Shape it for your figure

I finished my waist shaping and am happy with the results. I worked the increases so that the hip is a bit wider than the Bust. Also more increases on the hip were worked on the Back than the Front which works for my figure on a closer fitting top.

As you might imagine, waist and hip shaping can be endlessly adjusted. On this top I've made the Front 3" wider than the Back to accommodate the bust. The Front is on the right and you can see that it's slightly wider.

With a Belly:  I worked decreases to bring the waist in. I did the same number of decreases on the Front as I did for the Back. At the waist the Front is still 3" wider than the Back. This fits my figure.

No Belly:  If you don't have a belly then you might want to work more decreases on the Front to get to a place where the Front and Back have the same stitch count. You could start working decreases on the Front as soon as you knit past the largest part of the bust. You can work these decreases every 2, 3 or 4 rounds. When the Front and Back have the same stitch count the top will be 3" smaller than it was at the Bust. That might be enough shaping. But if you can, still work the waist shaping on the Front & Back as usual too.

Hips:  At the waist begin to work increases until the hips are the same width as the bust. Then you can work a couple more sets of increases if desired, to give you more hip room, as I did. I also, as mentioned, worked more increases on the Back than I did on the Front, to accommodate my back end. That gets me closer to the same number of stitches on the Front and Back.

No Hips:  You can work the increases to the width you need around your hips. Make sure you give yourself a couple of inches of ease so that the top doesn't bind at the hip.

Every sweater can teach you how to get closer to a good fit. What has worked for you?
-Deb