sizing isn't just for sweaters
I first wrote about accessory sizing on Lauren Rad's website. She has incredible articles there, and my favorites are the ones where she gives away secrets and makes me feel like I’m getting away with something, like this one about dpn choices. So go ahead and subscribe so you aren’t left out.
This is really important and often forgotten, but what size inclusivity looks like for accessories, and what is often missing there . . . once you see it, you see it everywhere. There’s a lot of flawed logic coming from the ‘one size fits all’ camp, and we need to do better. Let’s dig into it.
Shine a light.
In garment design, size inclusivity is talked about a lot. There is a huge effort to encourage designers and yarn companies to offer more sizes for their garment patterns, and to update older patterns to be more size inclusive.
I write and talk at length about how important it is to do that responsibly and honestly, to make sure that the grading works well for all sizes, and not just the middle of the size range. It used to be that the only sizes offered were in that middle of the range, and sometimes, even though we are adding more sizes, our thinking in pattern writing can get stuck in that middle of the range viewpoint. This makes us miss stuff that is right under our noses, like accessories.
When it comes to accessory patterns, this need for size inclusivity is just as great, but we are often still stuck in that middle of the range viewpoint, that ‘one size fits all’ mentality. Or worse, the ‘one size fits most’, which is, by definition, exclusionary. Bodies vary greatly in size everywhere, not just when it comes to sweaters, and real size inclusivity in accessory patterns matters equally as much. These are items that must fit well to be good at what they do for us, so maybe it matters even more.
Beautiful bodies.
We are gloriously different in size and shape, and that is true even within one body. Does it make sense that if there are bodies that need garments outside the middle of the range, that there won’t be bodies who need socks, hats, shawls, gloves outside the middle of those ranges? Of course not.
Larger bodies will often need larger accessories; smaller bodies will often need smaller accessories. At the same time, someone in the middle of the garment size range might need accessories outside of it. A large torso does not always mean a large head or large feet. A smaller torso does not always mean small hands either, for example.
Think about what you design, and where you might be too focused on only one size or one size block. Misconceptions can abound in accessory designing, but here are some examples:
Working with motifs.
Playing with motifs is super fun in accessory designing. Many accessories are perfect canvasses for some pretty incredible motifs. Be so careful then that your motif can be graded successfully! It won’t do to have an eye-catching motif on the cuff of a glove that has so many stitches in the repeat it makes the fit too big or small when graded.
Try to be flexible on this point. Remember your goal in creating patterns: patterns are clothing, meant to fit human bodies. If that is your goal, the grading being fantastic matters more than being married to a motif that won’t work. If the motif matters more, then maybe a singular artwork is what your design is meant to be, and not a pattern for sale to makers of all sizes, or maybe that motif can be used on a different type of accessory.
Socks that fit.
A sock pattern having plenty of varying sizes for length, but the same circumference for every size doesn’t really reflect real feet or legs. Sometimes even when there is a range of circumferences, it’s just that middle range again. Remember that just like there is a need for more sizes in garments, the same holds true for socks!
Don’t forget to consider leg sizing if your socks have longer legs, and look at how you can make changes in sizing or modification options to accommodate a wider range.
A special note about shawls.
A lot of shawl designs don’t lend themselves to being graded and are generally singular things. Often their construction and patterning make them inherently only one way. But when we get into making claims about how they fit and look and how they can be worn, and promising an end result, shawl patterns being only one size is a problem.
Think about garments that are meant to be oversized but in the larger sizes they’re often not graded that way - that’s not cool. In the same way, a shawl that is meant to be dramatic and flowing will need to be written in more than one size to have that effect on different body sizes. Likewise a 60”/150 cm scarf is going to wear differently on people of different heights and girths.
Middle of the range thinking doesn’t always stop to realize that larger shoulders need larger shawls and smaller shoulders, smaller shawls, to have the same promised fit. We get away without grading them partly because often how a shawl or scarf is worn can be subjective and individual - it is not unusual for a maker to wear a shawl not at all as the designer intended. But that’s up to the maker. Your job as a designer is to deliver on what you promise.
