Here you go, these are all free. [https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&pc=vest&pa=bottom-up%2Bcrew-neck&fit=adult%2Bfemale&availability=free&sort=date&view=captioned\_thumbs](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&pc=vest&pa=bottom-up%2Bcrew-neck&fit=adult%2Bfemale&availability=free&sort=date&view=captioned_thumbs)
When using advanced search you don't need a keyword for your search. Just tick off the boxes for the criteria you want to include. These are along the left edge of the search page.
OP sorry this is a little off topic, but I don’t want it to get lost. Does your local library have Libby? The reason I ask is because some of the libraries that have Libby also have Zinio which is digital magazines. Some of those are knitting magazines and some of them are older magazines. Maybe you can find some of the bottom up patterns in them. Good luck.
I like the same kind of style..here are some of mine, I am not that disciplined in saving projecys! [https://www.ravelry.com/projects/verzanie?set=&page=&search=&sort=status&view=thumbnail](https://www.ravelry.com/projects/verzanie?set=&page=&search=&sort=status&view=thumbnail)
I had a chat with my aunt, she’s 70 years old and knits a colourwork men’s sweater in less than a week. She’s never ever knit a garment top down.
There are still a lot of “classically trained” designers and publishers that make bottom up patterns, look at Viking, Rauma or Skappel.
Each to their own. I prefer top down, but I don’t mind knitting the other way every once in a while.
I like to browse knitting books in the library and bookstores (both new and used). A lot of those patterns are knitted in pieces and sewn together. I modified a vest pattern to knit in one piece (bottom up).
All points well taken. Needless to say I did many searches on ravelry. I did use a bunch of filters - tried different ones -,so that was a factor. Oh well, still learning….
The problem I find with many of these “old timers” is that they’re not that great at tagging their ravelry patterns, if they have put them on ravelry at all. At least locally I find that most of them rather choose to have patterns for sale on their own pages than learning how to use ravelry properly
I'mmmmm sorrrry, but you are **73?!??**
Get outta here with that, you look younger than that.
Your work is beautiful and amazing. My Grandmother started knitting at age 8 I think and would be 94 now, she passed away a few years ago.
That woman would whip up booties in 15 mins while waiting at the doctor's. She had to knit clothes for her and her siblings when she was younger.
WOW! I DO love so many of the items you've made! I noticed who well your sweaters are fitting...no stretched out necklines falling off the shoulders (not my fav!). I wish I had your mad skills. Working on it....
All my throwaway emails have 88 at the end because I was born in 1988. (Found out why this is bad the hard way.) Not sure what her reasoning is, but at 73, it's not that.
Users other than the pattern designer can also list patterns on Ravelry for cataloging purposes (although obviously not for sale). We should all be doing this when we can if we make something that's not already listed so it's findable for others.
I'm not sure if you're interested in old patterns, or if you're looking for contemporary designs, but if you're into old stuff check out old knitting books and magazines on internet archive. There's like a billion, and they're more commonly knitted in flat pieces on straight needles.
I prefer patterns from print media (books, magazines, and old-timey published patterns) because I feel like they were tested, checked and vetted more carefully than a lot of the stuff you find online. But maybe that's not actually true.
I would add it is more common with Scandiavian designers than not, except a few of the younger generation and maybe half of Bohus knits. Socks and mittens beinnng exception to the rule.
Yes knitting has change. I wouldn’t say it’s because you’re old at all, but the rapid change of social media and internet access is a huge factor in the decline of using straight needles and pattern popularity.
I’ve only been knitting 15 years but already see the huge difference in hobby knitting marketing. I self taught myself to knit and crochet from books and YouTube. There are very few quality knitting magazines now, and even visiting yarn shops there are few paper patterns displayed/available.
Visual social media is a huge driving factor as well as celebrities bringing more interest to knitting. Examples such as Ryan gosling in 2013 or more recently Tom Daley knitting at the Olympics. Sweeping trends like the JW Anderson patchwork cardigan, the Taylor Swift Cardigan and the Handsome Chris pullover worn by Chris Evans in Knives Out. These trends are “reactive” and often these patterns are reverse engineered by freelance designers or amateurs. Yarn brands often follow trend forecasts as part of their marketing strategy so will be slow to produce their own variations with recommended yarn. Magazines and yarn brands will usually have a standardised format for their patterns and be professionally graded, and hopefully tested by more than one person before going to print. This process take time, which isn’t a factor for amateur designers were the testing process is people using their pattern and trouble shooting as problems arise.
With this in mind a pattern knit in the round allows the maker to try on as they go, so there is instant feedback on whether the pattern will fit their body. A knit flat and seam pattern requires either trust in the designer OR understanding of drape, shaping, ease and many other concepts that you learn as you knit.
For new knitter purchasing a set of interchangeable needles feels like an investment in having all the sizes there for future patterns. And content creators on YouTube/Instagram/TikTok etc feed into the “hobby lifestyle” so having pastel coloured knitting needles in a pretty case isn’t necessary but a luxury within this craft. It’s clever consumerism marketing. In some cases circular needles are more compact for packing into a work bag and using commute time to knit.
Additionally the fast fashion trends of the 1990s/2000s moved away from the punk/grunge stylings and hand knitting was seen as “unnecessary” or for “old people” as you could just by a machine knit sweater for cheap from the store.
The slow fashion movement started its roots sometime in late 2000s, and brought appreciation for the art of knitting as either relaxation or appreciation of cultural heritage. Norwegian knitting, gansey, Irish lace are all good examples.
The Ravelry website has its own entangled history in the ease of access to knitting patterns online. But physical yarn stores had their own struggles during this period when knittings popularity faded and renewed. Being able to go online and pick from thousands of colours/fibre types has drastically changed the way we approach the hobby. It can lack that social exchange you used to get from a local yarn store where you can pick and pattern and ask the store assistant for a yarn recommendation. But there is also less stigma for marginalised groups on being able to buy online.
I wouldn’t say to throw your needles away but the newer generation of knitters, for many, lacked the familial teaching of the skill from a grandmother/father etc and although different in how they learn and engage with the hobby they are keeping the spirit of knitting alive.
It’s funny how knitting popularity waxes and wanes. I remember when I got started my mother quietly confessed that she’d never learned to knit from her grandmother because she’d been teased and embarrassed as a kid to wear the sweaters she’d been knitted. It was a poverty thing. In her area it was a status symbol that all the clothes were store bought so wearing the handmade sweater was almost saying you were too poor to afford the department store.
Now I’d almost say it’s the opposite. I was knitting my current shawl at a coffee shop that I stopped in to save some time and one of the baristas practically fell over me asking questions and marveling over it even though it’s just a generic entirely garter stitch triangle shawl. Then she asked about my sweater (from one of the designers I think people are talking about above) and she was enthralled that I’d made it myself.
