Hand knitting a sweater is quite a project to undertake, and most of us wantto be pretty certain that we will end up with something we like... A sweaterthat fits and is attractive. That is why it is good to take some time beforestarting, to prepare for the project.The most important detail of any knit garment is the fiber. You would never want to hand knit a light summer sweater out of thick scratchy wool. And you would want to hand knit a rugged, every day sweater to be made out of something durable and easy to clean. But most important of all . . . your yarn has to be nice to touch, smell and feel. After all, you are going to be handling it for hours and hours while you knit, and everybody wants their knitting experience to be pleasant, don't they?
Sweaters Knit from the Top Down:
One of ways to hand knit a sweater is from the top down. And the easiest way to hand knit a sweater from the top down is to start with a simple collar and then increase to shape the shoulders with an even increase that creates a raglan sleeve. Once you hand knit this type of sweater you'll be hooked forever! It's all in one piece knit and there are no seams to sew up when you are done.
Saddle Shoulder Sweater Knitting Patterns
One of the coolest things around to hand knit is the Saddle Shoulder Sweater. This sweater has a strip of knitting right down the shoulder to the sleeve. It really fits great! Starting a Saddle Shoulder at the top is real easy to do. This is a great project for the creative knitter. If you have any curiosity about how to create knitting shapes you have to try this pattern! You can really do practically anything with hand knitting.
Sweaters Knit from the Bottom Up
There are a million ways to hand knit a sweater from the bottom up! But that doesn't mean you have to knit them in pieces like in most of the books you find them knitted in pieces and then sewn together.
One thing you should really try is the saddle shoulder versions knit from the bottom up. What that means is that the hand knit sweater isn't shaped all the way to the very top. Instead, you stop about the collar bone, knit the sleeve, and then join it all together with a lively knitted band. Very fun to do! And the shape will fit nicely too.
Hand knitting is such a wonderful art. Though knitting a sweater in a knitting machine is much more convenient than knitting with your hands but when people appreciate the effort and the time you had put in to knit that sweater, you know that everything was worth it. Only a knitter can tell you the difference she feels, when the sweater is done by hands than when it is done by knitting machines. Hand knitting is an experience in itself! You gotta do it to believe it.
