\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/fi.pinterest.com\/pin\/419257046567113781\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fab fa-pinterest\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Save this article to your Pinterest board<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Not measuring the gauge correctly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The most important thing in knitting is to know your gauge before you start. You need to make a swatch that is big enough and treat it as if you would treat your finished garment meaning that if you are going to block and machine wash your garment then you should do that to your swatch as well. Also if you are going to knit your garment in the round then you should swatch in the round and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take an example. I am going to make a sweater for myself and the gauge should be 24 stitches \/ 4&#8243; (10 cm) and I have 240 stitches for my bust. With those numbers the bust measurement is 40&#8243; (100 cm). If I\u2019m a bit lazy and make too small and thus inaccurate swatch and my gauge ends up being 25 stitches 4&#8243; (10 cm) instead of 24 the bust circumference of my garment ends up being approximately 38&#8243; (96 cm). That is one clothing size smaller than intended and that certainly affects how the sweater fits you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Ignoring the fabric characteristics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to gauge, it also matters how the fabric feels and looks like. For instance, depending on the nature of the yarn some yarns bloom and can be knit with a looser gauge than the yarn weight might suggest and the fabric is still not see-through. But if you take yarn with similar fiber content and weight but different construction (for instance single ply vs. multiple plys) the fabric with the same gauge might be see-through. So when you have reached the desired gauge check the fabric and consider if that fits the sweater you are going to make and most importantly that you like the fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are interested in learning more about what to look for in a yarn besides gauge and how each of these factors affects your final results check out <a href=\"https:\/\/shrsl.com\/2xw7m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">the Craftsy class Yarn substitution made easy<\/a> or the book <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3vrxHgV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">Yarn substitution made easy that is available at least on Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Not trying the sweater on<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are a beginner sweater knitter I recommend you to start with top-down sweaters because then you can try the sweater on. I know it takes a little bit extra work to transfer the stitches into two cables but I promise it is worth the time. Try the sweater on at least after finishing the neckline shaping, a little after you have separated your body and the sleeves and before you bind off the body and the sleeves. Don\u2019t be afraid to rip back and fix the mistakes or fit issues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are knitting with yarn that has been handled with superwash treatment I also recommend that you wet block your garment at some point in the midway and try it on because superwash wools might stretch surprisingly much and you might end up having way too long sleeves or body for your sweater. I also recommend that you write down the finished measurements of your garment so that you learn to know what are the perfect measurements for your body. When you know your numbers you can also easily knit fitting sweaters bottom-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I learned this the hard way. I should have tried the sweater featured on the images below on after the neckline shaping. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/blog\/fixing-the-neckline-of-my-zweig-sweater\/\">Read more about how I fixed the sweater without starting all over again.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"965\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline-965x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline-965x1024.jpg 965w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline-283x300.jpg 283w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline-768x815.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline-1448x1536.jpg 1448w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline-1170x1241.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_neckline.jpg 1828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 965px) 100vw, 965px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"982\" src=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_finished-1024x982.jpg\" alt=\"Zweig sweater by Caitlin Hunter. Seamless top-down colorwork and lace sweater knitted with Hedgehog Fibres yarn.\" class=\"wp-image-532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_finished-1024x982.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_finished-300x288.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_finished-768x737.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_finished-1170x1122.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig_finished.jpg 1419w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Not selecting size based on your measurements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before you start to knit your sweater I recommend that you measure at least your bust and upper arm circumference and then select your size based on them. Be honest to yourself and to your body and don\u2019t hold your breath or try otherwise to be smaller than you are. Select the size based on your measurements and not based on the label meaning that if you would normally buy size M clothes but based on your measurements the pattern suggests you to make size L then I recommend you to make the size L.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Knitting exactly as the pattern tells you to<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Knitwear designers use sizing charts to grade their patterns. The charts are based on an average body and there are very few bodies in this world that match those numbers exactly. Our bodies are all unique: Some of us have much wider bust than hips and others have the other way around. Someone has long hands and torso and someone short.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adjusting the length of the body and sleeves is usually easy so if the pattern tells you to knit your sleeves to a certain length but they seem too short or too long don\u2019t do it. Knit them to the length that fits your body.&nbsp;There are also other adjustments you can make and if you would like to learn more about how to modify a sweater pattern to fit your unique body <a href=\"https:\/\/shrsl.com\/2xw8i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">check out either the Craftsy class Knit to Flatter<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3xwpUjZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">the book Knit to flatter<\/a> by Amy Herzog. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Selecting garment type that does not fit your body<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before committing yourself to a project take a look at your wardrobe. What kind of sweaters do you like the most? How much wider or narrower they are than your body? What kind of necklines do you like most? Is the body cropped or do you like longer sweaters? Then try to look at the knitting patterns and think if they have the same characteristics as the clothes you love. That is because if you have never felt comfortable in cropped sweaters with V-neck it is quite likely that you don\u2019t end up wearing that kind of sweaters even if you knit them yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I already mentioned previously Amy Herzog and her amazing <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3xwpUjZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">book<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/shrsl.com\/2xw8i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">online class<\/a>. If you would like to know your body type and understand what kind of clothes fit it you should check them out!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/chunky-drop-shoulder-sweater-Novita-Hygge-wool-931x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7087\" width=\"667\" height=\"733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/chunky-drop-shoulder-sweater-Novita-Hygge-wool-931x1024.jpeg 931w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/chunky-drop-shoulder-sweater-Novita-Hygge-wool-273x300.jpeg 273w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/chunky-drop-shoulder-sweater-Novita-Hygge-wool-768x845.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/chunky-drop-shoulder-sweater-Novita-Hygge-wool.jpeg 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Noticed only after several days of knitting: Chunky drop shoulder sweater does not look good on me.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Selecting badly designed garment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also possible that you do everything exactly as the pattern says with the same yarn and gauge but still the sweater might not fit you well. This is because these days it is really easy for anyone to put a pattern for sale on Ravelry or Etsy without any experience of designing knitwear. There are a lot of well designed patterns by budding designers but there are also many badly designed patterns as well. If you are just beginning to knit sweaters and you don\u2019t completely understand how they are constructed I recommend that you select patterns by well known designers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two Etsy shops that have beginner-friendly and well-designed garments are for instance<a href=\"https:\/\/tidd.ly\/3nEbB8w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\"> Knitatude <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/tidd.ly\/3vqqw8U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">MamaInAStitch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do you have any tips and tricks related to sweater knitting you would like to share with your fellow crafters? Just drop a comment below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Knitting garments take time and money so wouldn&#8217;t it be great if the garment would look and feel fabulous on you. Below I have listed 7 most common reasons why knitters end up being unhappy with their sweater project and how to avoid these mistakes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,310],"tags":[],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-1024x768.jpg",800,600,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-2048x1536.jpg",2048,1536,true],"xl":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",1600,1200,false],"xxl":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",2200,1650,false],"xxxl":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"xxxxl":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"xxxxxl":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",2560,1920,false],"wcpr-photo-reviews":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",500,375,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled.jpg",600,450,false],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/zweig-scaled-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"knitgrammer","author_link":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":12,"uagb_excerpt":"Knitting garments take time and money so wouldn't it be great if the garment would look and feel fabulous on you. Below I have listed 7 most common reasons why knitters end up being unhappy with their sweater project and how to avoid these mistakes.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7055"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7055"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14139,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7055\/revisions\/14139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knitgrammer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}