Knit to Flatter by Amy Herzog got recommended to me quite a bit when I was looking for books on custom fitting sweaters, so I was really surprised when I got my hands on it and discovered that it’s not really a book about fit modifications. Instead, it’s kind of like those books on how to dress yourself but for knitters. The bulk of the content is on identifying your body type and picking the most flattering patterns for your body type. The book walks you through choosing the right neckline, sleeve length, sweater length, and sweater details in order to create a visually balanced ideal look. A lot of the advice is about picking the right pattern from the get-go and adding minor modifications, so it’s most useful for knitters who are having trouble deciding what to knit for themselves and who are aiming for the contemporary ideal shape for a feminine figure.
The book does contain some custom fitting information in the short, final chapter. The chapter gives suggestions on where you should do your modifications and what other parts of the sweater will be affected by them. It then explains in detail how to alter the length and calculate a different shaping rate, how to roughly calculate a new neckline shape, and how to calculate vertical and horizontal bust darts. It also gives suggestions for adding short rows for rounded shoulders, bellies, and butts but doesn’t go into much detail on these mods. Not too bad for a book that’s not specifically about custom fitting.
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