The OWD knitting size charts

With the debut of Who Could Stay, we have more choices for you!

Until now, all of our patterns have been graded on a Women's Size Chart. Who Could Stay is graded on a Men's Chart. Let's answer some of the questions our makers have had!

Why do you have two separate size charts?

Many knitters will find that they get a better fit using patterns graded on one chart or the other, so publishing patterns on two charts means more options. Publishing patterns on two charts means more options and gives knitters a running start towards their dream fit.

Where are your charts from?

For our Men’s patterns, we have adopted the size chart from The Knitting Pattern Writing Handbook: How to Write Great Patterns That Knitters Will Love to Make (Sarah Walworth and Kristina McGrath), and as of Fall 2024, have made no changes to the chart. To get your paws on that chart, you’ll need the book. If your local library doesn’t have it, we invite you to shop our Bookshop.org storefront.

Our Women’s Chart is largely based Sarah and Kristina’s charts, but we have tweaked some numbers, added bust darts, and widened the range based on the ASTM charts and our experiences with knitters. If you would like to have a copy of our Women’s Size Chart, you can download that here.

Note - Yes, the names of our charts are gendered. We have preserved the names of the charts because they are based on wide population studies that sorted people using those lables and retaining the labels communicates the intent (and limitations) of those studies. We will let you know which chart we used and as always, you get to make the decision on which patterns will serve you best.

What’s the difference between the charts?

For the same chest/full bust circumference, here are some key differences:

Differences in height and lengths

• The fit model for Men’s is 5’10”, for Women is 5’4”, and the arm is approximately 2” longer on the Men’s chart.
• The armhole depth for Women’s is generally .25” - .5” shorter.
• The Men’s shoulder rise (the difference in height between the outer shoulder point and the inner neck point) is higher, which creates a steeper shoulder slope.

Differences in widths and circumferences

• The Women’s chart assumes that as a body gets larger, breasts get larger (cup size goes up). Therefore, the relationship between cross chest (measured at the underarm) and full bust changes differently for the two charts. The smallest Women’s size increases 14% and the largest increases 58%; the Men’s smallest size increases 28% and the largest increases 44%.
• The hip for the Men’s chart is smaller and is the same circumference or smaller than the chest. The Women’s hip is larger and is always bigger than the full bust.
• The upper torso widths for men are wider, including cross back at the shoulder, back neck, upper back, and upper chest.
• The upper arm for Women’s is larger in the bottom half of the size range, and smaller than the Men’s in the upper half of the size range.

I have broad shoulders, so it'll probably be fine! Right?!

As we prepared for the UX Knit for Who Could Stay, we got a lot of questions that went like this "I have always knit patterns graded on the Women's chart, but I have broad shoulders so I feel like this is going to be perfect for me!"

You know you and your measurements the best! You are always, always, always the best expert on what you should knit.

Here are a few things to consider.

Do you actually have broad shoulders?

We have worked with and talked to lots of knitters who have been told socially that they have "broad shoulders" but they actually have a totally different fitting issue.

For example - if you have a cup size that is smaller than the one predicted for your torso size and follow the guidance to choose a size based on your full bust, you will be consistently choosing a sweater that is too small for you. It will fit at the bust, but you'll have lots of strain through the shoulders and yoke. You can learn more about that here.

Other things that masquerade as "wide shoulders" can be what Bess calls "juicy biceps", a broad back, or a high rounded back.

If your fitting issue isn't really that you have wide shoulders, then addressing shoulder width is not going to fully fix your problem. How do you know if you actually have broad shoulders? Compare your measurements to a size chart!

Having broad shoulders doesn't necessarily mean you should change charts

Above, we walked through all the things that are different between the two charts. Shoulder width IS different. But so are a lot of other measurements. If you have to adjust the armhole depth, sleeve depth, neck rise, and neck location, is that really better than just skipping a few decreases in the armhole to end up with a broader shoulders in your sweater?

Your best bet is to review the schematic

We always make our pattern schematics available before you buy - for exactly this reason. So go ahead and check out the schematic and compare it to your measurements. It can be helpful to compare to a sweater in a similar construction that you know fits well, too. 

Larissa, the dyer behind Forest Lane Fiber Co, knit herself a Who Could Stay. She customized hers by removing length and using the pattern's optional bust dart option. More details on Larissa's project are included in the pattern.

I get my best fit with garments graded on the Women's chart. What do I need to adjust to get a good fit with patterns graded on the Men's chart?

You can always customize your knits! The first step in getting a great fit is always going to be to compare your measurements to the schematic and see how the garment will fit your unique measurements.

Generally, if you get a good fit on the Women’s chart and you want to knit one of our patterns that has been graded on the Men’s chart, you will want to:

1. Remove some length from the shoulder rise and move the neck down the same amount
2. Remove some length from the underarm on the body and the cap of the sleeve
3. Remove some length from the hem to the underarm to suit your preferred total length
4. Remove approximately 2 inches of length from the sleeves
5. Review the upper arm and evaluate if you want to make a change
6. Adjust the wrist to fit with your preferred ease

Any plans to release Unisex patterns?

At this time, we will be working from these two charts. Our patterns come standard with optional bust darts in multiple cups, and the patterns we create on the Men’s charts will also include bust darts whenever they can be worked with short row shaping.

If you have any additional questions, put them in the comments!