Book Review – The Knitter’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters

As a knitter, I have always had a fondness for top-down knitting patterns. These patterns allow you to knit your sweater from the top down, starting with the neck and working your way down to the hem. This method of knitting has many benefits, one of the biggest being that it allows you to try on your sweater as you go, ensuring the perfect fit. It also means you can easily adjust the length of your sweater or sleeves as you knit, and it eliminates the need for seaming at the end.

In “The Knitter’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes and Gauges,” Ann Budd offers instructions for knitting five basic sweater types: circular yoke, raglan, modified-drop shoulder, set-in sleeve, and saddle shoulder. These patterns are offered in multiple sizes and yarn gauges and for a broad age group, making it a great resource for knitters of all skill levels.

The book also includes three diverse patterns from top designers that illustrate some of the many ways that instructions can be used as springboards for creative expression, including color, texture, and shaping variations. For intermediate to advanced knitters, there are personal design touches, detailed charts, clear instructions, and quick tips to expand knitting possibilities and maintain creative originality. Overall, this is a key reference for knitters and a must-have on any knitter’s bookshelf.

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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