Short-row bust shaping

[wired]

First, you have to understand that there are two different kinds of bust short-row shaping (or darts). This post covers only Horizontal Bust Darts (HBD) because they were the most appropriate for the garment I was making, and also because I like my breasts and do not object to the fabric hugging them.

Second, you must do some research before you can figure out where your bust dart goes. You need to know:
Stitch gauge
Row gauge
Number of stitches around your garment is
Bust measurement
Length you want your garment
How far your bust point (nipple) is from your shoulder seam
How far apart your bust points are.

To determine this, I suggest knitting the first few inches of your garment (if it's bottom-up), or a swatch (top-down). Then you can get a very accurate gauge swatch and a feel for how long you want it to be. Then, with the help of a trusted friend, get a tape measure and get cracking. I don't have a dress form, although I long for one, so I try to keep a notebook with all my measurements in it, but short-row bust demanded two I didn't have.

Next, get a garment that fits most like the one you are making. For this project, I used a very fitted sweater that I very seldom wear because it rides up too much in front and shows my tummy. Not ok. Wearing the bra you expect to wear, measure the difference in length between the front and the back. How much is is riding up? My answer is 2 inches. I need to add 2 inches of fabric to account for the "terrain" the sweater has to cross.

Now you're in luck. There are a lot of excellent calculators out there. I used the one by knittingfiend. How awesome is the internet? Now we know what size of the lozenge of fabric we will make.

All we have to figure out now is when to start the short-rowing. The calculator indicated above will figure that out for you, but you can also use the power of math. You want it to start below the point of your breast, so you take the total length of the garment, subtract the shoulder to breast-point measurement, and then subtract a few rows so the short-rows will be concealed in the shadows. Remember, short rows don't really exist in the garment length measurement.

In this picture, I am actually wearing the sweater a little too high, but you get the idea:

The blue yarn is where I put in a lifeline in case it all went terribly wrong. The W&T spots are a tiny bit visible.

In this picture, you see the lozenge of fabric I created with short rows:


As far as the rest of the sweater is concerned, NOTHING has happened between those two lines. I am just going to start knitting around again.

Resources I used (a few of the many):
Cat Bordhi short row video
Handout from Madrona '08 class on short rows. It’s good I had the handout, as I was SICK AS A DOG for Madrona that year. It was tragic.
Techknitter's article on short rows
Others which I did not bookmark, because I am a dork

My pattern, after heavy modification

Comments

[aedifica]

Bookmarked, thank you! *grin* I don't know if I'll ever do a sweater that fitted, but it seems like the kind of information that if I ever want it, I'll really, really want it.

[feywood]

So totally helpful. Thank you!

[ames]

thank you!