[LoorieR]

I am a novice about knitting when it comes to understanding all of it. Why are most sweater patterns from the bottom up. Why can't they all be...well with exceptions...top down, so much easier to fit as you go that way. I came from crocheting so this is why I am just wondering. Any thought on this would be fun to share and review. Thanks guys....I just got done making a very simple bottom up sweater and I thought for sure it was a perfect fit but alas it is a bit too small and my gauge was correct. drat.

 

[carrottop71]

I am a novice about knitting when it comes to understanding all of it. Why are most sweater patterns from the bottom up. Why can't they all be...well with exceptions...top down, so much easier to fit as you go that way. I came from crocheting so this is why I am just wondering. Any thought on this would be fun to share and review. Thanks guys....I just got done making a very simple bottom up sweater and I thought for sure it was a perfect fit but alas it is a bit too small and my gauge was correct. drat.

I love the top down sweaters and the bottom up type that is made in one piece. I have heard from some of the more experienced knitters, that the seams help to make the shape more stable. I think the top down type might be more likely to twist out of shape without the seams.

 

[LoorieR]

Thats a good point...about the possibility of twisting. I'm actually a bit OK with sewing seams. they don't seem bo bother me that much. thanks for your reply

 

[Rainyday]

I am a novice about knitting when it comes to understanding all of it. Why are most sweater patterns from the bottom up. Why can't they all be...well with exceptions...top down, so much easier to fit as you go that way. I came from crocheting so this is why I am just wondering. Any thought on this would be fun to share and review. Thanks guys....I just got done making a very simple bottom up sweater and I thought for sure it was a perfect fit but alas it is a bit too small and my gauge was correct. drat.

I have never knitted a top down sweater in over 50 years, in fact I had not heard of the method till I joined KP. Oh what a sheltered life I once led, now I'm learning more new terms and techniques every day thank you KPers. x

 

[run4fittness]

I knit both ways. prefer the top down method because it seems to go quicker for me. I usually do the sleeves before I do the body and that does make the process seem faster but probably isn't!

I don't mind seams too much. Depends on what I am making.

 

[LoorieR]

I knit both ways. prefer the top down method because it seems to go quicker for me. I usually do the sleeves before I do the body and that does make the process seem faster but probably isn't!

I don't mind seams too much. Depends on what I am making.

The small amount of knitting I've done I can see this as a good idea. I just got done knitting sleeves in the round on the sweater...it is a lot of fabric to move about during the knitting process. I find myself constantly repositioning the pile of sweater and then I also wonder if this somehow distorts the sweater too.

 

[carrottop71]

I knit both ways. prefer the top down method because it seems to go quicker for me. I usually do the sleeves before I do the body and that does make the process seem faster but probably isn't!

I don't mind seams too much. Depends on what I am making.

I too think the idea of getting those sleeves done before the body makes sense. It is a pain to keep turning the whole sweater as you do the sleeve in the round. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Casey47]

Almost all of my sweaters have been one piece, top down raglands and I love them because there's hardly no sewing. If it's not a one piece I don't see any advantage to top down or bottom up. I Have to break out of this mold and do enough set in sleeves and drop sleeves that I'm comfortable with that too. Variety is the spice, right?

 

[carrottop71]

Almost all of my sweaters have been one piece, top down raglands and I love them because there's hardly no sewing. If it's not a one piece I don't see any advantage to top down or bottom up. I Have to break out of this mold and do enough set in sleeves and drop sleeves that I'm comfortable with that too. Variety is the spice, right?

When you do your top down's don't they have sleeves that you have to go back and reattach the yarn and finish? What she was referring to is going ahead and finishing the sleeve before she finishes the rest of the cardigan. You would then be reattaching the yarn to finish the body instead of the sleeves.

 

[Aimee'smom]

Top down, bottom up - I agree about doing the sleeves as soon as possible rather than at the end. On my last two, I pulled the sleeves into the body of the sweater while I was working on the top/bottom of body. Weight is the same but seemed much more manageable and the sleeves weren't flopping off my knees or draping around my ankles.

 

[christine 47]

I only do bottom up, haven't a problem with sewing up but if I make a drop sleeve I join the shoulders and knit the sleeves down to get the exact length. I have gone back to making raglan sleeve patterns recently as I find they look neater.

