There are three key skills for sweater knitting that I think are most useful in the long run. I’ve chosen these because a successful sweater (or cardigan) project isn’t only about finishing – it’s also about being happy with and comfortable in what you’ve made.
Try not to play small or pigeonhole yourself when it comes to knitting garments. It makes much more sense to acquire skills that will get you knitting clothes you actually want to wear – and clothes that actually fit. Too often, knitters fall into the trap of choosing patterns touted as easy…that they end up hardly wearing at all.
This is sad, especially after taking the time and effort to choose beautiful yarn in the perfect colour. Pick knitting patterns with the same care and attention. It’s worth it – and so are you.
So, without further ado, here’s skill number one…
Key skill number 1: Picking up stitches
This is such a versatile skill! You see it in most types of construction.
For socks, turning the heel often involves picking up stitches. With sweaters, tank tops and other pullovers, they are typically picked up around the finished edge of a neckline. For cardigans, picked up stitches will also include the front opening edges.
Above is a photo of the Aneeta cardigan in progress. Stitches have been picked up along the wrap front edges, and two rows have been knitted in garter stitch.
Some of us knitwear designers have a LOT of fun experimenting with construction using this technique! Changing the direction of knitting for a design can create a lot of interest and opportunities for innovation.
For the Gaspra cardigan, I picked up stitches around the armhole edge to work the sleeves downward to the cuff. Ainur Berkimbayeva, who designs under Toqu Tigu, works in a variety of directions for her knitting patterns. Her beautiful Bereket pullover is worked sideways. Her Center Point Popover is knitted from the centre outward, with stitches picked up for the sleeves.
I also used this technique for the Huddle Hat and Fond Mittens. The cable trims were worked lengthways, forming a strip, and then stitches were picked up along one long edge. These picked up stitches were then used to knit the rest of the hat and mittens.
Fond | Cable Mitten Knitting Pattern
Come and knit the cosiest hug for your hands! The Fond Cable Mitten pattern is designed to be a delightful, quick knit that results in a pair of beautifully textured mittens you’ll be truly “Fond” of!
Imagine settling down with a project that flies off your needles, perfect for moments of stress relief and creative escape. Crafted with Aran weight yarn, these mittens are wonderfully speedy to knit, making them ideal for those precious pockets of time. Whether you’re making them for yourself to brave the chill or as a heartfelt gift, the Fond Mittens promise a rewarding journey.
What makes these mittens truly special is their elegant design and thoughtful construction. Featuring a striking statement cable cuff and a beautiful cable and rib basketweave pattern, they offer a touch of classic sophistication.
For those curious knitters ready to expand their skills, this pattern is your perfect introduction to shaping for gloves, gently guiding you through thumb gusset shaping within an approachable garter and rib texture. The resulting fabric is wonderfully elastic and fit-friendly, ensuring a comfortable, snug grip on cold days.
When you slip on your finished Fond Cable Mittens, you’ll adore the comforting texture against your skin, and the knowledge that you’ve mastered a new technique to create something both beautiful and incredibly cozy.
Ready to knit a pair of quick, comforting, and beautifully cabled mittens? Discover the Fond Cable Mitten pattern and give your hands the hug they deserve.
Huddle | Cable Hat Knitting Pattern
Looking for a hat knitting project that promises cosy comfort and makes bracing the cold winter days delightful? The Huddle Cable Hat knitting pattern is a warm, stylish accessory you’ll adore knitting and wearing, or giving as a heartfelt gift.
This Aran weight hat features a beautiful garter stitch and rib texture, creating a dense, warm fabric that feels amazing – especially with the doubled turnback. I don’t live in Wisconsin, but someone who does tells me that Huddle stands up to the winter cold of Lake Superior!
Even if you’re new to cables, the Huddle Hat is your approachable guide. Its clear construction and doubled trim make the cable knitting process intuitive and enjoyable, allowing you to relax into the rhythm of your stitches.
This hat is a testament to timeless design and thoughtful comfort. With its deep turnback and classic cables, the Huddle Hat is crafted to keep you wonderfully snug and warm, radiating that quiet, understated elegance you love.
If you’re more of a beginner knitter, you’ll master techniques like picking up stitches and cabling with ease, thanks to comprehensive photo and video tutorials. This gradual introduction to new skills builds your confidence, allowing you to feel that powerful sense of “I can do this!”
