Better Sweaters: Make Sweaters You Will Wear

Think about how you choose a sweater pattern to knit. It’s easy to be seduced by samples at your local yarn shop, at yarn festivals, or even the latest greatest sweater pattern all your friends are making. What follows can be a great letdown. It’s always fun to make along with others in your knitting group, and the sweater looked wonderful on the model in the magazine. But all too often we finish a sweater and try it on only to find it’s just . . . not right.

Sweaters are not only fun and interesting making challenges, they are also clothing intended to be worn and loved. But we sometimes end up making sweaters that languish in drawers and closets unworn. In this article, we will talk about how to identify the sweater designs you will love to wear.

When a finished sweater isn’t right, it’s an awful feeling. Maybe it’s an “oversize” sweater that you think looks sloppy on you instead of chic. Maybe it’s a fitted sweater that feels too tight in places you want it to be loose, but loose in places you wish were more fitted. If only there was some way to know for certain that a sweater is the right style and fit for you before you spend weeks knitting it.

Finding the Style That Says YOU

The answer may be in your closet. Pull out the pieces of clothing you wear most often, the ones that you reach for when you want to feel strong, confident, attractive, powerful, or however you wish to feel in your clothes from day to day. Analyze the general style and structure of these clothes, then echo these characteristics in your sweater making!

What do you like about each garment? Do you tend to prefer loose-fitting garments, or tailored, fitted ones? Shallow necklines like crew necks and boat necks, or deeper ones like scoop and V- necks? Think about the fabric. Is it light, drapey, heavy, or structured? Look at the style details and identify the necklines, sleeve lengths and shapes, body shapes, shoulder constructions, and hemlines you prefer. Some of us love wild and dramatic prints, while others lean toward solid colors, stripes, or color blocking. Use the checklist below to build a list of details to look for in sweater patterns.

Remember this is not about what’s trendy or “in fashion”. This is about what makes YOU feel great and helping you choose wardrobe-building sweater patterns to make.

Visual Aids

When I’m sketching a new design and trying to imagine how it will look not only on me, but on a wide range of bodies, I use MyBodyModel. With this web software, anyone can make a croquis—body outline template—of their actual body and have a template for “trying on” clothes through sketching or cut and paste.

This personalized croquis is an invaluable tool to help makers look beyond the photo of the garment on a model and visualize how sweaters and other items of clothing will look on their body shape.

Sketching on your personal croquis is also useful for planning outfits using your handmade clothing. I sketched two designs from Interweave Knits on my personal croquis to see how they would look on my body and how they would mix with other pieces in my wardrobe.

Looks Great, But is it Comfortable?

Comfort is an important piece of the sweater fit puzzle. We all have different definitions of what makes us feel physically and emotionally comfortable. Comfort is as much about how fabric feels against our skin as it is about how our clothing fits our bodies. It’s deeply personal. For example, crew necks make me feel like I’m being choked, so I immediately pass on sweaters with crew necks.

What are the aspects of clothing that define “comfort” for you? Your personal style is exactly that: personal. You get to decide how you want your body to look and feel in clothing, and by making your own sweaters, you have complete control over that.

Keep a list of the design elements you love and don’t love. This gives you a list of criteria for choosing your next sweater pattern! Don’t be afraid to reject patterns outright if they don’t meet your list at all. Give yourself permission to change elements of a pattern to suit your preferences and your personal style. Learn from the clothes you already own, wear, and love. Think about how your new sweater will fit in as an active, often worn, and much-loved new piece of clothing. Dream about the future outfits you’ll put together with the new sweater that is perfect for you.

This is the first article in a series on Better Sweaters! Check out Part 2 to learn about how to knit “Size YOU” and get that great fit, and then move on to Part 3 to learn all about ease. In Part 4, we talk about swatching for gauge to get the fabric you love to fit your unique size. Finally, move on to Part 4 for tips on swatching and designing from your fabric.

Originally published 8/5/2022. Updated 10/16/2023.

Kim McBrien Evans is a knitwear designer, teacher, author and indie hand dyer. Her knitwear designs are known for their ability to turn an abstract idea into a wearable reality while simultaneously fitting and complimenting a wide range of bodies.

Her yarn company, Indigodragonfly, is renowned for its vibrant colours, offbeat names, and ever expanding plan for world domination. Kim lives and works in the woods of Central Ontario, Canada.