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When it comes to the final fit and feel of a garment, there are lots of factors that come into play, but one that always seems a little elusive is drape. Drape can feel a little tricky to get your head around, but it's actually quite straightforward and we're going to break it down in this post. Getting to grips with what it means and, more importantly, what it means for your knitting, can help you reach the ultimate goal; a sweater you love!

Hello friends! It's Claire here and I'm back chatting once again about fit issues we get in our knitting. Today we're going to look at mixing and matching sizes in a knitting pattern. Why would we do that? Well, as you probably know, nearly all patterns are designed based on standard body sizes, but not many people fit perfectly into a standard body size. All our bodies are different, and just because one area of a pattern works for us, it doesn't mean the rest will. 

So how do we find out if we need to mix and match? Let's take a look!

Do you get extra fabric that likes to bunch at the underarm? Back when we first talked about this new series on adjusting patterns and how to get a great fit, excess fabric at the underarm was one of the issues we got a lot of comments on, so today we're going to look at reasons we get excess fabric and some things we can do to try to fix it.

Over the past months, we've talked about gauge here on the blog. Hanna Lisa started us off with her fantastic post 'Getting Gauge', and last weeks post 'Swatching for Success' talked about how to get the most accurate gauge measurement from our swatch.

But what if you've read everything you need to know about gauge, knit a lovely big swatch that you've carefully blocked and measured, and still the fit is off for your new sweater? I know, super frustrating!

I know, could I have picked a cornier title?! The thing is, corny or not, the success of a new cast-on often lies in a small square of fabric you create before you even cast on your lovely new WIP.

For years I didn't swatch correctly, and I think that was probably because I didn't enjoy doing it. It was the thing I had to do before I got to cast on my new fun project and it took up precious yarn. I just wanted to be able to get on with knitting the actual pattern, and I know a lot of other knitters feel the same way. But after numerous ill-fitting FO's laying unworn in the wardrobe, I finally took the time to knit usable, reliable swatches, and you know what, now I enjoy it!