This is a quick tutorial on how the Spiffy Raglan Sweater Calculator handles body shaping. The Calculator was set up with an hourglass shape as the standard, which is typical for most women's sweater patterns. This means that when knitting from the bust to the waist there are decreases and then there are increases from the waist to the hip area.

[Note: earlier versions of the Calculator may show errors if you don't use the standard shaping. Please email me if you need the most up-to-date version.]

Now, the pattern is easier to use for men and women, children and adults.

Other Shaping Notes

You may notice that there are typically two sets of increases or decreases in the pattern. For example, "Decrease every 7 rows 1 times. Then, decrease every 8 rows 4 times". The Calculator uses the 'Magic Formula' in order to evenly spread the decreases and not cause rounding. I wanted the final sweater to be as close to the target measurements as possible.

If you have a very large bra cup size, consider moving some of the back body sts to the front (about an inch or two worth of sts) when dividing stitches along the neckline.

The pattern body shaping is placed along the sides. If you made the above bust adjustment and/or want to try a different method of body shaping, consider moving the front increases/decreases to 1/4 of the way in from the sides and the back increases/decreases to 1/3 of the way from sides.

That's it! I hope this results in some very nicely fitting sweaters out there!

If you want to download the Calculator, you can find it here.