Modern Raglan Sweater Adjustments to Get a Better Fit

Have you ever knit a raglan sweater that just didn't fit, even if you met gauge? Maybe you had a raglan cardigan that kept falling off your shoulders? Or maybe it was a pullover that had extra fabric in the armpits? Why does this happen? What’s the solution? And how do you find patterns with these solutions in them? These are the questions I'll be answering in this video.

Share your favorite modified raglan sweater patterns in the comments below!

Video Outline
0:00 Intro
0:40 The Basic Top Down Seamless Raglan Structure Explained
2:32 The Two Main Problems:
4:47 5 Modern Adjustments:
10:13 How to Find Modified Raglan Patterns

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[ellennordal]

A comment in defense of raglans: My first raglan was knit over 40 years ago as a young woman in Minnesota. That extra room under the arms was wonderful for cross country skiing, allowing full range of motion of the shoulders and arms. For anyone who loves to hike, especially with hiking poles or desires that extra range of motion for outdoor activities, a raglan can’t be beat. I still have a raglan pullover with pockets that I knit all those years ago for walking with the dog. That was before short rows so the pattern had the knitter working back and forth at the beginning, slowly casting on additional stitches to the ends, then casting on for the last front stitches and continuing in the round.

[MargaretDavis-kq]

I have always wondered why so many patterns tell you to crochet the front and the back exactly the same way. I am definitely not the same shape or measurements in the front and the back. However, since I am new to crocheting tops and sweaters, I really don’t understand all of the changes that you were recommending. At this point, I would have to rely on a designer doing this for me. I did look at the Aztec sweater by nomad stitches, and it doesn’t mention any special modifications being made to the sweater to make it fit better, but it also does not mention the word Raglan. However, I am reluctant to believe that just because the word raglan is missing that it means the sweater is guaranteed to fit properly. Thanks for this video. It has definitely got me thinking but I am a long way from truly understanding and implementing the different modifications on my own.

[josephpoole]

Thank you so much for this resource. I will be watching this several times to absorb it. It is so hard to find information on the where and why to do increases to make sweaters and cardigans fit.

[satsumamoon]

I have a large cupsize and heres what I do.
Cast on fewer sts on back, increases are then made as I put in short rows . Now sts count is almost the same as the front.
I put 2 extra markers in the back, abt 8inches apart (4inches ea side of centre) and here I decrease every inch or so .
By doing this I keep the consistency of the raglan increase and get a nicer back shaping.
As I also have a cinched in waist, I continue the decs till an inch above the waist and begin increasing after .
another note is that when shaping the sides, you can add iextra increases for the bust towards the bottom, that dont make the sleeve shaping different from the back . Sleeve, Pm, k1, increase (as normal) then k2, extra increase. You get 2 extra stitches :).
Depending on the yarn, and the positioning, it can look completely invisible.

[marilenatudorie]

Italians have very good videos about top down raglan and I also can recommend Tatting blossom, subtitled in engl

[droolpuppy]

I've been doing this intuitively without even thinking! In the beginning of the video I was thinking " but wouldn't the imbalance between front and back be fixed by adding more stitches to the underarm?" and that very moment you got into it 😂. Thank you so much for this vid, it's important for a best fitting garment <3

[lindas]

Oh girrrrl, this video is SO helpful. I am an intermediate knitter and want to expand out to understand why my beautiful, expensive yarn often knits up into sweaters that don’t fit well at all. Very annoying! I’ve managed to figure out the too deep armhole problem on tank tops but the whole ill fitting chest/neck situation was so mysterious. So thank you so much for this video. 🎉

[caddywampus]

Excellent info, has given me the confidence to try a top down sweater again. My first attempt was terrible!

[Susan-ybhh]

This has really helped me figure out how to make raglans fit. I find most patterns have an armhole that’s is too deep and a back that is too voluminous. Thank you so much for explaining this. You are one of 2 videos out there. Awesome👏

[adrianlolo]

Very nice video, it would be great if you use already made, exactly examples for all tose raglan modifications.

[mehitabel]

Thanks for all the tips. The one that is most elusive for me is to modify the depth of the raglan, aka the depth of the yoke. I quite like the drape of extra fabric, but cannot bear it when the underarm (armscye) falls low on my body. I've knitted a couple of raglan sweaters now, 1 top-down, 1 bottom up and pieced, where the underarm of the raglan runs nearly to my waist. As a tailor, I'm not keen on the current 'oversize', and prefer a neat fit. My holy grail would be a neatly fitted top-down raglan sleeve. I can do the back, neck and bust shaping, no problem.

[sarag]

This is incredibly informative! I have very very narrow shoulders. I have found that the raglan increases increased too fast and then I end up with the big old baggy arms. I didn't know why until I saw your video. So thank you!

[nz-nz]

Yes! All the things that I have found going haywire in a raglan pattern. Thanks for explaining.

[elanamarie]

Thank you. This video was so helpful! It was like a giant light went on for me. You explained perfectly. Excited to check out some more from your channel.

[eoiny]

The Cocoknit workbook is a great resource!

[binarystar]

Thank you for this video! Very clear and informative. If you ever need inspiration to make another video like this: could you explain about circular yoke sweaters, and modifications to make them fit better? I love these types of designs but cannot get them to fit me well enough for actually wearing... sadly...

[CounterCultured_]

Very informative indeed, but I need visuals or a step by step tutorial :P

[stellaluna]

This was an excellent video, very helpful. (I will say that as a crocheter, it's a lot easier to edit as you go since you've only got one stitch live - knitting tends to require more planning).

[TRaceTK]

Amanda this was so informative and helpful!! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this video! Off to look for some patterns, will come back and list what I find 🤞🏻👍🏼 💓

[maryholbrook]

Very interesting and informative thankyou xxx