Ask the Experts: How Do I Determine Sleeve Length for a Drop Shoulder Design?

---

Have you ever tried on a sweater fresh off the needles or hook only to find that the sleeves are too long? Or too short? This is a common frustration for knitters and crocheters at all skill levels. Issues with sleeve length frequently happen with drop shoulder sweaters.

Above: The Spirilet Sweater from the Fall 2022 issue of Interweave Knits had drop shoulders.

In this article, we’ll explore why sleeve length is such a challenge, and we’ll explain how you can make your sleeves the right length every time.

Pattern Sizing is Not Based on a Real Person

When we write patterns for a range of sizes, we make a lot of assumptions. Inevitably, those assumptions won’t be accurate for every body. But we don’t know your personal measurements, and we need to start somewhere.

One of the assumptions we make is that larger size people are a little taller than smaller size people. Of course, this not always true. We all know people who are quite tall and slender, and others who are short and very curvy. Body circumference and height are two very different types of measurements.

Height is determined by the length of your bones. As people get taller, their bones get longer. That bone length determines shoulder width and arm length. Body circumference is determined by the amount of padding you have around your bones, including muscle, fat, and skin. It is really not related to bone length at all.

How Does This Impact the Fit of a Drop Shoulder Sweater?

A drop shoulder sweater is one where there is no armhole shaping. The front and back are basically rectangles, and the top of the sleeve is straight across.

Related: 6 Armhole Shapes and How to Make Them Work for Your Body

Let’s imagine two women who are both 5’6″ tall. Jane has a bust measurement of 36″, and Susan has a bust measurement of 44″. Both choose to make the same sweater design, and both choose a size with 4″ of positive ease. Jane will make the 40″ size and Susan will make the 48″ size.

Because Jane and Susan are the same height, their shoulder width and arm length is likely to be the same.

Jane’s size 40″ sweater is 20″ wide across the shoulders. Susan’s size 48″ sweater is 24″ wide across the shoulders. When their arms are at their sides, the seam between the sweater body and the sleeve will fall farther down the upper arm for Susan than it does for Jane. For the sleeves to end at a similar spot on the wrists, Susan’s sleeves need to be 2″ shorter than Jane’s.

But remember what we said above about assumptions? When sizing patterns, we assume people get a little taller as their body circumference gets bigger. That means it’s up to you, the knitter, to customize the length of your sleeves for a perfect fit.

Related: Better Sweaters: Choose Size YOU

The Measurement You Probably Haven’t Taken

To determine the right sleeve length for you, you’ll need the measurement from your center back to the wrist (or the point on your arm where you want the sleeve to end). You’ll probably need a friend to help you take this measurement accurately. Hold the end of the tape measure on the knob at the top of your spine. Extend the tape along your shoulder and down your arm to the wrist. Write this measurement down.

Putting This Information To Work

Now look at the schematic for the sweater you want to make. For our example, we’re going to use the schematic for the Spirilet Sweater from the Fall 2022 issue of Interweave Knits. We’ll assume we want to make the third size, 42 1/2″.

First, determine the width of the sweater body from the center of the neck to the edge of the shoulder. Measurement E is the total width of the neck, and it’s 8 1/4″ for our size. Half of that is 4 1/8″. Measurement D is the width of one shoulder, and it’s 6 1/2″ for our size. So, half of the neck width plus the width of a shoulder is 10 5/8″. Subtract this from your center-back-to-wrist measurement and voila! The result is the length you’ll need to make your sleeve.

You are the Boss of Your Stitching

One of the many benefits of knitting and crocheting your own sweaters is that you can change a pattern to get exactly the right fit for you. You are completely in control. Adjusting sleeve length is a simple change that can move a sweater from the “rarely worn” pile into daily rotation.

---

What other alterations do you want to learn to make?

Let me know by sending an email to knitting@goldenpeakmedia.com or crochet@goldenpeakmedia.com and put Ask The Expert in the subject line. You just might see the answer in an upcoming newsletter!

Sandi Rosner
Technical Content Editor, Yarn

---

Eager to put this information to use? Here are some drop shoulder sweater patterns to try: