Ease is often a confusing concept for knitters. It's really just a word to describe how form-fitting a garment is. If the garment is a little loose, it has positive ease. If it hugs the curves, it's got negative ease. If it fits without much extra room or stretch, it's got normal ease.
If your sweaters aren't fitting the way you want them to, perhaps it's time for a refresher course about ease.
Understanding Ease
Ease is the extra wiggle room that’s built into a garment—or to put it more formally, it’s the difference between the size of an actual finished garment and the size of the body wearing it.
Take a look at the shirt or sweater you’re wearing. Raise your arms and you’ll probably notice that there is extra fabric, particularly under the arms and along the sides, to give you room to move around. That extra fabric is the garment’s ease. Most garments contain at least a minimal amount of ease for comfort and freedom of movement. When selecting a size to make, you must consider not only your actual body measurements, but also how much ease you’d like to build into the garment.
Let’s look at a concrete example with three sweaters and a knitter whose actual bust measurement is 40 inches. In Love of Knitting, you’ll see a box titled “Finished Measurements†in each pattern. Don’t automatically assume you should make the size that’s closest to 40 inches—you may end up with a sweater that doesn’t fit the way you thought it would. You must start with your actual bust measurement, but modify it by adding or subtracting the amount of ease you’d like.
The standard amount of ease built into a sweater is two to four inches. A standard amount of ease means that sweater will have a classic fit, neither too loose and floppy, nor tightly clinging. If you’re looking for this type of fit, you will begin with your actual bust measurement (40 inches) then add another two to four inches for ease. That means you should select the pattern size that has a finished measurement of between 42 and 44 inches. The Creative Cabled Vest, shown above, is an example of a garment with standard ease.
Sometimes sweaters are meant to be worn with more than the standard amount of ease. A sweater intended to be oversized and very drapey, say a kimono top or a sweater inspired by 1980s silhouettes, might require a greater amount of ease—6 inches, say, instead of the usual 2 to 4 inches. The Linear Links Sweater, shown above left, is an example of a sweater with positive ease.
Alternatively, a top may be styled to hug your curves, fitting closely to your body (perhaps evoking a 1940s sweater girl sensibility). In that case, you’d select a size that is exactly equal to your body measurement (adding zero ease) or even an inch or two smaller than your actual bust size (subtracting an inch or two for “negative easeâ€). The Quick Cabled Sweater, at right, has negative ease.
Keep in mind that certain garments are always designed to be worn with a specific amount of negative ease. Socks, for example, should have a finished circumference of about 75-90% of the wearer’s actual foot circumference so the socks cling around ankles and feet without sagging down into shoes. Hats are designed with negative ease so that they stay firmly on your head rather than sliding down to cover your eyes.
If you aren’t sure how much ease you prefer, try measuring several sweaters that fit you well, and compare the bust circumference of each garment with your actual bust measurement. You may find that you tend to favor a particular amount of ease. Use your newfound knowledge to help you pick the perfect size sweater for your next project!
—Carol J. Sulcoski, from Love of Knitting Winter 2015
I hope this eases your mind about fitting issues (see what I did there?).
Love of Knitting brings you beginner to intermediate patterns, plus techniques and articles that that will help you become a better knitter. Get the Love of Knitting 2015 Digital Collection today!
|
|
|
|
