Flashdance!

Okay, I’m trying not to flash anyone, but at the moment, it’s a bit of a struggle.

I was listening to a years-old episode of the Yarniacs, and one of them said that she thought women tended to knit maybe a little bigger than their size, which feels true to me as well. I’ve always knit garments a little big, because I like a loose fit, and also, I know myself. I know my love for bread. I never expect to lose weight.

The problem with that is that in the last year and a half, I’ve lost about fifty pounds, for various reasons. I’m not especially trying to, but it’s fine, and I won’t complain . . . except that I just put on a rift sweater that I knit two years ago. I knit it about a size too big at the time, and well, now I look like I’m auditioning for an 80s music video, because the neckline is so wide it won’t stay up on my shoulders.

Sorry for the dirty bathroom mirror picture, but here’s the effect:

It’s kind of okay, since I’m just wearing it with my pajamas to keep warm on a cool morning, but it’s no longer a sweater I can wear out. I know losing fifty pounds isn’t exactly a normal thing, and it’s not going to happen to anyone under normal circumstances—though there’s a decent chance I’m going to keep going a while, hopefully not too long—but it’s something I think I need to start keeping in mind. If I’d knit my proper size before, it would still be too big now, but maybe not quite as comically large.

So from now on, knit your own size, Isolinde!

What about you? Knit too big? Your own size? Thoughts on why we tend to knit the wrong size?