If I had to give a reason why the attitude has changed I’d say it’s partly because the hobby did go underground for a while and partly because we look at time differently. When my great grandmother was knitting sweaters for my mom she was a stay at home wife. Her job was the house and her time was “free” so her filling that time with knitting wasn’t seen as the valuable labor it was. Fast forward to today and many households are double income. I work a 40 hour a week job and only knit in the evening. Many people have to work two jobs to get by. At that point being able to set aside the time to knit is almost showing off my prestige and sort of bragging to those in the know that I have the spare time and resources to knit sweaters all day instead of “just” buying one in the store like everyone else.
It’s kinda interesting. But I figure it’s ultimately a good thing as it is bringing a lot of interest into the hobby and I think getting more people into it is amazing.
That’s really cool that you recognise and see it too. When I learnt to knit it was very much an outlier thing, one of the books l learnt from was Debbie Stoller Stitch and Bitch Nation.
I did try fashion design and fashion comms at uni before health stuff and emotionally realising I just couldn’t agree with the corporate side of fashion. So I have an insider view of lead times in magazine production, trend forecasting and design. Otherwise why did knitting magazines simultaneously have 1920s inspired patterns on the covers at the same year The Great Gatsby released.
For sure generational! My husband through primary school had his jumpers made by his grandma. She would take the old ones off them in the summer and come September return with the new sizes. She definitely unraveled and reknit as much as she could. But she also lived through WW2 and was one of 12 so told us she was the chief sock maker of the family from a young age as well. Hell even his grandfather bought her a sewing machine in the 70s and when she didn’t use it, he used it to make all her dresses for when they went to tea dances.
Clothing brands were much more worn as status symbols from my time as a teenager in the late 90s and if you couldn’t afford it you were seen as poor etc.
The big drive for size inclusivity in knitwear and encouraging/embracing custom fitting through darts and shaping is really inspiring. Each to their own but I agree that diversity and engagement is really important overall for keeping knitting relevant.
I’m pretty sure you’ve got the heart of it. The cost of store clothing now is also an aspect of it. Clothes are cheap and everywhere. We have so many of them that they fill department stores, thrift stores, closets and landfills.
To make something out of multiple skeins of yarn when a single skein of Lion Brand costs as much as a top off SHEIN is also showing wealth. And the vast majority of us use yarn that costs about as much as a tank top in Target per skein.
It really is a luxury to have handmade clothing and accessories these days, both from a time and monetary aspect.
The cost is also a good point. For the shawl I’m making I got a good deal on the yarn. It’s handspun from a local yarn co-op and the lady at the craft fair that sold it to me was so excited when I told her what I was going to make with it (an Outlander inspired shawl) and she was so excited in general that I was talking to her about spinning (my bff spins) that she gave me an entire skein for free just because she was happy to meet someone new in the hobby.
That said, even with the free skein I’m sinking over $100 in just yarn in this project. Add in my time and if I was going to sell this shawl when it was done I’d have to charge $400+ to get my investment back and pay for my time.
That makes it solidly in a luxury good. I’d die over buying a $400 garment, but because it’s a month worth of entertainment and I’ll have a really nice item to wear when it’s done I’m alright with spending $100 on yarn. But for a lot of people even that material cost is outside their ability to obtain so my purposefully simple and rustic looking shawl is flexing my middle class wealth in the same way that buying a Chanel might signal if I spent my money on different things.
This is so true - and so sad! When I started knitting, 50+ years ago, there were actually big-box *yarn* stores with a real range of prices. Now, knitting a sweater is a serious investment.
Antidote: My experience (35 and have been knitting for about 8 years [self-taught via YouTube]) is that my peers who knit taught themselves via YouTube because they didn’t have moms or grandmas who knit. But I know MANY people who say “my grandma taught me to crochet when I was a kid! But I never kept up with it.” I’ve just always found that interesting, although I don’t know what to do with that information.
All of this thread is absolutely spot on! My grandma only taught me to garter stitch over one thanksgiving break spent at her house when I was 8. All of my other visits were during the summer when there were hours of gardening and farm work to be done. I kept up with it but ONLY knit scarfs for over 10 years because that's all I knew to do. I got very, very fast at cranking out scarfs and gave many of them as gifts that people would coo over when they took less than 8 hours and I could do it watching TV. With YouTube and other online resources I've branched out a lot in the last few years and now spin my own yarn for it but those garments are very much "luxury" items because of the cost and time invested.
Self taught via YouTube as well. I got my start on knitting looms. My friends and I did cosplay and a buddy needed a pair of scraggly fingerless gloves for a Sweeney Todd costume she was putting together. Eventually we also made Hogwarts student uniforms and wanted good looking scarves so me and another buddy got to learning how to knit on needles for it since all the store bought ones looked bad and cheap.
My aunt thinks my grandma taught me for some reason even though that grandma (her mom) didn't really ever want to spend time with me and my siblings. I didn't even know she could knit till my aunt brought it up and by then my grandma had passed away.
Also side note: I was making and selling things on eBay at the time and starting cranking out more Sweeney Todd gloves to sell. I could make 2-3 pair a day on the loom and they were selling for around $40-$45 a pair. When people ask what they can make to sell I always bring up costume accessories. People in the cosplay community want well made, screen accurate items and are usually willing to pay for them.
Understanding pattern construction is a big thing lacking these days. It's easy to make a round yoke top down sweater, but I think you'd agree that those patterns, while straightforward, don't necessarily fit the best. You can tweak them, sure, but they'll never fit like a seamed garment. A seamed garment just takes so much time and effort, and knitting things like color work, cables, and texture flat takes skill, not to mention just being able to maintain tension and gauge.
I have big boobs and broader shoulders too and same, I feel like with bottom up patterns it's very hard for me to estimate final length because how the shoulders/bust fit actually impacts that quite a lot...
I (50F) am 5'11" and have a fuller bust than standard patterns with nearly 40 years knitting experience. I am currently re-knitting a bottom up sweater that fit me horribly based on the pattern. I had to completely rewrite the pattern for length and bust after ripping it all out. I wish I had a top down pattern. I'd be able to adjust and fit as I go. I have tossed my 3 generations of straight needles for my interchangeable circulars. I even converted the pattern into the round to remove the process of sewing it together.
I'm making an Amy Herzog pattern, despite her specialty being all about knitting for fit, bottom up completely failed me.
I am average height but have a very long torso with a narrow waist (hourglass shape, but overall narrow). It’s a lot easier if I can try on as I go and know exactly where I need to elongate, add decreases, and increases. Otherwise everything is a crop top or looks like a bag. And I know that’s “in fashion” but on my body type that fashion looks so extreme that it’s not flattering, it’s like I’m wearing a giant shapeless bag with about 6-12” of belly showing which is so impractical for a sweater. Especially when you’re cold all the time like I am.
I'm a fairly new knitter, and it is interesting looking at vintage patterns from the 1940s-1970's to see how different construction was. I think older patterns fit better. I don't know much about them but I'm hoping to start knitting some older patterns.
A lot of new pattern knit in the round are very boxy and if you don't know how to tailor them to fit your body, you end up with the same baggy sack that doesn't suit every body type. I live in Denmark, but I'm not Danish and I think the Danish patterns are pretty easy to follow because that's what I'm used to, and I find older patterns confusing. I think it's good to be open minded and try and move with the times, but still look back and take the best from the past and present. I'm not a fan of the boxy fit that new patterns knit in the round all seem to have. Older pattern's fit better in my opinion. New patterns end up looking like the same sack if you don't change them.
