Returns and fit complaints usually trace back to the size chart, not the knit. Here's how to get US grading right before bulk.
A great sweater in the wrong size chart still gets returned. US customers expect a specific fit, and US size labels — alpha XS–XXL and numeric ranges — don't map one-to-one onto EU or UK patterns. The single most useful thing you can do is grade to a US fit block rather than converting a European one and hoping.
Pick the sample/base size (often M) and define it fully. Every other size grades up or down from this anchor.
Chest, body length, shoulder, sleeve length, armhole, neck width, hem and cuff — measured the way the factory will measure them, with a diagram.
How much each POM changes per size. Grading isn't uniform — chest and length step differently from neck and cuff.
The allowed +/- on each measure. Knit stretches and relaxes, so realistic tolerances matter more than on a woven.
Knit behaves unlike cut-and-sew woven. The fabric has built-in stretch and recovery, gauge and stitch structure affect how a measurement reads, and a piece can relax after steaming. Good knit grading accounts for that — which is why a knit-specialist factory measuring against your POMs beats a generic size conversion every time.
Before bulk, run a size set — a sample in several sizes — and fit them on real bodies or forms. It's the cheapest insurance against a graded-wrong production run, and it catches the size that "looks fine on paper" but wears off. We grade to your block, measure every sample against your spec, and log it by size and colorway.
Send your base measurements or a fit sample. We'll grade to your US block and confirm the spec on a size set before bulk.
