Document Type

Paper

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Subjects

Book Publishing, Size Inclusivity -- Literature

Abstract

Over half of the United States’s adult population is considered plus-size, but fatphobia (or prejudice against fat people) still pervades American Society, as evidenced by the demographic’s near-erasure from popular media. This prejudice is keenly felt within the knit and crochet communities, whose plus-size members may struggle to find patterns—or models—in their size. Using a dataset of knit and crochet pattern books and a survey of knitters and crocheters, this paper first answers what is the size range represented in trade-published knit and crochet garment patterns? and then how does size exclusivity perpetuate fatphobia and exclude plus-size crafters from fashion communities, and what role can craft publishing play in combating this exclusion? The results indicate that approximately half of the knit/crochet community considers themselves plus-size, though the most frequently worn alpha sizes are L, XL, and 2X/2XL. Pattern size availability was more difficult to gauge: 72.7% of pattern books included at least 1 pattern sized 2X/2XL or greater, but only 25.5% include at least 1 pattern up to a 5X.  However, only approximately 5% of books included a model with a documented size between 2X and 5X. These findings are important because they show us that, though size inclusivity appears to be improving, the availability of plus-sizes is still disproportionate to the number of people who need them. Around 47% of knitters/crocheters would use pattern books more if they were more size inclusive, indicating that craft publishing could improve plus-size participation in fiber arts by expanding their size offering.

Rights

© 2026 Julia O'Malley

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Description

Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Writing: Book Publishing.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/45242

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