Crochet guide
How a crochet sweater is put together
A crochet sweater is built in one of three main ways. It is made as flat panels that are sewn together. Or it is worked in one piece from the neck down, with no seams. Or it is worked sideways, from one cuff to the other. This guide explains each way, what makes a cardigan and where a first sweater might start. It is not a pattern.
On this page 10 parts
The ways, side by side
| Way | Pieces | Seams | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat panels | A back, a front and two sleeves | Shoulders, sleeves, sides and underarms | Simple shapes that are worked flat |
| Top down, raglan | One | None | It can be tried on as it grows |
| Top down, round yoke | One | None | The same, with no raglan lines |
| Cuff to cuff | One | Sides and underarms | It is worked flat, with few seams |
Many patterns come with a schematic: a flat drawing of the pieces with their measurements. It shows at a glance which way the sweater is built.
Flat panels, seamed
Many sweaters are made this way. The sweater is worked as separate pieces: a back, a front and two sleeves. The pieces are sewn or crocheted together at the end.
In the simplest version every piece is a plain rectangle. The body has no armhole shaping, so the shoulder seam sits a little way down the arm. This is a drop shoulder sweater. Its shapes are simple, which is why it is often suggested as a first sweater.
A panel can be worked from the hem up, from the top down or from side to side. The way it is worked changes which way the stitches run, not how the pieces go together.
Shaping the armhole
A drop shoulder is loose around the arm. A panel with armhole shaping gives a neater, more tailored fit.
To shape an armhole, the panel is made narrower from the underarm up, with decreases at each side. The top of the sleeve is then given a curve to match the armhole. That curve is the sleeve cap, and a sleeve fitted this way is called a set-in or inset sleeve.
How to crochet sleeves covers the sleeve itself.
Top down: raglan and round yoke
A top-down sweater starts at the neck and is worked in one piece. The first part is the yoke: the part that sits around the neck and shoulders and carries the rest of the sweater. The yoke grows wider with increases as it goes down.
- In a raglan the increases are made at four points. They stack up into four lines that run on a slant from the neck to each underarm.
- In a round yoke the increases are spread evenly around, so there are no lines.
When the yoke reaches the underarms it is divided. A few chains are made under each arm, the stitches for each sleeve are skipped, and the body is worked on down to the hem. Each sleeve is then worked from the stitches that were skipped, down to the cuff.
Nothing is sewn. And the sweater can be tried on while it is being made, so the body and sleeves can be made longer or shorter as you go. The price is counting: the increases have to land in the right places.
The back of the neck can be raised with short rows. Necklines and collars explains why.
Cuff to cuff
A cuff-to-cuff sweater is worked sideways in rows. It starts at one cuff and widens with increases along the first sleeve. The body follows, with the front and back worked apart for a while to leave the neck opening. Then the second sleeve narrows to the other cuff. The finished piece is folded at the shoulders and seamed up each side and along each underarm. The rows run up and down the body, not across it.
It is worked flat and has only two seams, so it is another common first sweater. A sweater whose sleeves and body are one piece like this, with no seam at the armhole, is also called a dolman.
What makes a cardigan
A cardigan is a sweater that is open down the front. Every way above works for one.
- In panels there are two front pieces in place of one.
- In one piece the body can be worked across both fronts and the back as far as the armholes.
- Top down the yoke is worked back and forth in rows, not in joined rounds.
The front edges are then finished with a band, which holds the buttons and the buttonholes. Picking up stitches shows how to work along an edge, and Buttonholes how to make the holes.
The order of seaming
Panels go together in this order:
- The shoulders. The front is seamed to the back across the top of each shoulder, with the neck left open.
- The sleeves. The middle of the top of each sleeve is matched to the shoulder seam, and the sleeve is seamed to the body.
- The sides and underarms. The sweater is folded at the shoulders. Each side is seamed, and each sleeve is seamed along the underarm.
How to join crochet pieces compares the seams, and Mattress stitch makes a flat one. The seams can be skipped at the sleeves: a sleeve can be worked in rounds straight from the armhole.
Cuffs, hem and neckband
The bottom edge, the cuffs and the neck are usually finished with ribbing or a border. There are three ways to add it. The ribbing can be worked first, with the panel worked into its row ends. It can be worked onto the finished edge and joined as it goes. Or it can be made as a separate strip and sewn on.
Choosing one for a first sweater
Two kinds are commonly suggested for a first sweater, for opposite reasons.
- Flat panels or cuff to cuff, if you would sooner sew than count. The pieces are plain shapes worked in rows.
- Top down, if you would sooner count than sew. There are no seams, and the sweater can be tried on at any point.
Either way, a sweater has to fit, so match the pattern's gauge before you start: Crochet gauge shows how.
Where to go next
- How to crochet sleeves, for the ways a sleeve is built and shaped.
- Necklines and collars, for the neck opening and what goes around it.
- Yarn for crochet clothes, for the fiber and the weight.
- How to join crochet pieces, for the seams.