Comments on: Prep: A Love Letter to Raglans

By: indigirl: stylish knits, modern life- something blue

indigirl: stylish knits, modern life- something blue — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:22:21 +0000

[...] and before my Dad got sick again, I began the design you see pictured above. I even wrote about why I love designing raglans, using this something blue as [...]

By: Ann

Ann — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:20:25 +0000

Am working on some projects from Wendy Bernard’s book Custom Knits. Agreed, the “help” is a little thin but then again I am not at all adverce to re-knitting anything over and over. It has made me feel brave enough to try to design something on my own. Making the notes is quite a challenge, though. I don’t even know how to tell myself what I’ve done half the time. hahaha Great discussion here. Ann

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:27:55 +0000

Oh yes, god knows, there are ugly sweaters of all shapes out there!

And yes, absolutely, adventurous knitters can design a raglan very successfully.

To Carissa Re: bust darts – yes, absolutely – they do help enormously with a raglan for my sort of shape! But that’s not necessarily an easy alteration – particularly when I know that there is a shape that fits me better.

And that’s my point, really: I just want people to know that there is more than one shape out there, and to try them all to see what works for them. Each shape has pros and cons….

I highly recommend spending hour in the Gap every season trying on every sweater they have. Seriously. Invaluable lessons there! (Go on a quiet day, take a tape measure and notebook, and do be respectful of the merchandise.)

And for me and all the girls shaped like me, I’m designing a line of top-down set-in sleeves – so you can try them on, so you can understand them, so you can make alterations, so you can manage yarn usage. I wanna bring the advantages of the top-down to other shapes!

By: melanie

melanie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:11:21 +0000

Amy, thank you for this post! I’m a beginning knitter, and as you said in your comment, making a raglan sweater/knitting in the round had the effect of a light bulb going on. My mother, who is an experienced knitter, thinks very poorly of knitting-in-the-round sweaters; she’s a true believer in seams and set-in-sleeves. Your post and Kate’s comment help me understand that there are pros and cons on both sides… Thank you!

By: Carissa

Carissa — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:04:09 +0000

That is absolutely STUNNING Amy!! you are brilliant! I simply cannot wait to knit this one and the color is just gorgeous too! very rich and jewel like.

Loved the discussion as well! As far as simplicity of the raglan … I can say that the raglan is the one “type” of sweater that I am comfortable designing on my own and is very easy to change and manipulate along the way … way less daunting than trying to change a set in sleeve pattern IMO. And like Amy says … trying it on as you go makes it a easier sweater for beginners to manipulate .. I totally agree there.

In reference to Kate’s post … why not try adding bust darts?? I know a very chesty but petite lady that does that all the time and her raglans come out looking gorgeous on her

By: amy

amy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:23:04 +0000

Yep! The original intention of this post was to talk about how simple yarns like Galway, 220, are so perfect for showcasing knitting. And how much I love reverse stockinette. I got a little sidetracked on the raglan convo, though.

By: samm

samm — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:56:41 +0000

That is the most gorgeous blue! And I love Galway yarn. Are you finding it nice to knit with? I always do. I’ll be interested in seeing this finished design! Sounds interesting.

By: amy

amy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:37:08 +0000

Ah ha! Kate – yes, your comment is what made me think about *why* I enjoy designing raglans. Also, I heartily agree. Raglans are not suited to every shape. But then, neither are any other garment shape. I’d also posit that every sweater shape can suffer when ill-designed.

Compared to a sweater in pieces, I think garments knit in the round are easier to understand for many beginning knitters. Seeing the thing grow off the needles fully formed can help make that light bulb come on in a way that two flat fronts and a back doesn’t for many. That said, altering any pattern is not something intended for beginning knitters. But knitters who have some experience and adventure can and do successfully alter many patterns. At my shop, I found that newer knitters were much more likely to attempt alterations or adjustments on top down raglans simply because they could try it on and see what needed to be altered before beginning. It just clicked in a way that I never saw flat patterns click.

That said, no, there is no one perfect sweater shape. And thank the lord for that! I’d get bored designing or knitting one thing over and over again…

By: Siew

Siew — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:25:38 +0000

I’m loving the looks of this sweater and can’t wait for it to be published. Looking at the notes and the math makes my head spin. Don’t know how you pattern writers do it! The thing I love about raglans – no seaming!

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:02:07 +0000

I’m not arrogant enough to believe my recent twitter mini-rant inspired this, but it’s timely!

I agree with everything you say… but but but…

They don’t look good on every body type, and it’s very hard to design one that’s actually tailored and flattering… You have the chops to do it, but there are lot of ugly saggy raglans out there. I have narrow shoulders and a big bust and I cannot get one to fit nicely without significant gymnastics.

And newer knitters are often told they are easy to alter. Yes, you can add or take away from the yoke. But it’s not easy for a beginner, and I find the patterns unhelpful and misleading in this respect. And we’re doing a disservice to newer knitters with this, IMHO.

Good discussion, thanks!