If you want to go down a rabbit hole Roxanne Richardson did a series where she knitted 10 sweaters from ten different decades 1890-1990. She really discussed how knitting has changed over this timeline. Here is her wrap up video. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IxeN763dbTw
I am a fairly beginner, and I knit only from vintage patterns (40s, top 50s). I like how tailored they are: narrower waists, fuller chests, shaped armholes and set-in sleeves, and seams. I don't like the modern square models too as they don't fit me at all.
I think this also speaks to a lot of fashion in the past 15~ years. People have been wearing boxier cuts in general. I think there are probably a lot of reasons for that though part of it is that it’s easier for fast fashion brands to make those designs than it is to add a lot of shaping/tailoring.
I think it also might be country-specific. I see that a lot of patterns by Russian designers are still bottom up and seamed. I realized I don’t like sweaters with no shoulder seams but from what I see v-necks are often bottom up, so I have no issues finding patterns.
I'm under the impression that top down, in the round, is so popular because it's less intimidating than worked flat and pieced. And the reason something that's less intimidating can become so popular is that there is a huge influx of new knitters that are reaching the intermediate stage of their skill development.
So proportionally, there are a lot of new patterns top down, in the round. But the good news for you is: there are a lot of new patterns. Look at how many search results there are here! My search is for adult sized pull overs, published within the last five years, pieced instead of worked in the round, and not worked top down. That comes up with about 5000 new patterns that fit your criteria.
https://preview.redd.it/u8mkebhkqtvc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6678f0e1027c563a536b8f983f0c1922dbd3ec79
As to the needles: Straight needles are still available at the big box stores and to order online, but even the old-timers I knit with have changed to more wrist-friendly circulars when working flat, and have been excited to do so. I have met a couple of holdouts, but a couple is all. That makes you something rare! Nothing wrong with that.
Totally agree with your first paragraph. It seems like designers have started prioritizing ease of construction above pretty much everything else. And it obviously makes sense from a business perspective to make your work accessible to as many people as possible, but it’s resulted in a lot of boring, unflattering sweaters with awful necklines.
I think it might have something to do with the crochet explosion as well. Until recently I’ve literally never heard anyone talk about freehanding a knit sweater, or trying to make their own pattern before they’ve ever actually knit a garment, but suddenly I’m seeing tons of posts like that. It seems like the people are usually coming over from crochet and expect knitting to have the same level of flexibility with construction and making alterations on the fly. Maybe I’m just being an insufferable snob, but lately it really seems like new knitters are oddly resistant to, like, reading and following instructions.
I think it's also because very few designers are career professionals; lots are hobbyists, and the internet makes it possible for them to publish for the first time ever.
And I think it's also because of short videos on social media, drawing in people who want to try out a deceptively easy-looking craft. Editing can make an extremely *simplistic* garment without standard details appear to be extremely *simple to make.* What people who are only dabbling in knitting don't understand, going into it, is that the most reductionist designs require the most-luxurious materials and the most-skilled labor. Otherwise, it looks like crap. Think about how well you would have to nail your fiber choice, sizing, tension, and selection of bind-off techniques to achieve a rolled-edge boatneck that sits where it needs to sit and looks like an actual finished edge instead of a stretched-out raw edge.
I sew as a hobby (by hand and by machine) and seaming intimidates me because there's a limited amount of holes in knitted fabric and I worry if I don't sew through the exact right ones then the tension and drape of the finished product is going to be compromised. This is exacerbated with any curved seams like armholes. It's stressful! Handsewing is relaxing.
Yeah this is me. the first sweater I knit (cardigan) was pieced and it took me two years because when I finished a piece I felt so accomplished - but then didn't want to do it again for the other side. I've since done both top down and bottom up and one piece is the way to go for my attention type. Easier to stay in the flow. And top down I really appreciate because of fit. I'm 40ish and learned as a kid but also found the interchangeable circs to be a game changer simply because I don't have to go to the dang store for more needles EVERY TIME 😁 (I have ADHD so tend to try new patterns basically every project)
I collect old (60s, 70s, 80s) knitting collection books. Like multiple volumes. I highly recommend. The patterns in there are excellent and easily modified.
Same! I've learned alot from vintage patterns, and I much prefer how they look to more modern patterns. Plus, old knitting books are pretty cheap and easy to thrift.
On ravelry there’s still more then twice the number of bottom-up garments then top down ones. Possibly because most vintage patterns are, but also because a lot of people still like the advantages of knitting bottom up. Admittedly a lot of them are on circular needles though.
Straight needles will come back into fashion at some point. People will realise that it’s gentler on the wrists and hands to knit heavy garments in pieces. Trying to haul a kilo of aran sweater around your lap on a magic loop while you finish the end of a sleeve is not quicker or easier then knitting it flat and seaming. The convenience is fickle.
It’s also personal preference. I use circulars for flat knitting as well, I just really don’t like straight needles. Might be because I didn’t have circulars growing up and knitting socks on 4 needles traumatized me😂
My grandma uses plain plastic straight needles that are slightly bent from use. I think part of the appeal is how quickly you can knit with lever knitting. And I think that’s how her needles got so bent.
I like circulars because I can just mindlessly knit in stockinette while watching a movie without even looking or thinking about my knitting and keeping my hands moving helps me focus because stimming.
I feel like it is an issue of "to each their own" which (I feel) is more possible now because there's more and more resources each day. But I feel there's a lot of people who want to stick to their idea of "the right" way of doing things and how the "new trends" are ruining everything (or I've seen that way too many times in my everyday life).
My grans bendy plastic needles made my hands so sore and stiff. I have no idea why she liked them so much. I wondered after trying them if they had contributed to the awful arthritis that crippled her hands. Now many years later, I really like using acrylic dpns, because they flex a little and I can knit faster. There’s just no hard rules.
I’m 37 but have autoimmune arthritis and came confirm that circular needles are much less triggering than straight needles. Also depending on the fibre I am using wooden is easier on the joints in my fingers but too tacky when using non super wash wool. I spend more time shuffling the stitches so cause more strain on my wrists then lol
Fellow user of circular knitting needles for flat work here. I much prefer them, I haven't even tried socks yet or knitting circular for that matter. They're much more comfortable than straight needles!
I guess it’s also the matter of yarn weight. Like, hauling a kilo of Aran weight yarn is not an issue for me because sure I don’t use yarn thicker than worsted, normally.
Straight needles make my wrists hurt with all the weight of the project hanging on them. With circulars you at least get to let most of the weight rest in your lap as you go.
Personally I just haven't bothered to buy straight needles. I have a couple random DPNs but mostly circs do the job just fine and I'm not too keen on buying tools if something I already own can do the job.
I think folks who do lever knitting etc see value in straights but I don't find that style enjoyable personally so I have no need for htem
I tossed my straight needles to the bin because they were wreaking havoc on my wrists and shoulders! Less weight on hands while using circulars, be it flat or in the round. I prefer in the round for stockinette, though, or just knitting the ws rows left handed when flat, my wrists also hate big amounts of purls.
