Changing length and width

The pattern is written to finished measurements. If they do not suit you, you can change them yourself. Length is easy. Width takes a little more maths.

• Body length
• Sleeve length
• Width
• Yarn amount

Before you change anything

1. Find a garment you like wearing. Lay it flat and measure the length and the width under the arms.
2. Compare with “Finished measurements” in the pattern. The difference in cm is what you change.
3. Knit a gauge swatch. All the sums below use your gauge, not the pattern’s.

Longer or shorter body

Change the length where the body is knitted straight, with no increases or decreases. Knitting top down, do it just before the rib. Knitting bottom up, do it before you divide for the armholes.

Do not change the yoke. There the numbers are tied to the sleeves and the neck.

• Stripes: add or remove whole stripes, so the pattern still works.
• Pattern with a repeat: change by whole repeats in height.
• Write down how many rounds you added. You will need the number if you knit the garment again.

Longer or shorter sleeves

Most sleeves have decreases on the way down. If you change the length, the decreases must be spread out again. Otherwise the sleeve ends up too wide or too tight at the wrist.

You need three numbers from the pattern: the sleeve length from the armhole to the cuff, how many decrease rounds there are, and how long the cuff is. Subtract the cuff from the sleeve length.

If the sleeve is a puff sleeve, most of the decreasing happens just before the cuff. Then you only change the length and keep the decrease as in the pattern.

Wider or narrower

The simplest is almost always to choose another size. Between two sizes in my patterns there is usually 8–10 cm in chest circumference. See the size guide.

If you want something in between, follow your size in the yoke and change the body after the sleeves are put aside. Then increase or decrease the same number of stitches under each arm.

If you change more than 6–8 cm, you also change the fit across the shoulders. Then it is better to knit another size.

Spread the increases as described on increasing and decreasing evenly.

Yarn amount

A longer or wider garment uses more yarn. Work it out on how much yarn do I need?

Buy one ball too many rather than one too few. The same colour from another dye lot can look different.