For nearly two years Jamie worked on the Pattern Tailor for me. I pretty much completely relinquished the day-to-day to her because it fit in her wheel house so well, and it allowed me to do other things. In 2025, over 4 months after she quit working with me, I resolved to get back into the Pattern Tailor in a big way. If I could figure out how it had changed since my early days of development:
The Pattern Tailor is the Result of Years of Work
When I began working on A System of Grading in 2015? (I can’t really remember what year) it seemed like an answer to the Sizing Dilemma.
I had no idea how those issues would evolve in the ensuing years as knitters began to desire things that actually fit them. Eventually, knitwear design evolved into providing far more sizes, but there were still had a lot of issues at the core of the entire Sizing Dilemma.
What Are the Sizing Dilemmas?
Knitwear sizing had devolved into doing mostly XXS through XXL (sometimes beyond), but fit was hardly at the core of how knitted garments were developed. Next up was to use measurement, which reduced the difference between sizes to 2 inches. This got us to a place where we could see some of the real problems.
Sizing Dilemmas
Few knitters know their bust measurement.
They are reluctant to use a tape measure to find out.
The other measurements required for fit are not well-defined to the general knitting public, and even designers don’t always have a great grasp of how to use them.
Taking measurement is no fun. Although it gives us valuable data, we come to our measurements with so much body baggage that it can be crushing to quantify them so starkly.
Grading (creating multiple sizes) is done based on averages, with the understanding that there is no “average” person. It is not actually going to fit anyone “perfectly”.
We started seeing others in photographs of their knits and assumed that this was a mirror of ourselves. People with the same measurements are not the same! Bodies are unique and wonderful things and that makes it hard to achieve fit.
Without knowing the basics of fit and our own measurements it is impossible to achieve accurate fit.
What We Can Do To Change This?
I have tried different approaches to creating custom fit, and the Pattern Tailor is a step towards doing that, but knitters must create a relationship with a tape measure or nothing I can offer is worth anything.
I can create a sizing table that allows someone to put in their own measurements and create a pretty good individual size, but without those measurements, it won’t do anyone any good.
I wanted to get more specific, and envisioned creating designs in an any size, any gauge format. It is so freaking hard to do! But I’m getting there.
The Pattern Tailor allows me to provide tools in two ways: As tools and as designs.
Tools
I have a long list of these to make. Right now I just have the Horizontal Bust Dart Calculator (Pullover) (HBDC). This will calculate and write knitting instructions and charts for any individual garment: top/down or bottom/up. This is a universal. tool. The HBDC requires about 6 measurements. You can record them and use them again and again! There is a cardigan version waiting for me to have time to create the written instructions. Same with Vertical Darts.
The Yarn Remainder Finder (YRF) has moved from a table on my website to the Pattern Tailor. There is no charge for using it, but you have to go through the Shop since that is how the Pattern Tailor is accessed. You can print out the resulting information for your records and save the info as a pdf.
I have an equally long list of this type of tool that I am anxious to make.
Patterns
This is hard. Right now I have two cowls available (links below) and one that will be available before the end of March. I like these as a jumping off point to using the Pattern Tailor because they require few measurements — none of which are scary!
I have a summer top that took us about 8 months (Jamie mostly) to work out. We started with too difficult a garment, but we learned a lot! There are three variations, so those might bust out sometime in the nearish future.
Pre-Berkshires Cowl (Berkshires Cowl is coming!). The Pre-Berkshires gives you everything you need to get ready to put your numbers into the Pattern Tailor.
Why I Am Feeling So Good About the Re-Learning Pattern Tailor!
Today I conquered figuring out the “back end” of the Pattern Tailor so I can see where my data isn’t entered correctly. I’ve had two near melt-downs in the past week because I didn’t have that piece of knowledge to find out what was causing the errors. Now I do and it feels really great. I’ve already learned to write intense formulas in Excel, I am beginning to understand the very basics of JSON (pronounced Jason), and have mastered Fillable Forms. Mostly, I can now find my mistakes, and fix them. I prefer learning by doing so I make lots of mistakes, but I need to be able to see what the error is so I can fix it.
Processes allow me to get a good working rhythm so I can do things without having to use part of my brain to figure out every step.
Beware. I am feeling empowered.
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