The Huddle hat is the perfect accessory to complement your handmade wardrobe, ensuring that you’re ready to face any chilly day with a smile.
Tutorials on picking up stitches
Below are two YouTube videos from Jen Arnall-Culliford, with whom I collaborated for Fond, Huddle, and the other designs from the Something to Knit Together Winter collection. Picking up stitches involves working into both vertical strands of the selvedge stitch. The selvedge stitch is the stitch at the very beginning or end of the row. These tutorials show you how it’s done.
Key skill number 2: Symmetrical, or reversed/mirrored shaping, for knitting armholes, shoulders, and necklines of sweaters
Garments knitted flat or in pieces from the bottom up often feature this sweater knitting skill and type of shaping. Armholes and shoulders are typically cast off in steps, with the lower step being at the shoulder bone and the higher step being nearest the neck.
Shoulder and armhole shaping is always offset by one row because you can knit in only one direction. This means that one shoulder will have its stitches cast off on the right side (RS) of the knitting, and the other shoulder will have its stitches cast off on the wrong side (WS) of the knitting. This casting off takes place at the beginning of a row.
Pattern directions for armholes are often given as: “Next row (RS): Cast off 4 (or whichever number) stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows.”
This means: On the RS, cast off 4 stitches. Then work to the end of the row as usual. On the following WS row, cast of 4 stitches. Again, work to the end of the row.
This brings you back to the RS, where the shaping originally began. The remaining shaping will also begin on this RS row.
Shaping knitted shoulders and necklines of sweaters
Shoulders and necklines are slightly different from armholes. This is because stitches are left on hold at the centre front and centre back. These are the lowest points of the neckline, and placing stitches on hold is the only way to create a gap without cutting your knitting.
Creating this gap for the neckline also means that you can work only one side of the neckline at a time. The process involves:
- Knitting partway through a row;
- Slipping the stitches you haven’t yet knitted from the left-hand needle onto a holder for later on;
- Focusing your attention on the stitches already on the right-hand needle.
Pattern instructions will often say something like: “Knit N stitches and turn, leaving remaining stitches on hold.”
How It Works: Placing knitted stitches on hold for sweater neckline shaping
Your next job is to focus on the stitches on the right hand needle. This involves pretending the stitches on hold aren’t there – at least, not for now! The ‘end’ of your row has changed for a few minutes.
The innermost stitches of this slim piece of knitting will be decreased to shape the neckline. The remaining stitches for the shoulder will be cast off once the neckline shaping is complete. These shoulder stitches are usually cast off on the RS of the knitting when you’ve finished knitting the first side of the neckline.
Once that’s done, you go back for the stitches on hold to knit the second and final side of the neckline. Transfer these back to the left-hand needle, so that they’re ready to knit exactly as they were beforehand. If your project has a round neck, a group of stitches will be cast off at the centre of the neckline. If it has a V-neck, there may be one stitch left in the centre for future neckband detail – or maybe none at all. This depends on the design.
You can then shape the second side of the neckline so that it matches the first side, row by row.
Why I love symmetrical shaping in hand knitting – especially for necklines
This mirroring or ‘reversed shaping’ is why symmetrical decreases are so helpful. I love using them! I like to do k2tog and p2tog on the first side of the neck – with k2tog on the RS and p2tog on the WS. These decreases slope to the right, following the profile of the neckline.
For the second side, I use ssk on the RS and ssp for the WS. These decreases slope to the left.
In the photo of the red lace sweater above, I’ve worked these very decreases around the neckline. They’re placed one stitch in from the very edge of the knitting to make the shaping more of a design feature.
The key to shaping the shoulder on the second side of the neckline is that it will be one row higher than the first side. You will need to cast these stitches off on the WS. So the quirk mentioned earlier about armhole shaping / being able to knit in one direction only comes back into play.
Key skill number 3: Sewing seams and setting in sleeves of sweaters
Sewing seams and setting in sleeves are in the final group of skills useful for knitting sweaters and cardigans. There are several garment patterns that don’t feature either of these techniques, but plenty do! If you’ve identified that seams and/or set-in sleeves suit your personal style and body shape, it’s well worth having these skills in the bag.
Just like picking up stitches, you’ll be able to turn your hand to a LOT of the garment patterns available. You’ll also be much more likely to find a design you love wearing that also has a great chance of fitting beautifully. Again, it’s about giving yourself the gift of choice.
