Increasing width of raglan sleeves?

#1

I want to knit my first sweater that fits! However, my torso is about two sizes smaller than my hips and upper arms, and I’m not sure how to go about adjusting the sleeves so they are big enough without messing up the construction.

I’m planning to knit Morning Echo by Elizabeth Sullivan, which is a bottom up raglan cardigan. It already has waist shaping in darts on the front and back, so I’m just planning on adding in extra decreases on the side seams before the waist to merge the size for my hips with the size for my waist. I’m a bit stuck on how to deal with the arms though. Obviously I’ll need to decrease more stitches up to the neckline (which is 2" for all the sizes), but I’m not sure the best way to do this. Do I just decrease at a faster rate? Cast off more at the arm hole? I’ve also read of the option of putting a dart on the shoulder, but I don’t know how this would affect the fit/shape of the arm. Also, will I need to alter the armhole on the body? Will it need to be longer?

Any ideas? Anyone done this before?

#2

If I understand, you’re going to add stitches to the sleeves to make them wider at the top and shoulder? A dart at the upper sleeve is the easiest way to account for the extra sts and still give you the width across the upper arm. It works surprisingly well and helps shape the shoulder and pull in the sts for the neck. You’ll have to experiment with the length and slope of the dart for your sleeve.

#3

Yes, I need more stitches in the upper arm. I need the sleeves to be the width of the XL, whilst I’m a M at the bust. My shoulders, however, are proportional with my torso, so I don’t really need any extra fabric there.

I’ll try the dart on the shoulder and see how it goes. I can always rip back and try again if it doesn’t work.