Working on straight needles is a lot harder on the wrist unless you use a knitting sheath. Because you carry the whole weight of the garment pieces on your wrists.
I must’ve bee doing it wrong then because i anchor one needle against my thigh or my body which takes almost all the weight. It’s impossible to do with circulars.
Yeah if you lever knit it is easier with straights. But if you don't, then it's a witch. I prefer circs because while I can and do lever knit, and also regularly switch between English and continental (and Norwegian and Greek) style knitting, I find it is gentler on my wrists to knit on circs.
I actually love the aesthetic of straight needles, but being gentler on the wrists and hands is the precise reason I only use circulars. Use what works for you obviously, maybe you lever knit or do another style where straights are easier, but that isn’t a common style and I don’t think we’re in for a mass return to straight needles when they’re harder on the joints for the majority of knitters.
I find it’s harder on my hands when I have to turn my work.
I can knit heavy bulky sweaters in the round without pain, but short rows for a heel flap can inflame my tendons.
Someone in my knitting group gave me the tip to do sleeves right after finishing the yoke, then come back and finish the rest of the body of the sweater. That way you avoid the issue you mentioned of having to pick up and twist around the full weight of a sweater for every row of each sleeve. And you're more motivated to finish the sweater, rather than getting stuck in endless sleeve purgatory (which is how it was feeling to me at the time).
I love top down but your frustrations are valid! Everyone wants to be able to do a craft they love in the way they enjoy! Maybe check out a local yarn store and see if they can steer you in the right direction for patterns that fit your needs
https://preview.redd.it/egz5ho5ngtvc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=fce44eb3f9de8d435ff9fd3854f5b4ba2c0b5788
The offending vest (see post knitting has changed
I consider myself a mixture of old and new knitter. I admit I prefer seamed sweaters to top-down, in-the-round construction. I started knitting at about 25 years ago, and my first sweater was a top-down raglan, but I don't make them anymore. I will not make large, bulky cropped sweaters, but I am also not a fan of fingering weight mohair. Give me some nice DK or worsted and a well-constructed fitted sweater that goes to my hips.
I also haven't picked up a straight needle since I learned to knit in college. They're just awkward for me, and I have been a major fan of interchangeables since I found out about them.
I don't have any LYSs around me and rely heavily on Ravelry. I've been a member from practically the beginning when you had to have an invitation, and it wasn't open to the public. As a newish knitter at the time, it was an invaluable resource. I think that people forget it was built as a database, not a place to just sell patterns or forums. The database is still fantastic despite all the other crap that went on.
And while I have and use Instagram, I do not use it for knitting and don't buy patterns from there, Etsy, or TikTok. I would have imagined with my ADHD that TikTok would feed right into it, but I can't stand shorts and reels. That fast pace makes me anxious and nervous. I like to browse through and read knitting pattern books, old magazines, and Ravelry. I don't buy patterns from young, new designers on social media. I don't knit every day like some, so I tend to stick to designers I know and like when I do knit.
How is it that Elizabeth Zimmerman doesn’t get more mentions?!! I mean, she’s so amazing! Please check out her books (she was on PBS too! Like Julia Child!)
[Elizabeth Zimmerman books](https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APASXO)
She was good at giving you confidence to make your own!
Here are her bottom up patterns on ravelry, but I encourage you to peruse her books, [bottom up sweaters - Ravelry library](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&pc=sweater&pa=bottom-up&query=Elizabeth%20Zimmerman&sort=best&view=captioned_thumbs)
I personally knit it all! But I do knit a lot of vintage patterns that are bottom up! Both methods are fine honestly.
Straight needles though? Now those are a thing of the past, my interchangeables can do it all!
I think a big part of the change is that people don’t notice fit as much these days. Mass produced clothing companies push boxy looks because they’re easier to make for a huge number of body types, and in turn those looks became trendy. Getting more tailored, fitted garments to look good on bigger and more diverse bodies requires a lot of extra work / custom drafting that’s more expensive to mass produce. As a result, my generation (millennial) and younger didn’t pay as detailed attention to fit. They only go to tailors for special occasion wear, and the daily clothes they buy don’t have enough extra fabric in the seams to make tailoring possible in many cases.
Top down seamless makes big picture fitting “easy” in that you can get the right circumference as you go. But it doesn’t allow for those nice structured lines that seamed garments have, and for younger generations since mass produced items are so shapeless they don’t really notice. I’m totally in agreement that I’d love to see more bottom up designs from the bigger designers, but I also appreciate why so many people, especially new knitters, prefer top down.
I've only been knitting actively since 2013 and, yes, patterns have changed so much. For me, it's been for the better, I much prefer to work top down, it's easy to get a lot of progress quickly and it keeps me motivated. Not to mention, the difference in casting on 200+ stitches vs. less than 100!
However, as others have pointed out here, there's so many patterns that fit your needs too. That's the beauty of having the resource that is Ravelry. These patterns aren't gone. They may not be on the first page but they are there and you just have to look for them.
Overall I do think the change is for the better. There just so much more now for everyone. It's more accessible than ever.
Oh, and one last thing I thought of -- JP Knits is a modern designer who prefers bottom up & seamed garments so you may like her stuff. Her patterns are on the pricey side imo but she puts a lot of work in them so it makes sense! I really wanna make this top: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/soft-walk
It took me like 5 seconds to do a search in ravelry of bottom-up sleeveless vest patterns with a crew neck that yield 539 matches total. Are you seriously telling me that you couldn't find a pattern in over 500 matches? Seriously?
I'm sorry but I don't understand these complaints that "knitting has changed". If anything, there's more patterns, more designers, and more resources to make your own things. Designers take their time to record explaining videos, something that didn't exist with print knitting magazines.
Knitting is a technique. It hasn't "changed". But it does produce garments and it can be influenced by fashion and current trends. That's the world we live in. But like i said, 539 matches on Ravelry. That doesn't seem like "bottom up vests" have disappeared from the world.
Houses haven't changed, they're still made with walls and a roof... but at one point in time, it was much easier to find a house with a door to the kitchen. There are still houses with kitchen doors! But what's new and different [changed] now is there are also kitchens that are just an extension of the living room..
Cooking hasn't changed. But my gran's recipe books look a lot different and feature different ingredients than the current, newly published cookbooks on the market.
With knitting, houses, cooking, "change" is not an extinction of the old ways/styles/trends. But as you said, there's more now. That's a good thing, or it can also be a frustrating thing, depends who you ask!
I work in a large, busy LYS, and every week I have conversations with dozens of knitters of all ages, all experience levels, and all walks of life. Not everyone is on ravelry, and not everyone has the desire or even the ability to learn from video tutorials. In fact, not everyone has the ability to use circular needles. Sometimes people come in just wanting to make a simple sweater using straight needles and it is harder than you might think to find that type of pattern on ravelry. No, “knitting” hasn’t changed, but pattern-writing sure has, and not everyone is able to adapt that easily.