Most of the time, a note about how the item can be modified is all you need, and I encourage you to include it. If it is a design that can’t be modified or sized, like some complex stitch designs, be upfront about that. If possible, show it on differently shaped bodies so your customers can get a better idea of what it will look like on them.
Either way, be intentional in what you’re doing with shawl designs. Recognize that if you do promise a particular look or fit, and don’t size it somehow, you’re leaving a lot of makers out.
Gauge is still everything.
Saying that gauge doesn’t matter in accessories, or that if the maker doesn’t get gauge to ‘just go up/down a size’ can be a recipe for disaster. Sometimes this approach seems like it can work, but what we think of as working is actually the maker compromising their expectations and settling.
Because the truth is, it will result in a product that doesn’t look like what they bought, and/or doesn’t fit right. Then you have a disappointed customer.
If the maker doesn’t care how the design fits or looks, then maybe gauge doesn’t matter. However, if they’re after the look and fit in your gorgeous photos, it certainly does.
One size does not fit all.
The same considerations must be made in accessory patterns as in garment patterns. ‘One size fits all’ has got to go. The more you think about it, the more you will realize how damaging and harmful that concept is in a world where we are beautifully different. The same attention to sizing and grading, and the same types of guidelines allowing for modifications are needed.
It’s important to include many sizes, but it’s imperative that those sizes will indeed offer good fit. Use reliable sizing standards and keep your applied ease consistent. Getting a hat that hugs just right, or a mitten that ‘fits like a glove’ is just as desired as a sweater that is custom fit.
A successful pattern.
An accessory pattern must be clear and correct to be successful. But it also must anticipate what the maker will need from the pattern as they work it, beyond the instructions – for all sizes, not just your size.
· Use fixed ease, so that every size will have the same amount of space between their body and the item, for the fit to be the same.
· Specify what needle lengths and type will be needed for every size, not just your size. This goes for buttons and notions too.
· Keep your sizing notation structure the same throughout the pattern.
· If possible, show pictures of the design in varying sizes. This is important especially with motifs that will look different from size to size, or to see how the design will look on more than one type of body. Sometimes it can be tough to find many models but do your best; find some way to communicate how your design will work on many sizes.
· Consider what each size will be experiencing on the needles as they work, not just your size or experience. What will they each need to know? What mile markers do you need to provide?
· Include helpful tips about how your design can be modified to custom fit, if not instructions.
· Be sure all finished measurements are available to view in the place it is sold, so your customer can make an informed decision before buying. Don’t be sneaky.
· Offer support. Listen when your customer tells you something doesn’t work, or suggests something that might help them, especially if that customer wears a different size than what you are used to working on. Hear people’s experiences.
Sizing that works.
I absolutely adore hand knit hats. In my experience as a knitter making for my family and myself, I have had so much trouble finding hat patterns that fit well, that a couple times I have even been driven to create my own. And I am absolutely not a designer!
I cannot tell you how many failed hat fittings have gone on in my family in the past 15 years; I know I’m not alone. Many accessories, like mittens, hats, and socks, we wear on our smallest and most precise body parts, so attention to proper fit is paramount. No one wants too loose socks or mittens that they have to squeeze into, or hats they constantly have to tug at.
Our hand knit accessories must fit well to be useful to us, and that goes for makers of every size. This is a reminder in writing any accessory pattern that:
1. Offering enough sizes is necessary, but we first need to be using data that accurately reflects bodies, as closely as we can, and not perpetuate old standard accessory sizing if it doesn’t work for the makers buying patterns! ::side eye::
2. Clear guidance on how to choose a size and exact finished measurements are necessary. Ambivalent gauge and ‘one size fits most’ sizing recommendations are irresponsible practices when writing patterns to sell that promise to fit a body in a certain way.
You want happy makers. You want them loving working from your patterns and stoked to get their smiling photos up online. That can be guaranteed if the pattern is a clear map to follow; if it points the user where they need to go, and gets them to their desired destination, which is . . . a perfect fit.