Seeing seams as an opportunity to fit your body shape
Seams are also a wonderful way to incorporate tailoring details and nuances of fit that garments knitted in one piece cannot. How important this is to you personally depends (again!) on your style and body shape. The side seams of the Aneeta cardigan below mean anyone who knits it has a good chance of being happy with the fit.
For example, if you need to blend sizes within a pattern – say, the body of one size and the sleeves of another size – according to your personal measurements, it’s easier to do. You can knit each piece, knowing it’s right for you, without having to improvise and work it into one big piece of knitting. This can be difficult if the design isn’t in plain stocking stitch and you don’t want to upset the stitch pattern. Sewing two pieces together at the end can be less intimidating – especially when you’re already confident that the garment will fit. You’re already assured of the reward at the end 🙂
A knitwear designer who loves seams
From a design point of view, I love the fact that handknits with seams give me a chance to create patterns that include and represent as many body shapes as possible. Working in an interdisciplinary way means I can bring in impactful techniques from creative pattern cutting and woven garment construction. This can go beyond sleeves, as you can see with Aneeta, but sleeves with seams are easier to fit in the long run.
This doesn’t just apply to set-in sleeves – it applies to raglan sleeves too. I could have designed the Karin sweater as a top-down seamless project, but I wanted to get the fit right. That involved doing two things: adding short row shaping AND sleeve seams. The short row shaping was MUCH easier to do on a smaller piece of knitting rather than one large piece in the round.
It’s worth it when I get lovely feedback from happy knitters, so I hope you’ll learn to love seams and sewing up if you don’t already 🙂
Karin | Ribbed Sweater Knitting Pattern
Karin is for the knitter who knows that true luxury lies in the fit, and that the most rewarding projects are the ones where your expertise and the design’s logic meet in a perfect seam.
Are you a seasoned knitter who loves the idea of a top-down, seamless raglan, but constantly struggles to get that ideal fit? You’ve mastered the convenience of knitting in the round, yet those beautiful sweaters just don’t seem to drape quite right on your unique body. But what if I told you that the key to unlocking your best-fitting sweater, the one that truly flatters your shape, lies just beyond your comfort zone?
Meet the Karin Sweater, designed specifically to be the answer to your raglan fit problems. The short row shaping darts across the shoulders is a revelation in garment knitting, and create the anatomical fit that seamless patterns lack. See the testimonial below, it’s true! With seamed construction, the benefits for achieving a truly custom fit are undeniable, and I’ve made the process incredibly approachable.
The magic of the Karin Sweater lies in its thoughtful shaping details. Unlike many seamless raglans that offer limited adaptability, the Karin’s construction allows for precise shaping that respects every curve and contour of your body. This means no more baggy underarms, no more unflattering pulls across the bust – just a tailored fit that makes you feel incredible.
The Karin Sweater features an easy, intuitive seed stitch rib pattern that will quickly become second nature, allowing you to relax and enjoy the rhythm of your needles. You’ll be able to knit this beautiful sweater without constant concentration, even while enjoying your favourite TV shows. And the cowl neck variation offers a touch of 20th century glamour to the everyday without sacrificing the leisurely comfort of raglan styling.
Imagine the sheer happiness and pride when you finally slip on your finished Karin Sweater. It’s perfectly shaped, beautifully draped, and feels like it was made just for you – because it was. The generous sleeve length and full cuffs provide a sense of cocoon-like luxury, while the tailored raglan ensures you look effortlessly polished, even on your most casual days.
And that sense of accomplishment from achieving a superior fit? That’s an emotional win that will boost your knitting confidence for every project to come, and remind you exactly why you invested the time and effort into mastering mattress stitched seams. The Karin Sweater is a reminder of how you can feel in your hand knits when you draw from your well of knowledge and experience.
Tutorials for sewing sleeves and seams in hand knitting
This tutorial from Jen Arnall-Culliford demonstrates how to set in sleeves flat. This technique allows you to sew up the side and underarm seams in one go. She does this using the Unite sweater as an example. This is also handy if you want to try pattern matching or need to work with the RS facing you.
So that’s it! There are your three key skills for sweater knitting.
Have these to hand, bookmark all the tutorials if you need them, and your bank of skills will pay dividends in years to come.
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