 

[MASHEPP]

I usually do the bottom up for several reasons. I do feel the side seams add stability. When the project is in one piece I feel I am constantly shifting it around and it feels heavy and warm in my lap. I prefer to make the pieces and seam them together. I do knit the sleeves together so they are exactly alike.

 

[Knitcrazydeborah]

I am a novice about knitting when it comes to understanding all of it. Why are most sweater patterns from the bottom up. Why can't they all be...well with exceptions...top down, so much easier to fit as you go that way. I came from crocheting so this is why I am just wondering. Any thought on this would be fun to share and review. Thanks guys....I just got done making a very simple bottom up sweater and I thought for sure it was a perfect fit but alas it is a bit too small and my gauge was correct. drat.

I love doing top down sweaters...one big reason is that you can easily try on the garment as you knit it, and make changes as you go along.
However, the easiest style in top down knitting is raglan sleeved, the increases form the shoulder "seams" and the stitch used for increasing can be either simple or fancy. Other styles, such as saddle shoulders and set in sleeves CAN be done top down in one piece but the construction of those types of garment is complex and it's actually easier to knit them from the bottom up.
So, in answer to your question...bottom up patterns allow the designer more options in garment construction.

 

[Moondancermel]

I am a novice about knitting when it comes to understanding all of it. Why are most sweater patterns from the bottom up. Why can't they all be...well with exceptions...top down, so much easier to fit as you go that way. I came from crocheting so this is why I am just wondering. Any thought on this would be fun to share and review. Thanks guys....I just got done making a very simple bottom up sweater and I thought for sure it was a perfect fit but alas it is a bit too small and my gauge was correct. drat.

I use both methods and usually knit in the round as I do not like sewing things up. I use 3 needle method for shoulders on bottom up items for stability.

The reason most knitting is made in pieces and sewn together is because it really came along after cloth clothing. Patterns for fabric are generally flat and the pieces sewn together. As many designers started here they then made knitted items the same. In design to have a flat pattern to measure your work against can be very helpful.

If you go back to historical crochet, Irish Crochet and the like, you will see they sew the motifs to flat pieces of fabric before joining together. This creates flat pieces to sew together.

Of course over time it has been changed by knitters and many now do things in the round. On a large object this can become heavy, which is why it may not be the most popular method but it all creates different forms and relieves boredom in my case.

The industrial revolution had much to do with changes as it was more economical to knit stockings and the like in one piece. All in all it comes down to preference.

 

[silversurfer]

I think it's just a habit like knitting the front and back of a sweater and sewing them together. When strangers see me knitting a sweater circular they ask why. I ask them why knit 2 flat pieces and sew them together. Up to the armhole is a tube so I knit a tube.

 

[past]

When I first starting knitting decades ago there weren't any top down patterns. Not sure when they started appearing, but it might be new enough that there are still plenty of us who are old school and still work patterns in pieces starting at the bottom. As more and more of us discover the ease of working and getting top down to fit better than bottom up there will (I'm sure) be more top down patterns.

 

[Grandma M]

I gave a fairly new knitter a top down pattern that she successfully made. It not only looked good on her but fit her as well. I don't think she could have done a bottom up at that time. but having to knit large rows and purl large rolls gave her the practice to become a good knitter. Her incentive was a sweater which she really wanted. It was a large project for a beginner but she finished it and showed it in class. I was so very proud of what she accomplished.

 

[carrottop71]

When I first starting knitting decades ago there weren't any top down patterns. Not sure when they started appearing, but it might be new enough that there are still plenty of us who are old school and still work patterns in pieces starting at the bottom. As more and more of us discover the ease of working and getting top down to fit better than bottom up there will (I'm sure) be more top down patterns.

Have you also noticed that a lot of bottom up patterns are done in the round to the arm holes. Most times you are to have the bottom of the sleeves already made and they are attached and added to the work as you form the top of the cardigan.

 

[pengwensgranny]

I have only ever knitted a few top down garments and find it very difficult to get a nice fit. The only exception I will make to that now is for baby matinee jackets. They work equally as well top down/bottom up.

Seaming makes the shape of a garment more defined and fits better. I personally don't find making separate pieces and stitching together takes any longer than knitting in one large piece. It is still the same amount of knitting and less maneuvering of work in progress.

 

[JTM]

I have knit about a dozen bottom up sweaters in the round and not a one has any twist in them. They get tossed in the washer all the time...but never the dryer.
Jane