Tips for Making a Neckline that Works for You

Knitwear designers do the best they can to make garments that work for everyone, but sometimes the neckline of a sweater just doesn’t work out when knit as the pattern states. It could be that your cast on or bind off is too loose or too tight, or maybe you just want to knit a different kind of ribbing or otherwise make it your own.

Tin Can Knits has some great tips for fixing necklines that don’t work for you. The blog post notes that when you’re knitting an ever-popular top-down sweater, all the weight of the sweater is being supported by the cast on, and sometimes you just need more structure than that. It’s a relatively easy fix, especially if you plan ahead for the possibility when you start knitting.

Check out their blog for all the tips and details to make your best sweater neckline!

[Photo: Tin Can Knits.] Looking for sweater patterns? Check these books out.

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If you’re looking for a sweater knitting pattern that uses up some of your stash and allows you to make just the sweater you want, the Marlina Rib by Shay Johson might be just the thing.

It’s worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight gauge, so you can use the same two yarns throughout or change one or both regularly for an even more colorful look.

The pattern has options to make it either a crewneck or a henley style with buttons, tapered or relaxed sleeves, and a straight hemline or a split hem with buttons (which sounds so cute if you do the henley with split hem and match the buttons on both parts).

It’s also knit from the top down so you can make the body and the sleeves as long as you want. There are 10 sizes available in the pattern, with a chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 81.5 to 172.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 4-6 inches/10-15 cm of positive ease at the chest.

The pattern page on Ravelry includes tons of measurements and yardage estimates so you can make sure you’ll get a good fit for your body before you even buy the pattern. Shay also shows a few variations of the sweater so you can see how different options look before you decide how you want to put them together.

The stitch pattern is 1×2 ribbing, which is really easy to do and gives a look almost like fisherman’s rib that’s relaxed and easy to wear.

This sweater looks like a great option for people who are somewhat new to sweater knitting or those who love to have lots of customization options (because it’s like getting multiple sweater patterns in one!).

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself at Ravelry.

[Photo: Shay Johnson]

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