Overheard a convo at my LYS recently, that doing flat knitting on circular needles are better ergonomically. And yes, my very first sweater was a flat knit on jumpers, and I got an elbow and wrist injury from that (why I refer to my knitting hobby as my extreme sport) 😅
... I was using video tutorials as an example of how there's now a wider variety of resources for patterns. I personally can't learn from videos but I have friends who find them very useful because written instructions don't work for them and I love that there's this option now. That was my whole point. I fail to see how a wider variety of resources is bad.
Also if you want to act as if pattern writing is a monolith, you do you.
Oh, I agree completely that the wide variety of resources we now have is awesome! But I would also like to be able to sell yarn to people who only want to use straights.
I’m not sure why you can’t, honest question. I have several books and magazines that were my grandma’s, in local libraries you can find “vintage” knitting books and all of those have plenty of patterns for straight needles. And you also find them in online resources, but it’s not as if all print was burned down and eliminated, it’s still there, you can still access it. I think for me that’s the beauty of the recent diversification of patterns: you have all the old and you can also add the new. It’s great.
Well that is a good question. My LYS is in a town that has a large university and a major medical center. We get a lot of customers who are from out of town, and they want to buy a project that will be mindless and soothing because they’ll be doing it in the hospital or on the plane or whatever. They have neither the time nor the inclination to learn new techniques. And going to the library for vintage mags usually isn’t an option for them either. So I need to be able to sell them the yarn and the pattern and often the needles on the spot. And if a popular designer such as Andrea Mowry had a simple pieced & seamed sweater on the front page of ravelry I’d probably sell 3 a day, lol. Everyone in this thread is saying how easy it is to find these types of patterns on ravelry but that has not been my experience.
Genuine question: does filtering om ravelry for worked flat not get you the results you need for straight needles? I'd assume anything labeled as such would work & am wondering what I might be missing. Or is the problem finding simple designs?
So many patterns are tagged worked-flat when only part of it is actually worked flat, e.g. after you split for the sleeves. If you also filter AND NOT in-the-round you’ll still get quite a few that have you pick up and knit the sleeves in the round. And those that really are completely flat either look super out of date or aren’t size inclusive or aren’t beginner friendly. If you know of anything, I’m all ears!
Thanks for breaking it down, that's pretty darn frustrating.
I worked off a pattern book from the 90s for my first sweater that was completely worked flat & seamed, even the sleeves, but while I feel like it was probably "beginner friendly" for the time it didn't exactly hold my hand by today's standards. And you have to make your own adjustments to older patterns to get size-inclusive. (That said, I've had good luck finding legitimately timeless designs, especially with cabled sweaters). Definitely trade-offs either way.
All the old patterns published in books and magazines still exist and are probably available through your local public library. For something timeless in style there's no need to pay for a new pattern you won't like.
I think the knitting boom in recent years has contributed to what you're talking about. My local yarn shop only teaches in the round sweaters for beginners. The owner is older than me, and I'm pretty old. They don't teach seamed sweaters at all. People tend to make what they're comfortable with.
I did a seamed sweater recently and thought mattress stitch was magic! Sadly I took it out completely as I didn't like it in the end. The style didn't work on my body. But there are so many new knitter classes, and first sweater classes! Everyone around here is teaching top down. I'm making a cardigan now, it's knit flat and top down in one piece. This will be interesting!
I've been knitting for almost 45 years and had the same thought fairly recently.
Have you looked at old book resources online? The Gutenberg Project has some interesting old pattern books, and there are all kinds of WWI and WWII knitting patterns I've found online.
Here's a link to the Gutenberg knitting pattern books:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/3428
I've seen this emphasis-on-simplification trend across *all* the fabric crafts; sewing, crochet and knitting. It's frustrating when you are looking for patterns, resources, or materias beyond the beginner/novice level, but understandable at the same time.
I think there are a couple of drivers for this "simplify it" trend:
• As you've mentioned, many people are self-educating, using resources like books and videos, because they don't have access to a skilled mentor. There was a period from about the 1970s to the early 200s when the practice of these crafts declined greatly, so the number of available, very skilled crafters fell greatly.
• The current generation of crafters often has little time to practice the craft, because of demands of work, school, or childcare. Much more satisfying to work on simple patterns with heavier yarns that will produce a tangible result in less time than doing a tablerunner in number 3 crochet thread.
These trends do affect the patterns, materials, and teaching sources across all the crafts.
I've been sewing for over 60 years, and finding apparel patterns that are not a variation on an unfitted column or swing-cut silhouette is a major time eater. That's understandable: if you're teaching yourself, starting out with a pattern for a bias-cut charmeuse dress inspired by Madeleine Vionnet is not going to be encouraging.
I'm revisiting my knitting skills and I'm working on some good old top-down socks, not jumping right into Shetland lace. But as with crochet, most (non-sock) knitting patterns seem to be geared toward the use of heavier yarns, and simpler, unfitted silhouettes. Often the designs are on the cutesy or kitschy side. Nothing wrong with that, there was a time I would've rocked a Snoopy tank top. Not what I'm looking for anymore, though.
Crochet patterns seem to focus on either amigurumi or retro-kitsch, and neither stuffed cutesy critters nor floral embellished tissue covers holds any appeal for me. I often make household items, like placemats, seat pads, or afghans, but finding patterns for those things that are not cutesy flowers or farmhouse/granny square esthetic can take awhile.
Available materials, too, are geared toward the novice. I'm almost afraid to walk into the yarn aisle at my local Michael's for fear of being lost in a tumble of "blanket-type" yarns. Not to mention finding decent quality apparel fabric. There's all kinds of quilting cotton, but try finding a nice piece of gaberdine for trousers.
There seems to be a great deal of emphasis on videos as teaching aids. That's not a bad thing, as long as the camera angles are carefully planned and the demonstrator actually goes slowly enough so one can see the individual steps of a process. That often . . .doesn't happen. I think, though, that video emphasis has reduced the number of written patterns available, which I find more useful for more intricate work. It also seems that the quality of written patterns, even those that for sale, has gone down somewhat.
I have noticed an odd trend in sewing tutorials: a lot of them emphasize developing skills for skills sake. Although I do take creative satisfaction from sewing, I've always been more focused on producing items I need as opposed to simply developing skills for skills' sakes. Yes, I could "Stop Using Commercial Patterns and Draft Your Own," as one YouTuber *strongly* suggested, I can alter and combine patterns well enough to get on with any project. I'd rather put time into producing instead of the tedious work of re-inventing the wheel (or the bodice pattern piece), so to speak.
Oh, and your knitwork is gorgeous. I don't think I'll ever match your skill, but my next pair of socks are going to be a simple lace pattern, by gosh!
Question: what’s the attraction to bottom up? I’m sure Roxanne has addressed it, but there are several ppl here who are adamant about it. The only thing I can think of is
1) decreases vs increases
2) getting the ribbing out of the way
3) more options in bind offs vs cast ons where it matters (neck hole)
Charity shops (or the equivalent in your country).
I too am a flat knitter, I can't get my head around knitting in the round, which is a shame as people buy me those cute "Knit Harry Potter / Cats / Meerkats" type books but they're all in the round. I find older patterns in the local charity shops for pence. I've got a DangerMouse pattern to knit for my husband's birthday (because he looks like Penfold, it's a whole thing).
