Here at EWE, we spend a lot of time talking about how to knit sweaters that fit. There is nothing worse than spending all that time on a beautiful garment only to finish it and block it and find that what you created doesn't work for your body! In my knitting practice, I usually decide what size to make based on 3 factors:

1. Any specific fit details provided in the pattern
2. How the finished garment looks on other folks with similar measurements/proportions to me
3. Any modifications I need to make for my yarn/gauge

In this post, I will walk you through these steps for Ursa and Ursa Minor — my own patterns that will be released on Ravelry this Friday, March 29. The photos you see here are from my wonderful test knitters — to whom I am so very grateful! 

Ursa is a cropped raglan pullover with a wide v-neck in a bulky weight yarn with half-brioche stitch detailing. The sweater is seamless, knit in one piece from the top down, allowing you to try it on as you go. 

Ursa Minor is the same sweater in size and structure as Ursa, but instead of the half-brioche stitch detailing, it features broken rib and no triangle along the bottom hem.

Yarn requirements in Ranger Bulky:

(4, 4, 4) [5, 5, 6] {6, 7, 7}

Yarn requirements by yardage:

(450, 500, 550) [600, 675, 750] {825, 900, 950}

Yarn requirements by meter:

(415, 460, 505) [550, 620, 690] {755, 825, 870}

1. Fit details for Ursa and Ursa Minor

The sweater is designed to be worn with 2-6” of positive ease at the bust and +/- 2" of ease in the bicep. My vision for the design was to pair relatively fitted long sleeves with some subtle flare from positive ease in the body, which is cropped to end at your natural waist. Thus, if you are trying to decide between sizes, I recommend you consider the bicep measurements as well as the bust.

And yes, if the cropped look isn't for you, the pattern includes notations to help you lengthen the body (and the arms) according to your preference.

Ursa and Ursa Minor both include instructions for adding optional bust darts for 3 cup sizes: C/D, E/F, and G/H.

To determine if you should add bust darts, measure your upper bust circumference (your chest at your underarms). If the difference between this measurement and your full bust measurement is less than 2”, you do not need to add bust darts. If it is 2” or greater, determine your cup size as follows: 2–3” difference = C/D, 3–4.5” difference = E/F, 4.5”+ difference = G/H.

There is enough ease in both sweaters to accommodate a wide range of bust sizes comfortably even without bust darts. However, if you have 2” or more difference between your upper bust and full bust measurements, the front of the sweater will rise up unless you add extra length in the front, which is what the optional horizontal bust darts will do.

2. Fit examples from test knitters

Before I decide what size to knit in a given garment, I always want to see how the finished garment looks on other folks with similar measurements/proportions to me. So here is a roundup of some of my fabulous Ursa and Ursa Minor test knitters, with notes about the ease at the bust and bicep in their sweaters and links to their Ravelry project pages for more details.

Jessamy –  size 34 (Ursa Minor)

 

Ease at Bust: +1"

Ease at Bicep: +1.5"

Body length: 7.5"

👉 Jessamy's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Jessamy on Instagram

Yasmeen – size 38 (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +5.5"

Ease at Bicep: +2.75"

Body length: 9"

👉 Yasmeen's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Yasmeen on Instagram

Anoush – size 42 + C/D bust darts (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +8.5"

Ease at Bicep: +2.25"

Body length: 8"

👉 Anoush's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Anoush on Instagram

Shasha – size 46 (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +4"

Ease at Bicep: 0

Body length: 9"

👉 Sasha's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Sasha on Instagram

Kaylee – size 46 (Ursa)

   

Ease at Bust: +5"

Ease at Bicep: 0

Body length: 10"

👉 Kaylee's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Kaylee on Instagram

Valerie – size 46 + C/D bust darts (Ursa Minor)

  

Ease at Bust: +4"

Ease at Bicep: +1.5"

Body length: 10"

👉 Valerie's project page on Ravelry

Rachael – size 50 + G/H bust darts (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: 0

Ease at Bicep: 0

Body length: 9"

👉 Rachael's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Rachael on Instagram

Madison – size 54 (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +5"

Ease at Bicep: +3"

Body length: 8"

👉 Madison's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Madison on Instagram

Jacqui – size 54 + E/F bust darts (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +5"

Ease at Bicep: -1"

Body length: 8"

👉 Jacqui's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Jacqui on Instagram

Whitney – size 58 + G/H bust darts (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +3"

Ease at Bicep: +2.75"

Body length: 9.5"

👉 Whitney's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Whitney on Instagram

Pam – size 62 + G/H bust darts (Ursa)

  

Ease at Bust: +3"

Ease at Bicep: +1.5"

Body length: 10"

👉 Pam's project page on Ravelry
👉 Follow Pam on Instagram

3. Modifications for yarn/gauge

Ursa and Ursa Minor were designed for Ranger Merino Bulky, a super squishy 90% Merino/10% Rambouillet wool with a loose ply and some drape. If you substitute a stiffer bulky weight yarn with less drape (like Quince & Co. Puffin) and you are between sizes, you might consider sizing down. Conversely, if you substitute a lighter bulky weight yarn (like Brooklyn Tweed Quarry) and you are between sizes, you might consider sizing up. 

Of course, all these decisions depend on you first having a gauge swatch — yes, I implore you, do a gauge swatch before you finalize your size choice! 😏 

Finally, about row gauge: there are notes in the pattern to help you modify your sweater if your stitch gauge is right but your row gauge is slightly off. 

The Bulky weight wools we carry are:

• Echoview Fiber Mill's Ranger Merino Bulky
• Brooklyn Tweed's Quarry
• Echoview Fiber Mill's Recycled Yarn Collective
• Quince & Co.'s Puffin