Attaching sleeves to a circular body (no raglan)

catownedanna · 05-15-2006, 05:13 AM

So I decided to alter the pattern for my sweater/top as I didn't want to knit it in two parts and sew them together. I've started to knit it on a circular needle.

The original pattern calls for armhole shaping (decreases on 4 RS-rows). If I hadn't changed the pattern, I know how to make the sleeve caps and then sew the sleeves to the body before I close the side seams and the sleeves.

What's the best way to handle the sleeves now when I've changed the pattern to be knit in the round? Is it still managable to knit the sleeves flat and attach them before closing the sleeve seam? Or should I knit the sleeves in the round and attach the "tube" to the body? :thinking:

Any ideas on what the easiest way would be here?

IrishBaby · 05-15-2006, 10:52 AM

What about picking up the stitches around the armhole and knitting the sleeve in the round? It won't work with every sweater, but it's convenient!

My #2 choice would be to knit the sleeve flat and sew it in. Joining two circular pieces of knitting is hard.

Ingrid · 05-15-2006, 12:51 PM

I agree wholeheartedly that if you can pick up the stitches around the armhole and knit down, that's the best. However, if the armhole is shaped and the sleeve cap is supposed to be shaped, it probably won't work as well.

I just did this (knit the body in one piece and closed the shoulders) with a cardigan and I have already seamed the sleeves because I thought it would be easier to insert them. I think either way will work.

nicolethegeek · 05-15-2006, 04:59 PM

I am working on a cardigan for my daughter right now that I've altered to reduce seaming. I knit the two fronts, and the back as one piece, and then followed the instructions for the shaping of the separate pieces. I altered the shoulder a bit so that I could do a three needle bind off. With this pattern, I can't pick up the sleeve stitches and knit down, as it would alter the pattern noticeably. What I will be doing is knitting them in the round to the armpit, and then work back and forth to do the sleeve cap shaping. I will match up the centre stitches under the arm and at the shoulder seam match, and ease the sleeve as I would in "normal" sewing.

Holly · 05-15-2006, 06:31 PM

I'd like to just mention that I am blown away by how you knitting pros can just alter a pattern and figure out what to do with it!!

nicolethegeek · 05-15-2006, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by Holly

I'd like to just mention that I am blown away by how you knitting pros can just alter a pattern and figure out what to do with it!!

Well I certainly wouldn't consider myself a knitting pro... Ingy has helped me out of more knitting jams than I'd care to admit!

My main motivation in altering this pattern was so that there would be the bare minimum of seaming... if there were too many seams, my DD {now a VERY tiny 2} would never fit into it by the time I completed it {a LARGE size 4!!!}

Ingrid · 05-15-2006, 09:01 PM

Once you've constructed a sweater, it's not hard to see how you can do it in such a way to avoid the dreaded seaming!

catownedanna · 05-16-2006, 12:36 PM

Thanks for the feed back!

I like the idea of knitting the sleeves in the round up 'til the sleeve cap starts, but I'm afraid that attaching it to the body might be difficult with two tubey shaped parts.

I haven't thought this one through properly but could I pick up stitches along the armhole (the shaped armhole) and keep them on two needles (one on every side). Knit the middle ten, or whatever number the pattern tells me to BO in the original design, and then transfer the next picked up stitch to be the first stitch on the row, knit and maybe increase stitches and then transfer the next picked up stitch to be the last on the row and so on... Sort of "knit in" the sleeve, row by row.

Did that make any sense?

nicolethegeek · 05-16-2006, 04:11 PM

I'm not sure about the "knitting in", I'll leave that to Ingy or one of our other knitting goddesses here!

As for the sleeve, what I do is have the sleeve inside out, and the sweater right side out, since I will be doing my seaming from the "right side". I use a bunch of those tiny gold safety pins to hold my sleeve in place, and remove them when I'm about a stitch or two away from them. This helps to keep the sleeve and armhold from shifting too much as I seam.

Ingrid · 05-16-2006, 07:44 PM

I haven't knit in a sleeve as you said, so I have no idea how that would look. I generally use short lengths of yarn and tie the sleeve in place at the top and bottom and two or three places along the sides. Then I do a mattress stitch, easing as necessary and the sleeve generally looks pretty good.