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How to Turn a Sweater into a V-Neck

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How to convert a top down sweater pattern to a V-neck.I love V-neck sweaters, though I think I’ve knit more crew necks, a lot of the sweaters I buy are V-necks. Maybe it’s just because the patterns I tend to be drawn toward don’t happen to be V-necks.

The good news is if you want to add a V-neck to a sweater you are knitting, it really isn’t all that difficult to alter the neckline. These instructions from Basix Knitting show you how to turn a top-down crew neck, scoop neck or square neck sweater into a V-neck, which admittedly is a little more complex than altering a bottom up sweater, but is nonetheless doable.

Yes, there is math. No, it’s not scary.

This is also a great way to learn how V-necks work if you should happen to want to design your own sweater, which is always great knowledge to have.

Have you ever converted a neckline to a different style? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Basix Knitting.]

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Comments

  2. There seems to be no actual instructions here, nor a link to the instrutions. Could you please include it? I see one person has already requested this over a year ago, but the instructions are still missing.

Have you read?

Book Review: Circular Knitting for Beginners and Beyond

When I discovered Kate Atherley’s book Circular Knitting for Beginners and Beyond, I wasn’t sure there was enough to say about circular knitting to fill a book. It’s a pretty short book (144 pages) and includes 10 patterns to practice working in the round on small projects, and it provides a decent introduction to the various ways of working in the round. 

The book covers using double pointed knitting needles, flexible double points and circular knitting needles with cables. It talks about working using the full circumference of a circular needle and various ways to work smaller circumference projects, such as using DPNs, magic loop and knitting with two circular knitting needles. 

In addition there’s a discussion of preventing problems like twists and ladders, swatching in the round without actually swatching in the round, grafting, blocking and weaving in ends. 

More specialized techniques likes knitting from the center out, stranded colorwork, helical knitting and jogless stripes are also explored, as well as working pieces like socks or mitts two at a time. 

There’s also some information about seamless sweaters, including the different sweater designs that can be worked seamlessly (and why you might want seams in your sweaters) and how they are worked from the top down or the bottom up. 

There are 10 patterns in the book, including a basic stockinette stitch cowl and one with a deliberate twist, wrist warmers, mitts and a pair of colorwork mittens, a hat worked in a solid color or in helical stripes, toe up and top down socks and a beret. It would have been nice to have a basic sweater pattern, too, since the book does talk about working larger garments with circular needles, but it’s still a nice collection of basic patterns worked in the round. 

If you’re already comfortable working in the round in different ways, I’m not sure there’s much for you to learn in this book, but it is a good reference for people learning circular knitting or who maybe haven’t tried all the techniques yet or need skill building projects to try. 

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 10 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.