An Approach to Seaming a Seamless Sweater

I’m kind of conflicted when it comes to seams and sweaters. I understand logically that seams are important. They bring stability to a piece, can help it hold its shape through washing and wearing, and can be used to add a decorative element to a piece of knitting.

But I also understand that seaming is not a lot of fun. So I tend to limit the number of seams in my projects, for instance by knitting the body from the bottom up, seaming the shoulders and then working the sleeve from the top down.

Audrey Knight is working through an idea to make a seamless project more stable, and I’m really interested to see how it turns out. So far she’s talked about casting on for a top-down sweater in the middle of the neckline so that, like a bottom up or pieced sweater, there’s a bound off (well, cast on, here) edge where stitches are picked up and knit from to finish the neckline.

It’s a really interesting concept and it certainly should add more stability to the neckline.

I look forward to seeing how it all turns out!

What do you think about seams in sweaters? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via AudKnits.]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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