Short Rows for Busty Babes

I started this post weeks ago. Since then, my job got crazy and kept me from knitting anything all that substantial, which also meant not a whole lot of blogging. (I work for a company that produces trade shows and for the last 6 weeks or so leading up the event, I've been working most nights till 9 pm -- so you can imagine how much time that left me to have a life, yet alone a life where one knits and blogs!)

Prior to work going nuts, I had made progress with a particular sweater project, so I started this post, thinking that I would add an ending quickly...and that it would be positive. That's not exactly the way things turned out. So here's how the post originally started, with the unfortunate ending.

Short Rows

I have heard that short row shaping is a great way to add, well, shape, to a sweater for those who fall into the "busty" category. Since that's me, I wanted to discover more about these things called short rows.

(Hi co-worker Ben who for some reason likes to read my knitting blog. This is all about knitting for girls with big boobs. Are you blushing yet?)

I did a little online surfing and came up with this very helpful article in Knitty. The image below, in particular, really visualizes the benefits of short rows for busty babes.


See how short rows provide a little cuppage? (Thank you Knitty for the image.)

Upon further searching, I found this article from MagKnits, also with detailed instruction on short row shaping -- and it included how many stitches to increase on each side based on bust size:

6 for C cup, 12 for D and 18 for DD.

(Ben -- still with us??)

Better still was the video from one of my favorite websites, Knittinghelp.com. Reading how to knit something is one thing. Watching it on video is completely different. That's why I love knittinghelp.com. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should.

I'm working on my seamless sweater again. Only this time I have the right gauge, so it's coming along nicely. I was at the point for adding short rows, and I decided to give it whirl.

But...I screwed up when it came to knitting the stitches with the wraps.


Those obvious lines? I'm guessing they shouldn't be visible

So I ripped back and redid. (This orange yarn is convinced it will never truly be a sweater. Ever.)

Attempt number two seems to be successful. I'm not sure I like the way the stockinette stitch changes direction -- but the weird stitch line from the first attempt is gone -- and the short rows do provide added room in the front of the sweater.

One thing that bugs me, though, is that because this sweater is knit from the top down, the darts aim in the wrong direction. I'm concerned that may be bad.

I asked Helen from Urban Knitting if it looked bad enough to rip out. She's the queen of telling me to rip, and when she said no, I was thrilled. I'm continuing along --not convinced I won't rip -- but for now I keep knitting.

Update: I decided I hated this sweater. Not so much because of the short rows, but the whole sweater. It was too tight. Yes, the short rows provided extra give, but it just didn't work. It was a boobfest. (And not in a good way.) So I ripped again. But this time I ripped the whole sweater. Not just to where I started the short rows.

I'm not sure it it's me, the yarn, the pattern, the phase of the moon...But this sweater may not ever happen. For now I just end this post, frustrated that I've started and restarted this sweater too many times. This yarn will sleep soundly in my stash drawer until I find a different pattern...

Ben, you looking for something in a nice orange worsted wool?