"chest" measurement

[afuna]

I'm thinking of making the Diamond Halter pattern, but I'm unsure about sizing.

Where it says chest measurement, does that mean to measure across the bust, or is it for around the portion right under the bust?

Comments

[sporky_rat]

That's awfully ambiguous, isn't it? I'm going to guess the bust because she does mention the 'ribbed portion lightly stretched'.

[afuna]

That was my first thought, and then I second-guessed myself because I wondered if it meant for the ribbed portion to be the chest measurement and with negative ease that meant that it would be slightly stretched at that measurement.

But in light of your comment, I'm rethinking and I think I see what you mean!

[afrikate]

Generally chest measurements are across the bust. I've learned through painful experience, however, that you want to be careful about how you fit the girls into a top. It can be helpful to take two measurements, directly across the fullest part of your bust, and directly under your bust (the underbust). If there's a big differential, you may want to consider knitting the size closer to your underbust (with whatever ease you want/need) and then adding horizontal or vertical darts to expand the knitted area to fit your bust. There are a number of tutorials on this available on the internets, and a whole comm on ravelry called "the bust line" which has more information. Good luck!

[afuna]

Oh thank you -- both for the information and the helpful pointer to resources *g* I've been intimidated by trying to figure out bust shaping / adjustments; that's the main reason I'd put off learning garments for so long *G*

[yvi]

Heh, I looed at that exact same pattern today!

[afuna]

Heee, it is rather nice, isn't it? *g*

[sedge]

Something that helps with this particular pattern is that they provide a schematic at the bottom which shows the garment measurements at various points.

Another thing to consider: usually the chest measurement refers to the garment's chest measurement, and then you need to consider how loosely or tightly you want it to fit.

[afuna]

Oh! I hadn't noticed that, thank you that is indeed very helpful.

[minxy]

Generally, chest measurement means bust measurement. In my experience, you want to measure using the undergarment you plan on wearing with the top, which in this case may mean none or a strapless bra (this can change your measurements).

That's a really good pattern, though, because the ribbing in the waist section will fit really nicely in the underbust, so you won't have to fuss much about the cup vs band size.

[afuna]

(Belatedly, just realized I missed responding to this comment!)

Thank you, that's really helpful. Uhhhh especially since I had been measuring myself without a bra and found out that yes with the bra does change things just enough *G*