I’ve always thought of myself as more of a Veronica than a Bettie and that’s why I was so excited to see your sweater in the latest issue of Interweave Crochet. But alas my hopes were dashed when I saw that the bust only goes to an average size. Any ideas for a girl with a 52” bust? How can I increase this lovely little number?I thought I'd share my answer to her in case it might help anyone else. Bear in mind I haven't done the math for any larger sizes (much less had anyone else check the math) but maybe the following will give you a few ideas if you're looking to up-size:
I’m glad you like the sweater! I hope we can get it to work for you.
I don’t know how closely you’ve looked at the pattern; it’s a top-down, raglan style, so the good news is that you can try it on as you go. The bad news is that it’s trickier to re-size without throwing the proportions all off.
If you simply add more increases at the yoke, you’ll get the right bust size, but very long armholes. You could also start with a longer foundation chain which would make it bigger all around (including sleeves and collar). That might work if you’re big all around, but won’t work so well if you’re busty but otherwise small.
Depending on your proportions, I’d suggest doing several things:
- Working from the directions for the largest size, add 9 sts to the foundation chain and space the markers so that you have 3 extra sts at the back and each of the fronts. This will make the collar a bit wider but not by too much and will keep the sleeves from getting too big.
- You add on sts to the fronts in steps to create a bit of a dip for the front collar. Add on three sts more than the directions call for to the last “step” of each front to give you a little more room across the bust.
- The directions call for increases every 3 rows, ie, rows 3, 6, 9, etc. are increase rows. In order to work in an extra increase (for a total of 12) without creating more depth in the armholes, you can make the first two increases closer together (rows 3 and 5) then space them out every three rows (rows 8, 11, 14, etc.).
I think if you did all of these, you’d be able to get the bust to just over 52” without just making the sweater larger all the way around. You might want to play around with these ideas in order to suit your proportions best. If you’re broad-shouldered, tall, or large in the arms, you’ll obviously have different proportions than if you’re petite.
I hope all of that helps and makes sense. Please let me know if you have questions. I hope you’ll make the sweater and enjoy it!
