I am about to knit Starsky from knitty and I am trying to decide on what size to make and I am thrown off by the “8 inches of ease” part. Can someone explain to me what this means? :shrug: (The person who I am making it for has a 38" chest if that helps.)
My understanding is that if your friend has a 38" chest, the pattern is saying to measure enough stitches for a circumference of 38" + 8" ease = 46".
Anyone can correct me if I’m wrong, never done sweaters - just my understanding. 
Yup, ‘ease’ is the amount of fabric you have beyond your measurements. Looser sweaters will have more ease, tight sweaters much less.
So, what size would you suggest that I make for someone who usually buys smalls and mediums and has a 38" chest.
Since it’s a cardigan and goes over other clothes, and looking at the specs, the medium should be okay. That would still give her 6" of ease.
sue
Also check the length of the sleeves. I had to redo mine because they were really long. I don’t know if I didn’t allow for stretch or just made them too long to start with, but I frogged about 4 inches and re-ribbed mine. I don’t know if that was a problem for anyone else, but measure as you go.
The amount of ease is not that big a deal since the sweater is a wrap sweater and you can cinch it tighter or looser. I have worn mine a lot, it is a great sweater!
The amount of ease is not that big a deal since the sweater is a wrap sweater and you can cinch it tighter or looser. I have worn mine a lot, it is a great sweater!
That would explain 8" of ease then. I thought that was a lot…
So I should probably make a medium?
Do a medium and measure after a few inches. And if your gauge is a tiny bit too large, that’s probably okay then.
sue