The Many Shapes of Costa Maya
So, the Costa Maya KAL is in full swing, and I’ve gotta be honest… you guys are KILLING it!! I’m always so excited to pop on Ravelry and see how everyone’s projects are coming along. No pressure, but please update often, with this bum arm I’m living through vicarious knitting pleasure!!
The turnout for this KAL has been amazing, but just in case there are any of you lurking on the fence, let me sweeten the pot. I know that it’s always a risk to start a new pattern. It can be tough to visualize how the final will look and if it could be a good addition to your wardrobe or one of those sweaters you shove to the back of your closet. I tend to model for the KAL photos and while I’m fairly petite with a pear shape, I know there are lots of different body types and sizes out there. So today I’d like to show off Costa Maya’s versatility with the help of some of the lovely ladies at my shared office space! (Shout-out to Brooklyn Creative League!)
I’ll go first.
What Size Sweater Should I Knit . . . it depends!
I’m 5’3″ with a pear shape (okay, yeah, I kinda hate the “fruit” thing, but I’m going to use it here for ease of understanding. Forgive me. I don’t think any of us are fruit!), meaning that my hips are wider than my shoulders. Obviously, my Costa Maya was knitted for me, so the fit is pretty great (if I do say so myself) with zero ease over my full chest. I like a long hem-line, with subtle increasing in the lower half for a nice A-line shape.
Up next is actress and poet, Jalyn. Jalyn is 5’3″ with a banana shape, meaning that her shoulder, waist, and hip measurements are relatively similar. She’s also has a bit of a smaller bust measurement than I do, so there’s an extra inch or so of positive ease. Jalyn is the most similar to me in terms of size and shape, so the sweater is a pretty similar fit, if a bit looser in the hips.
Coming next is writer and urbanist, Brittany! Brittany is 5’4″ with an hourglass shape, meaning that her shoulders and hips are nearly equal in size, and her waist measurement is narrower. Although she is pretty petite, she has a larger bust size than mine, so the sweater has about 2-3″ of negative ease. Even though this wasn’t knit for her, it’s still incredibly flattering, with the hem hitting just a couple inches below her widest hip measurement and the bust shaping showing off her great curves!
Finally we have tech support and project manager extraordinaire, Lisabeth! Lisabeth is 5’10” with an apple shape, meaning that her shoulders are wider than her hips. She has a fuller bust, with about 7-8″ of negative ease. The negative ease up top and the positive ease below creates a nice shape to balance her hips with her shoulders. Lisabeth chose to wear the shawl collar not folded over and the extra coverage looks great!
How Do You Like Your Costa Maya to Fit?
Of course, you know me, I think that all of you should use the tools of the KAL videos and community to help you customize your sweater as much as possible to get YOUR perfect fit. But I hope that this post has illuminated the possibilities. Thank you to all my models for helping out! See you next week for Clue #3!
Still on the fence? Remember if you join before May the video sweater class is only $1 (now the Video KAL is $9) after May to get the full class it will cost $18 . . . AND if we get 25 more people to join we unlock two FAB grand prizes! Jump on in, the yarn is fine 🙂
So envious but I knew this would happen as I’m delaying my cast on until I have reliable internet. I’m currently on a fabulous Craft Cruise in South America and have over a week still to go! After I return this is the first thing I’m getting started on even though I’ve bought some spectacular baby Alpaca from Chile. I hope you get better soon Patty. Can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to be it of commission for your livelihood.