Fitting a knit, or not

Just yesterday I read Stacy’s blog on how she’s lost weight recently, and fitting her knit top is problematic. Same thing over here! Problem is you can’t tissue fit the pattern because paper doesn’t stretch like a knit, especially a lycra knit. Second problem for me is that knits aren’t ridiculously cheap here in Brussels, we don’t have Walmart dollar tables; more like € 5 knits at one store across town that is open when I’m working, and for a few hours on Saturday morning. Saturday morning!?!? Yeah, you have to be really motivated to get up and cross town when every cell in your body wants to loaf around.

Meanwhile I’m on my sixth consecutive failed knit project (!), all of them failing due to being too big. The shoulder fit is enormous. My measurements say I should be on the low side of a 38 but in desperation my last project I scaled down to a 34 (after trying the 36) and still–big, big, big. Unbelievable. Heck, I lived in Asia and have seen thousands of women who are very slim, my bone structure isn’t that small, no way I should be in a 34. I look like a Small but an Extra Small? No. It’s confounding. Even with a 34 I had to size down at the shoulders, and no one who looks at me would think I have puny shoulders. So strange! And frustrating, in comparison to how I used to sew, when my size was stabilized at a 40 with a full bust and broad back adjustment, always the same width, and the project was guaranteed to turn out well. Maybe that’s the real problem–comparing with Way Back When, when it used to be easier!

So if your body shape is changing, the intuitive thing seems to be to wear knits because they’re ‘forgiving’ when one is gaining weight, but for losing weight maybe it’s a better idea to sew some wovens? A skirt with side seams, to adjust as needed? What’s your take? (If anyone out there is listening!)