I have been looking for information on how to grade a pattern out to multiple sizes. I have never done this before and am not sure if I am making it more difficult than it has to be. Dose anyone have a method they use to convert a pattern from one size to multiple sizes - for example a pattern in size large converted to a size medium and small? Thank you.

Consult Anne Budds book: A knitters handy book of sweater patterns. her multi gauge multi size pattern foundations are excellent references to if you have this measurement and this gauge it will be this size sweaters. if you are working on sizing a sweater it takes a lot of the math out of the equation. I use both of her books and her handy guide to yarn requirements all the time when I am designing.

Or, Elizabeth, are you asking how to write up an original pattern so that it contains several options for sizes?
I've wondered about this too, how proportions might change from my own figuring if a larger/smaller knitter wanted to work my design. I suppose one could use EZ's Percentage System, estimating the chest measurement for the Key number and then figuring cuffs, neck, etc by her ratios. But what about lengths, which don't necessarily vary directly with girth?

If you can find a copy, "Sweater Design in Plain English," by Maggie Righetti, is terrific. The math for computing different sizes is extremely detailed (maybe to a fault). It's not as easy to use as Ann Budd's book, which I rely on constantly, but if you're planning to write your own patterns for different size, shapes and styles, it's a great reference. It was published by St. Martin's Press in 1990.

And to add to Mt. Mom's comment that length doesn't necessarily increase, another measurement that remains constant is the measurement from the center of the neck to the wrist -- i.e. the arm length. As a designer on another list pointed out, the wider an item gets, the sleeve length will frequently get shorter because more of the arm length is being taken-up by the body width.

Sweater design is still available through amazon, and I saw a copy of it on the shelves of barnes and noble the other day. It is clear, lucid and logical and takes you through the steps of all the design considerations you want to keep in mind. if you do any design work this is a wonderful book to have to refer to.

I have never used Sweater Wizard but I understand that it will do the calculations for you. Has anyone used Sweater Wizard and what are the pro's and con's of the software? I think you have to put your measurements into the data base and then the software writes the pattern.

yes, up to a point. if you want to do any radical changes to the shoulder say, you need to take the pattern and export it to word and do the revisions there. you cant import the texture or color work patterns to the wizard, even though it will do the math of setting up a repeat, and you have to do the final tweaking in Word. That said it works very well to set up the basic foundation pattern with a lot of the math done for you. I have both stitch and motif, and sweater wizard. I use stitch 9/10ths of the time.