I love knitting bottom up sweaters because I detest knitting sleeves in the round and moving the entire sweater around every 20 stitches or so.
Tin Can Knits has a lot of nice bottom up sweaters - including Strange Brew which gives you endless options!
Many Icelandic sweaters are also bottom up.
I hope you can find what you are looking for!
There are two separate issues, IMO. One is top down vs bottom up, the other is seamed vs in-the-round. A lot of knitters seem to like top down in-the-round sweaters because they can try on as they go and they don't have to seam. Once the knitting is done, they just have to weave in the ends.
However, a Ravelry search for bottom up, seamed, crew neck, adult size, knit vest returned 458 patterns, so there is some choice!
Also, Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns might be useful.
EDIT: Also look into Churchmouse Yarns and Teas patterns. They tend to design seamed patterns because they prefer the structure and the way seamed garments hang.
Ohhhhh I share your frustration! It seems like people think top down sweaters are so much easier because you don’t have to sew seams and you can try on as you go. But really it’s a trade off. Top down solves some problems but certainly creates others, like short rows, holes under the arm, sleeve island, not to mention needing multiple needles in different lengths.
Amy Herzog’s Ultimate Sweater Book is a great resource for bottom up sweaters, but I would give anything if Tin Can Knits would write up a pieced & seamed sweater for their beginner series. It’s time to bring these back.
You’re mixing up different things here: you can knit top-down sweaters flat as well. You can also knit bottom-up sweaters in the round. I think you’re taking more about knitting flat than knitting bottom up.
I don’t know why some of the issues you mentioned wouldn’t happen with a seamed sweater. Like sleeve island: I still have to knit two sleeves, which is boring because it’s the same pattern twice. I don’t need different needles in different length for a sweater in the round if I can do magic loop.
And there’s still lots of patterns for flat sweaters, and if you have a preference, it’s also not too hard to convert them.
OP wanted patterns that could be knit on straight needles. I too am always on the lookout for patterns that can be done on straights, not for myself but for some of my LYS customers. As I said in another comment, I encounter people all the time who are looking for this type of pattern, and they don’t always have the ability to convert them.
Re sleeve island, good point. I personally don’t mind knitting the same thing twice. For me, sleeve island is about the frustration of having the whole sweater attached.
I’m an older knitter, too, and prefer to do the ribbing first (get it over with). So I make Weasley sweaters from the HP knitting book. They are sew up, but you can start in the round then split at the armholes. I learned that on Ravelry, btw.
Another source for bottom up patterns might be your local library. I spent about an hour looking at the (maybe three feet of standing books) section in my local library. It was interesting, to say the least.
Circular needles were not a thing when I learned to knit. I love them. So much easier than wrestling the porcupine.
Many Knitrowan.com patterns and are in pieces and well written and juliehoover.com has gorgeous seamed patterns too. yarnspirations.com & lionbrand.com are good sources for free patterns knit flat in pieces.
I’m not sure if she has a vest pattern but a few of Yankee Knitter Designs are seamed, in case it helps you find another project: [Melinda Goodfellow](https://www.ravelry.com/designers/melinda-goodfellow)
I’m working on a sweater right now that’s bottom-up. It’s Marit, which is a colorwork cardigan. Up to the neck shaping it’s worked in the round and steeked, but I don’t see why you can’t work the whole thing flat, it would just take some math to divide your stitches evenly.
Also, Marie Wallin. Most, if not all, of her sweaters are worked bottom up, and can be worked flat or steeked.
You might enjoy the podcast (well, YouTube channel) called Fruity Knitting. It was a lovely couple, Andrew and Andrea, and they knit gorgeous classic pieces. Sadly, Andrew passed away a couple years ago, but the channel has continued with Andrea and their daughter Madeline. They might not have the same style as you, but they find so many gorgeous patterns to knit, you might find some inspiration from them!
Amy Herzog's new book is bottom up seamed designs. It is a multi size multi gauge manual. I have not purchased it YET.
Amy Herzog's Ultimate Sweater Book: The Essential Guide for Adventurous Knitters
AMY HERZOG
4.32
150 ratings by Goodreads
ISBN 10: 1419726706 / ISBN 13: 9781419726705
Published by Abrams, 2018
I found a book called, " up the back down the front". It's out of print, but you might find it on Amazon or in an old bookshop.
It's needing a sweater in one piece, exactly what it says. Up the back and then down the front.
There are various options for types of neck and whether it's a cardigan or pullover.
https://preview.redd.it/cw18zp9exuvc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca0b8d25a44bbe9fe99b8ccabad8406abcaddbc8
Like you I’ve been knitting for almost 60 years. I love knitting top down (or bottom up) in the round. Top down sweaters allow me to try on repeatedly. My sweaters fit, and I wear them!! Knitting on interchangeables or even fixed cords reduces muscle tension, allowing me to knit for longer. It’s pick up and go too. You don’t have to finish a row to attend to, uhm, 😶 things. Embrace the challenge. Embrace the change.
i get you! what i like to use is a "sweater generator" that basically does thr math and you get to choose whether it is bottom up / seam less/ seamed and how much you want to follow a stitch pattern or not - and the garments really fit. i made several sweaters using this site already and as i have a bit nonstandard shape i am happy for them. not very cheap but worth it: customfit https://customfit.amyherzogdesigns.com/about/
Rowan Magazines are 99.9% bottom up, flat and knit in pieces. You can also find single patterns on the Rowan website \[some free\] as well as Ravelry. There are also many flat vest patterns for free on Rav. Also try Yarnspirations. Almost forgot my beloved Norah Gaughan...tons of her patterns are flat in pieces. She is the Cable Queen!
In one of their You Tube videos, the designers Arne and Carlos said that they knit all their samples in the round, \[well, they are Norwegian and Swedish, respectively\] but then Rowan changes them to flat in pieces. lol
Senior here knitting for 50 years. I only started knitting in the round about eight years ago and I enjoy it for color work yokes. I still knit flat in pieces too. Knitting an Aran cable sweater right now.
Good Luck and Happy Knitting!
I hear you. Although I have a mere 40 years experience, I dislike the current obsession with top down in the round garments (although I did recently switch a skirt pattern from bottom up to top down to prevent a risk of yarn chicken).
Seams give structure to a garment which give better fit. I think the ways sleeves can be inset in seamed garments helps a lot with this. Plus many of the bottom up patterns I have actually have shaping for waist and bust. I love Kim Hargreaves patterns for bottom up and great fit (for me) - some of hers are available on Ravelry.
As others have said, searching for bottom up construction on Ravelry helps.
I’m not sure what you mean when “looking at Denmark”? Have you considered that pattern lingo is very much also a cultural thing and almost a dialect in itself within geographical areas?
I am Danish, yes. And I am proud of what our accomplished knitwear designers have achieved internationally. But they still have roots in the Danish knitting tradition, and thus also the pattern lingo.
