I knit this shrug, the Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits (Ravelry Link). for my sister-in-law for her birthday in May.
I was knitting her this scarf, the Lace Ribbon scarf (Ravelry Link) from Knitty in Socks that Rock Bambu, but it was taking FOREVER because it’s on size US 3 / 3.25 mm needles (so that it would look nice, that’s not the recommended gauge or yarn for the scarf), so I gave up on finishing it any time in the near future because it was already several weeks after her birthday, and I whipped out the shrug in a few hours over a day or two.
I must say, Stephanie Japel must have the shortest torso of any widely published knitwear designer, because I tried on that shrug, and it looked absolutely ridiculous on me. Now, I’m only 5’7″, and I have long legs, not a particularly long torso, so I don’t know what’s up, but that’s one of two of her designs I’ve knit, Cathode being the other, to which I had to add 5 1/2″ to the body (and 1″ to the short sleeves)! Ok, I’m done with my little rant. I know I have long arms, they go with the long legs. I usually have to add about 4 inches to sweaters with long sleeves. So, if you knit my sweaters, and you have short arms, you might need to shorten the sleeves. But I don’t have a long torso.
The good thing is that my sister-in-law is a good bit shorter than I am and thus does have a shorter torso, and reportedly, the shrug fits perfectly and is a nice addition to her wardrobe.