Thoughts on cup shaping for a person with a rounder torso

 Had a thought, wanted to bounce it off you, might be a run away train with no destination yet.

- My torso is basically flat on front, where my breasts start, then slants back. This is made most obvious by the way my breasts point out about 90° to each other when wearing a bra made for “typical” breasts (straight out in front on flatter torso). You know the one? You lay down the bra and the wires are flat and two perfect mounds look great sitting there. Not me.

- My wire has to be larger than someone with a flatter torso because it is not just going across, but also back. Think of the cross edge of a right triangle, it has to be longer than the two edges to join both points.

- The wire basically is meant to be worn across a flat torso. What size would mine be if set across parallel to the front? (Way smaller!)

- Therefore my pattern should also have a long flat area in the cup side. If I use two wires to help build the cup pattern itself, then perhaps it should be the smaller one used to set that smaller portion of my breast balanced, as I was initially instructed to get a balanced even cup (which resulted in nips pointing out, rather than forward).

Then, I can add back in the portion between the two wires to support the side of my breast which would be added to an already shaped public side of the cup.

Thoughts?

Sizing on Undies Patterns

 I have been trying to sew undies on and off. Since the Mentorship started with us trying to fit our bottoms, it’s been a niggling thing. As the brassieres get closer to fitting, I consider making a matching bottom, but they generally have issues. Every pair has had fit issues that generally go right up my crack. Baby got back, but apparently designers don’t. 

Over the weekend, I decided to try something new. I sewed up a Tuesday Boyshort. Instead of measuring “my size” and making that, I measured and then printed out the next size up, and the size after that. I compared these to the Bravo Bottoms 2 Boyshort that I’m supposed to fit in. The larger of the sizes in Tuesday were just a smidgeon smaller than the BB2 shorts. Two sizes larger than what my hips measure into. 

I wasn’t sure how they would fit, so I didn’t even change the thread on the machine. But, I now have a pair of boyshorts that pretty much fit right off the pattern. And, green ones in time for St Patrick’s Day. 🍀

Sock Madness 2025 Round 1

 These warm socks don’t fit me. I couldn’t find my 1.5 DPNs, so just used the 1s. They are helical knitting with cables - cabling tightens the fabric- and intarsia heels. So fun to knit!

Day & Night Socks by Alena Malevitch 

Team Umbrella Octopus

 

Last night (my time zone), the teams were announced and I searched for a pattern for my mascot. I found 3 free patterns, and chose this one because I like the way the umbrella is formed with the little nubs for the octopus arms.

Pattern: Umbrella Octopus

Qualifier for Sock Madness 2025

 After Valentine’s Day passes, the signs ups close and the qualifier is released.

This year, we started with a toe-up sock. Knitting a toe-up starts with casting on the toe and knitting up the foot, increasing for the gusset, turning the heel, knitting the heel flap, then working up the leg!

Sounds good so far?

This qualifier was just getting started! 

After the first cuff, we kept going into a cuff-down sock!

Both my sock blockers are inside the sock snake. The second half gets a new cuff, leg, heel flap, heel turn, foot, and finally a toe!

I had to remove the blockers to close the toe. Once the pair is knit together as a closed tube, we end up with this push me pull you. How do we get a pair of socks?

In the pattern, we were to mark a particular stitch for snipping later. At the time, I ran a lifeline in the last round of the first sock cuff. Now that I snipped the stitch, I concentrated on catching the stitches from the second sock. 

Once sock 2 was safely on the needles, I quickly transferred the stitches from the lifeline. This pair of socks is nearly done! They just need a stretch cast off…

Conjoined Twin Socks pattern by Katherine Richmond 

Signing Up for Sock Madness 2025

 February first is the opening day for sign ups for Sock Madness each year. During the first couple weeks of February, sock knitters flock to the Ravelry board to sign up and discuss the potential for the year. The group releases a Warm Up pattern and the knitting may begin! 

Gansey Adventure Socks pattern by Zaliwa. I did not try to match the stripes!

Wires Don’t Have to Match

 This morning, I added an inch to the lower center front of the AFI Elegance pattern. Which seems like a touch too much, but it is better than it was. The cups have rotated into a better position. 

The front looks better, though the tips of the wires swung far enough down, they may need another eighth inch between at the top of the gore. The right wire, though, started to bother me as it was then digging into my ribs. What is it? 

I added a quarter inch to the upper center front, and that did not fix it.

I tried a larger underwire, and that did not fix it.

I tried a smaller wire, and it feels better. The width of the wire is now closer to my breast root and on the front edge of my body, not back in my ribs on my side.