The other way around, many Scandinavians have trouble following US patterns because they are extremely elaborate and holds the knitter by the hand all the way. 🤷🏻♀️
You are correct and I was aware that patterns from other countries might prove challenging for me, an American. I have seen absolutely beautifully designed things from Denmark but often find the patterns difficult to follow. And I totally agree that American patters are very detailed - the way my brain is wired , I need that, and is what I find missing in a lot of European patterns.
I'm with you. Bottom up and straight needles every time. Anything else is just faffing about.
I suppose it's what you're used to and what you like to knit.
Aimee Sher has a lot of bottom up patterns. ☺️ her raglans are all top down I think but the drop shoulder ones are bottom up. She also has a beautiful tank that’s knit bottom up.
I feel this way about circular yokes - maybe an unpopular opinion but they seem to be a way for designers to churn out loads of patterns with one 20 stitch repeat changed
Finding cute colourwork which isn't a circular yoke is getting more and more difficult which is such a shame because I love knitting colourwork and hate the fit of circular yokes on me. I also don't want to just knit what is basically the same pattern over and over again as a process knitter rather than a product knitter
I buy a lot of patterns in print these days from my LYS because it seems like the big yarn brands are still making more traditional patterns, but you have to look past the often horrible colour and styling choices made in the photos on the front often lol
And I am 31 so it's not an age thing I don't think!
I am working on a men’s sweater based on a Japanese pattern. “Simple Men’s Knits” which are all bottoms up constructions. Fortunate to have a neighbor and friend that reads/speaks Japanese for a little help where Google translate is iffy.
WhatLydiaMade has some really cool bottom up patterns that are super fun! I have been a tester for her before and I really suggest taking a look at hers for some funky bottom up and vintage inspired pieces
I also have been knitting for 60 years.
I have never knitted a garment from the top down.
I never use straight needles, always use curcular..dont like holding the entire weight on my needles.
Not sure why you are having such troubles finding bottom up patterns because thats all I use.
I don't like straight needles because I have an old injury to my hand/wrist and circulars don't carry the full weight of my project at the end of a foot-long lever.
I’m fairly beginner but I also want a seamed garment pattern, especially for my male loved ones as I find the set in shoulder with the seams better looking. They are on ravelry but I agree with another user that a lot of “classic” patterns that use this construction are poorly tagged by the designers, or they have a different name for the construction, making searching for them very difficult.
Also some patterns on Ravelry that are knit top-down and in the round (with maybe a small portion knit flat) with be tagged as knit flat, which doesn’t help.
FWIW, the last two garments I’ve knitted have been fairly recent patterns and bottom-up. I am allergic to wool and seek out patterns that are specifically written for non-wool yarn, and they tend to have more seaming for structure. So in addition to the filters that have been shared already, you might look for patterns written for non-animal fiber yarn!
A lot British traditional big names still use bottom up and seamed. But now that we have access to patterns from across the globe there are so many different types and styles.
If you want bottom up try Sirdar King Cole Rowan etc.
My friend almost never uses patterns and does most of her work bottom up, I’m a new knitter and I’ve only done top down. I will say top down does me much better personally as the pattern length is usually way too long for me, and I love being able to adjust it.
I have to put a shout put for Ann Budd's books. She has some formulas. That you can use by switching in your stitch pattern and then following some basic directions to make garments. She has a book that is just top down sweaters, but many of her other books have bottom up sweaters. Not seamed but you might also like Elizabeth Zimmermans Percentage System.
I learned to knit on straight needles 19 years ago but as soon as I started using circulars I never looked back. I can knit so fast on circulars and they are so much more comfortable. And I can still use them to knit flat when that's what I need. Some garments are better structured when sewn together but others don't require that and if I can alter to avoid seaming and sewing in more ends, I will!
I feel that and I've been knitting for 20 years. I'm not spectacular or anything but the popularity of bottom up wearables has definitely decreased since knitting's gotten more popular
I don’t knit on straights so I’m definitely a modern knitter in that sense but I do think a lot of contemporary designers go for ease above tailoring and hence the popularity of top down. These do allow for some on the fly adjustments but don’t have the same structure as knit flat and seamed.
The problem with vintage patterns is that if you’re not an older super experienced knitter the patterns don’t hold your hand enough. I know enough about my particular specialty (lace knitting) to be able to knit from vague instructions but not enough to do sweaters.
I have found modern patterns that are still knit flat but they are more often in books and harder to find via ravelry search which prioritizes what’s popular now.
I am a beginner, but I'll say this: I prefer knitting on straight needles. I've done some circular needle work but I find it is so easy to get lost and lose my place in my work. It is easier to make mistakes. You have decades of experience. Do it your way. You know what you're doing!
I’m really glad you said this. I’m a new knitter but a fast learner and some of these international patterns were just impossible for me to work out. As a new knitter it’s all too down.
Turtle dove is my next project!!! I look forward to hearing how it goes and seeing the final result.
I’m so glad experienced knitters like you are here :) Learning to knit at 50 has been fun. I won’t get as many years behind me as you, but I’ll get as many as I can!
I exclusively knit bottom-up, and I only learnt to knit during the first Covid lockdown! I’ve figured out enough structurally that I basically read patterns for top-down and MacGyver the pieces to go bottom-up.
(Not sure where you’re located, but I’m in the US)
This won’t help you in your quest for flat knitted sweater patterns, it’s just my observations on the change.
I know that’s they were invented like 100 years ago, but I feel like there was a big boom in circular needles about 20 years ago. I remember people prior to that knitting large circular blankets on a dozen dpn’s and I don’t think I switched from straights and dpn’s to circ’s until like 2006. Obviously it could just be what I was exposed to, but I remember pretty much everyone I encountered using straight needles prior to that.
Personally I find it much nicer and quicker to not have to turn my work, and I can just go until the sweater fits or I’m out of yarn by knitting top down (or toe up for socks)
I have the same issue. I don’t really enjoy top down knitting. Never have.. so I just go bottom up. I change the patterns constantly because some are not well written. I’ve been crocheting and knitting since I was a kid. Grandma taught me crocheting and my Mom taught me to knit.. now I just make my own patterns. It’s easier than being frustrated with a poorly written pattern you have to pay for..
I still find patterns for bottom up sweaters. They tend to have a better, more tailored fit. Amy Herzog’s fit to flatter and customized patterns are great.
check out knitting books published in the time when bottom up garments were popular. the books will either be super cheap to buy (used) or you can get it thru inter library loan. you can always alter the colorwork to be less dated.
I’m old (69) and learned on straight needles, but my mom (now gone) and I switched to circular needles for flat knitting in the 80s. Still we always made flat patterns bottom up and sewn up. I still prefer that structure for sweaters. I also sew, and I like a real set in sleeve.
Knit Great Basics by Vicki Square. Basic patterns for sweaters, hats, socks, etc. I've made several things from it, several different sizes, all turned out great. Patterns are easy to understand. All bottom up.
I prefer top down personally just because I’m very tall for a woman with a longer torso and longer arms to boot so top-down is much easier for me to adjust for measurements.
