Swatch It Up KAL 2021 (Intro)

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Hello and welcome to the Swatch It Up KAL that I am doing in conjunction with Florence from @flosknitfits.

This pattern came out of a desire to learn new stitches. When Flo decided to get a group of us together and said she wanted to make a sweater or cardigan my response was:

Say no more fam. I got you.

Because this pattern is made of a lot of blocks, it has a boxy, oversize fit with lots of positive ease.

This pattern is also meant to serve as a sort of template to DIY your own sweater and hopefully is a good intro into how to alter patterns to fit you.

1 block will be released every week. Flo will upload a stitch tutorial and I will upload the pattern for the sweater block, so check out both of our pages to get the info you need.

Every block will be designed with 7 inches of ease in the bust and 4 inches of ease in the arms. If you would like a more fitted garment, you can decrease the ease. To do that, use the formulas below. Keep in mind that close-fitting corresponds to 0 ease, 2-4 inches is usually a classic fit, 4-6 is loose fit and 6-8 is oversize.

Body blocks:

[Bust circumference + desired ease] /2 (in inches) = garment width

XS (S, M, L, XL) (2X, 3X, 4X, 5X)

[29 (33, 37, 41, 45) (49, 53, 57, 61) + ____ ] / 2 = _____

Once you have your garment width, divide it by 2. This will be the width of each body block.

Garment width /2 (in inches) = Body block width

____ / 2 = _____

Length is less important, but for reference, this is usually 16.5-18.5 inches to the waist for all sizes. I would add 6 inches, at least, to get to the hips. Then divide by 2. This will be the body block length.

Desired length /2 (in inches) = Body block length

____ / 2 = _____

Arm blocks:

Keep in mind that there will be no shaping to these sleeves. So you will have to work a cuff at the end and/or do some creative seaming to have a smaller garment measurement at the wrist.

(Upper arm circumference + desired ease) (in”) = arm block width

XS (S, M, L, XL) (2X, 3X, 4X, 5X)

9.75 (10.25, 11, 12, 13.5) (15.5, 17, 18.5, 19.5) + ___ = ___

Length is a bit more variable in the arm. The pattern as written will account for shoulder drop, but that is dependent on the amount of ease added.

So, in order to tailor this a bit more to your body, without doing too much math, here is what we can do:

When you finish seaming the body blocks, try on the garment and see where the shoulder ends on your upper arm. Measure from there to the desired length of the sleeve. Once you have your numbers, plug and chug!

Length from garment shoulder to desired length = _____ (X)

_____ (X) / 2 = arm block length

Phew! You’re doing great so far. Now to tackle turning those measurements into stitches and rows. For this, we will need our handy, dandy, gauge machine.

(tip: you will have to check back weekly for each gauge as each swatch is a bit different)

So, to change this is fairly easy. All we need to do is a little cross multiplication. You will need to do this for both the body and arm block length and width. You should have 4 measurements when you’re done.

Gauge st x gauge row = 4 x 4 inches

_____ (bust block width) x ( _____Gauge st / 4”) = # sts _____

_____ (bust block length) x ( _____Gauge rows / 4”) = # rows _____

_____ (arm block width) x ( _____Gauge st / 4”) = # sts _____

_____ (arm block length) x ( _____Gauge rows / 4”) = # rows _____

So what do you think? I hope that wasn't too complicated. Armed with these measurements, you should be well on your way to prepping for this fun, educational KAL. The pattern that I will release piecemeal over the next few weeks will be made with worsted weight yarn (CYC 4), but so long as you have a firm grip of how to adjust your stitches for gauge, you can really use any yarn you want. The important thing is to learn new stitches, and maybe make a few friends along the way.