Technically not a Big Girl...

But that doesn't mean there isn't anything for me to learn from the newly released More Big Girl Knits!



More Big Girl Knits is what you might expect from its title - a book that features patterns for the curvy among us - knit for the average sized American woman. The patterns in this book are written for sizes L through 5X (though not all patterns go all the way up to the 5X size). Finished chest measurements range anywhere from 40 to 60+ inches.

Recently, Knitting Daily has been having articles that focus on shaping and tailoring your knitting to fit your body. It is my interest in technique that made me curious about this book - while I technically do not fall into the targeted sizing for this book, I am always interested in learning new things about shaping, styling and customizing my knitwear - that is, after all, one of the reasons that I do knit - ideally it means I get pleasure in the making, customizing and wearing of a beautifully fitted garment that suits and flatters my body.

More Big Girl Knits opens with a short chapter discussing sizing and fitting (and has a handy yarn yardage guide chart for typical projects in various sizes and gauges). It follows up quickly with a short chapter on style tips (handy for anyone of any size or shape to know). Before heading into the main patterns, the book dispenses one more handy tip about adapting a pattern via the use of side panels or gussets (again, handy for anyone to learn).

As for the patterns, I found most of them to be quite lovely and stylish - several of which I'd like to modify to suit my own wardrobe. There's a steeked yoke cardigan (bountiful bohus), a richly cabled short coat (celtic cables that I think are the same as I have on Kepler), a fantastically textured jacket (the hot cocoa jacket), a very clever pullover that masquerades as a wrap, and of course - a couple pairs of socks :)

Each pattern is accompanied by at least one big glossy photo and one smaller detail shot - patterns that feature cables, lace or colorwork are also accompanied by appropriate charts - making for swifter knitting (for me anyhow). While I'm not a Big Girl by definition, I did find inspiration and useful information in this book.