Front bands

[ABC's Mom]

Finally have all the pieces/parts done for the Madison sweater. The question is the pattern directions say to sew the shoulder seams, put the sleeves in, and sew the sleeve and side seams, then knit the front bands to the fronts of the sweater. Can I put the front bands on before doing all that? The collar is knit last so it seems to me that the seams can wait til the front bands are done. Less bulky to work with doing it that way. Am I wrong??

[suzeeq]

Link to the pattern...?

[ABC's Mom]

Link to the pattern...?

It's Madison by Dolce. It's on Ravelry's site, but not sure how to link it to here.

[Rie]

Hi ABC's Mom!
Without a pattern link it's hard for me to speculate, but generally I have an easier time sewing the shoulder, side, and sleeve seams when the pieces are as small and light as possible. It seems to me that adding the front bands first will just add bulk. Why do you feel like you need to do the front bands first?

[ABC's Mom]

Hi ABC's Mom!
Without a pattern link it's hard for me to speculate, but generally I have an easier time sewing the shoulder, side, and sleeve seams when the pieces are as small and light as possible. It seems to me that adding the front bands first will just add bulk. Why do you feel like you need to do the front bands first?

The reason I was thinking of doing the front bands first is the sweater is longer than a normal cardigan and my daughter asked me to make it even a little longer. I was thinking it would be easier without the bulk of the main sweater to deal with.
The sweater is Madison by Dolce. It's on Ravelry, but not sure how to link it to this site.

[GrumpyGramma]

This it? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/madison-7
I just copy the URL and paste it in the reply box.

[ABC's Mom]

This it? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/madison-7
I just copy the URL and paste it in the reply box.

Yep that's it!! Thanks.

[Rie]

The reason I was thinking of doing the front bands first is the sweater is longer than a normal cardigan and my daughter asked me to make it even a little longer. I was thinking it would be easier without the bulk of the main sweater to deal with.

Oh I see! You mean easier to do the front band, not the side seams?!

Yes, I agree with GrumpyGramma. I don't see any reason you can't do that first. Those bands are so small they won't add too much bulk for when you do your other seams anyhow.
Great pattern, by the way!

[salmonmac]

Yes, it's usually easier to add the front bands and neckband with just the seams at the shoulders. Patterns for sweaters are often written in this sequence with the sleeves set in and side seams done last.

[GrumpyGramma]

There is no reason I can think of that knitting the front bands before seaming wouldn't work. They aren't involved in the seaming in any way. Don't go only by what I think, please, wait for others who are more experienced to comment.