Introducing the Spiffy Raglan Sweater!

By Tiffany - Friday, March 27, 2015

My raglan sleeve sweater pattern generator is now available!


The Spiffy Raglan Sweater pattern generator is now in my shop.

About the Calculator

This is a customizable sweater calculator and pattern generator that lets you input your body measurements and desired ease to create a pattern. Sleeve length and overall sweater length is completely up to you.

The pattern created is a top-down raglan sleeve sweater with optional boatneck, crew neck, or V-neck neckline.

Any yarn can be used, since you just need to know your gauge and the math is done for you.

The pattern has body shaping, but it can be omitted by putting the bust-waist-hip measurements as the same measurement.

File Type

The calculator is a Microsoft Excel document.

Don’t have Excel?
  • I recommend LibreOffice for your computer (it's free!)
  • Search for free apps for iphone and Android devices
The calculator has been tested in Excel and LibreOffice.

Call for Testers

Want to be a tester? I'm giving this calculator away for free to the first five people that contact me about testing. Just email me at info(a)spiffystitches(dot)com or leave a comment on the bottom of this post with your contact information.

For anyone else, this pattern is available in my shop for a small fee, since I put a lot of hard work into it.

Spiffy Raglan Sweater Calculator Walk-Through

Welcome to the Calculator!

If you look at the bottom of the window, you will notice that there are several tabs. The Calculator will open up on the Introduction Tab. There is a lot of useful information here on how to use the Calculator.


Just click the different tabs to get to the different part of the Calculator.


The Calculator Tab is where a lot of the math happens. Under "Ease" use the dropdown menu to pick your desired ease. Fill out the "Measurement" column with your body measurement (or with a sweater you are trying to replicate). If you are unsure about what to measure, read the notes on the far right.

Pick your desired neckline type from the dropdown menu in the orange cell.

Set you gauge based on your test swatch in the blue cells.

Below is an example using my measurements, with loose ease, boatneck neckline, and a gauge of 5.56 sts and 7.70 rows per inch:


Once that is filled out, the Calculator will calculate "Target" and "Finished" sweater measurements. There will be a difference between the two because of rounding of stitches, etc.

The Ease Tab has the different ease settings, you can enter a custom ease percentage in the purple cell.


You can use the Diagram Tab to visualize your sweater. This tab can also help you when you are trying to figure out what to measure for the Calculator Tab.


The Pattern Tab is where the real magic happens. Once you are happy with your sweater calculations, you can stay on this tab. It creates easy to read (and print) instructions for you to follow.


Lastly, the Yarn Estimator Tab estimates the amount of yarn you need based on total number of stitches, gauge, and how many yards or meters per skein your yarn is.


Happy Knitting!



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3 comments

  1. This looks like a wonderful invention! I spend so much time trying to figure out how to fit a sweater pattern that I often give up in frustration. This would solve that. Love the boatneck style sweater you made.

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  2. howdy! i'm really interested in trying your calculator... i'm thinking my next sweater project might be a top-down because i've only ever done seamed pieces or bottom-up.
    is there a size limit to your calculator? will it work for plus size garments?

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    Replies
    1. Hi, There are no size limitations. It works by calculating the number of sitiches you need based on your own measurements and how much ease you want to add. So, it should work for everyone. If you hit any snags or find any errors in the calculator, let me know and I'll be glad to help. :)

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