Hello…
Ok…I think I understand what ease is…
but I have been floating around looking at newer patterns that say something is suppose to have positive or negative ease…
I don’t understand…
Negative and positive ease when referring to a knitting pattern refers to how the finished garment should fit.
If the pattern has a positive ease the item should fit you loose. If it has a negative ease it should fit tight.
Say the finished bust measurements are 30[34, 38, 42, 46, 50, 54] inches. And the patterns states that it should have 2" positive ease. If you had a bust measurement of 40" you would want to go with the 42" size. If it was a negative ease of 2" you would go with the 38" size.
HTH
just what jodi said.
If you have a 40 inch bust and a top has a bust measurement of 42 inches that is 2 extra inches and therefor 2 inches positive ease. If the top had a measurement of 38 inches that is 2 inches smaller and therefore 2 inches negative ease.
More fitted tops or patterns with a lot of stretch or give in tend to have negative ease so they are a little (or a lot) form fitting and show off the pattern to its best.
antoher way (although less common) of applying the term is when you knit a hat or a sock with a ribbed cuff. The finished size and measurement can sometimes look tiny, but we know that it will stretch to fit the head (or foot) comfortably. That is positive ease at work!
Ok…I think I am still confused…
I am looking at that new Interweave pattern
and it says:
[B]Finished Size 35½ (40, 44½, 49, 53½)” bust circumference. Sweater shown measures 40”, modeled with about 8” positive ease at bust. This design requires positive ease.[/B]
So is that to say I, being a 40" bust would want to go with a 49" size?
I think that would be about right, and if your tension was a little tighter you wouldn’t need to worry about it being too small, there’s an extra inche there for it. But you need a lot of ease for an overcoat, it has to go over a few layers of clothing.
thats right.
if a pattern gives the finished measurement then you pick the one that will give you the required ease. So like you said, a finished garment measurment of 49" would give you 9" positive ease on your 40" bust masurment (which is pretty close to the sugested 8" positive ease).
ok…thanks…that helps…
I had never recalled seeing that before…