A novel idea in knitting is working a sweater from the top down. The funny thing is that in a lot of instances in life you work from the bottom to the top. It’s more preferable to start off as a mail room clerk and work up to CEO than the other way around. Well, sometimes it’s better to start from the top and go down and there are definite advantages to doing so. Consider when shopping for groceries. If you take the item from the bottom of the stack … I don’t have to say anything else. Well, in knitting, not only is it fun, it can be advantageous to start a sweater from the top and work to the bottom. Aside from the fun factor, the biggest advantage is sizing. You are sure to get it right. Since you are knitting from the top down, you can simply try on the sweater at any time to make sure of the fit. You can stop when it is long enough, and if you change your mind later, simply frog it from the bottom and either make it shorter or join new yarn and make it longer!
Another advantage is in changing color. Since you will most likely do this in the round, you can change colors whenever you want to (even every row) and not worry about matching them up when seaming. If you’re working in the round you can also weave in your ends as you go along so there’s very little finishing work to do at the end. Here’s a little tip if you’re making a multi-colored pullover. Since you’re working in the round, you can literally change color every row. A good way to figure out when to change color is by using the Fibonacci sequence. It’s a mathematical relationship between numbers where you get the next number in the sequence from the sum of the previous two. It looks like this: 1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 13 – 21 … you get the idea. As it turns out, patterns using this sequence are esthetically pleasing to they eye and you can find occurrences of this in nature. If you think about the petals on a flower, you will realize that most often they are a number in the sequence – which is why a four leaf clover is so rare! Pine cones , and pineapples also show the sequence in their layout and a sunflower has opposing spirals of seeds exhibiting the sequence! Try it in your color arrangements and you will be amazed at how good it looks.
Boo! Eeeek!
The really cool thing about working from the top down though is that it’s really fun. You see your work grow in a different way that’s exciting to watch. You can also try it on as you go and make goofy faces as Rebecca is doing in this picture. scaring her sister Jenn. As you can see we have too much fun at work! Now of course there’s a reason I’m talking about knitting a sweater from the top down – it’s because I’m doing one . Remember the sweater I made for Mike called Adam’s Rib? Well, I liked it so much that I’m doing one for myself in three colors. I thought I would do it top down though and show you the progress as I go along. I decided to start the neck with 4 double-pointed needles instead of a circular just for fun. After a few rows I switch to circulars and continue the work. Its a great way to make a raglan-styled sweater. You cold easily make it into a cardigan either by going back and forth or by doing it in the round and leaving room for steeks – a lesson for another day. I’m also using the Fibonacci sequence in a different way. I’m knitting the first 5 inches in one color, the next 8, in another, and then 13 in the final color. I’ll do the entire sweater in the round and post an update when it’s done.
Hugzzz 😎