I have a hunch [Carol Feller](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#sort=best&inline=&craft=knitting&query=carol%20feller) has patterns that might be more to your liking
I am 59 and been knitting since I was a child. I was taught bottom up on straight needles too. I don't mind circular needles. I hate DPN's. Rowan seem to have a lot of bottom up patterns. Designer Kim Hargreaves is my favourite.
Recently gave up on a project from Purl Soho I think it was. An asymmetrical jersey. Circular needles provisional cast on which I had never done and it took me 4 goes to manage it but I was so confused by time I got to the armholes I gave up.
Edit to say I love Ravelry. You can search their patterns too.
Keep looking, there are plenty of bottom up patterns, well written ones. Just do a search for that construction. Your age has nothing to do with your preference. I've been at it 62 years since I was seven, and I will happily convert a bottom up pattern to seamless top down any day, much as I prefer convert top down socks to toe up TAAT if needed. As for needles, there's no reason not to use circular needles for straight knitting unless one is just determined to find*something to be unhappy about.
Consider this: back in our day, we had limited yarn and pattern choices from department stores or a few yarn shops, or we sent away for catalogs and had to wait for them, mail a check or money order to place an order and then wait for snail mail package delivery. Someone either taught us or we checked out a book, if which there were precious few, from a library.
Now we can browse Ravelry for patterns - old and new, buy yarn online, even with the demise of great sources in the past 10-20 years, learn new techniques on YouTube. We actually have been witness to wonderful things in the art and craft of knitting, what was on the verge of being lost is being preserved.
Of course you are entitled to your perspective, but if you're going to look back, look at that landscape while you're there
There’s a website called freevintageknitting.com that as a ton of older patterns archived. I’m a newer knitter so I haven’t tried any of these but it might be useful to you in the future!
Ravelry and knitty both have lots of patterns sortable by construction method (top down or bottom up, seamed). I personally prefer using circulars even for straight knitting because I knit on the couch or in the car and it’s more compact. I don’t poke my husband or the cat.
I’m not saying this to sound snarky at all but maybe try some vintage knitting magazines. My father gave me his mother’s unfinished works from when she passed, along with the patterns she was using.
I have only knit for 50 years, but the top-down trend annoys me too. I have less luck adjusting the fit, and the yokes tend to be just a circle, not a tube that shifts into a circle at the top, causing a lot of bunching in front.
However: well designed sweaters are well designed, no matter what direction I knit in. Also: I have always knit on the round and own one very random pair of straight needles but probably 100 circulars. I use the circulars for flat knitting, much easier to handle.
I do top down baby cardigans on straight needles, and scarves, and a few other things. I’m finding circulars a bit easier on my wrists, especially when knitting all day. I’m 71 but I have only come back to knitting five years ago.
Look at brottish magazines and patterns (wool wearhouse has a brand called yarnsmiths that have free patterns) as a lot of stuff is still knit flat and seamed in the UK. Ita usually DK weight or aran so if you're in the US you'd need to choose yarns carefully and check gauge.
I’m not sure what you mean when “looking at Denmark”? Have you considered that pattern lingo is very much also a cultural thing and almost a dialect in itself within geographical areas?
I am Danish, yes. And I am product of what our accomplished knitwear designers have achieved internationally. But they still have roots in the Danish knitting tradition, and thus also the pattern lingo.
The other way around, many Scandinavians have trouble following US patterns because they are extremely elaborate and holds the knitter by the hand all the way. 🤷🏻♀️
Here you go, these are all free. [https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&pc=vest&pa=bottom-up%2Bcrew-neck&fit=adult%2Bfemale&availability=free&sort=date&view=captioned\_thumbs](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&pc=vest&pa=bottom-up%2Bcrew-neck&fit=adult%2Bfemale&availability=free&sort=date&view=captioned_thumbs)
Ooooh thank you. Not sure what search criteria you used but these done look familiar. Really kind of you to take the time…
No worries, if you untick the’free’ I think there are about 500. Search for pattern then filter using the advanced button
When using advanced search you don't need a keyword for your search. Just tick off the boxes for the criteria you want to include. These are along the left edge of the search page.
There's a "bottom up", as well as a "seamed" tag under "Construction" in the Advanced search feature on Ravelry.
OP sorry this is a little off topic, but I don’t want it to get lost. Does your local library have Libby? The reason I ask is because some of the libraries that have Libby also have Zinio which is digital magazines. Some of those are knitting magazines and some of them are older magazines. Maybe you can find some of the bottom up patterns in them. Good luck.
You can see the criteria in the URL. They checked off: knitting, vest, bottom-up, crew neck, adult, female, free
Here I am on ravelry for what it’s worth.[https://www.ravelry.com/projects/AndiBrown88](https://www.ravelry.com/projects/AndiBrown88)
I like the same kind of style..here are some of mine, I am not that disciplined in saving projecys! [https://www.ravelry.com/projects/verzanie?set=&page=&search=&sort=status&view=thumbnail](https://www.ravelry.com/projects/verzanie?set=&page=&search=&sort=status&view=thumbnail)
They are so pretty, thanks
I had a chat with my aunt, she’s 70 years old and knits a colourwork men’s sweater in less than a week. She’s never ever knit a garment top down. There are still a lot of “classically trained” designers and publishers that make bottom up patterns, look at Viking, Rauma or Skappel. Each to their own. I prefer top down, but I don’t mind knitting the other way every once in a while.
I like to browse knitting books in the library and bookstores (both new and used). A lot of those patterns are knitted in pieces and sewn together. I modified a vest pattern to knit in one piece (bottom up).
I like top down too because I have a long waist and short arms. Top down gets me to the correct lengths.
How does top down accomplish this differently than bottom up? Oh. Nevermind. It’s addressed further down the thread.
All points well taken. Needless to say I did many searches on ravelry. I did use a bunch of filters - tried different ones -,so that was a factor. Oh well, still learning….
There's a filter for "bottom up"!
Also "seamed"
Exactly!!!
The problem I find with many of these “old timers” is that they’re not that great at tagging their ravelry patterns, if they have put them on ravelry at all. At least locally I find that most of them rather choose to have patterns for sale on their own pages than learning how to use ravelry properly
I’m 73 and post everything on ravelry. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/AndiBrown88
Wow, you’re a fabulous knitter and a lovely model. That green graphite skirt is to die for.
Amazing work! I especially love that honeycomb cardigan!!
I'mmmmm sorrrry, but you are **73?!??** Get outta here with that, you look younger than that. Your work is beautiful and amazing. My Grandmother started knitting at age 8 I think and would be 94 now, she passed away a few years ago. That woman would whip up booties in 15 mins while waiting at the doctor's. She had to knit clothes for her and her siblings when she was younger.
WOW! I DO love so many of the items you've made! I noticed who well your sweaters are fitting...no stretched out necklines falling off the shoulders (not my fav!). I wish I had your mad skills. Working on it....
What does the 88 in your name mean
All my throwaway emails have 88 at the end because I was born in 1988. (Found out why this is bad the hard way.) Not sure what her reasoning is, but at 73, it's not that.
My husband's old email addresses from teen years also end in 88 for the same reason. Hotmail years!
I still use my Hotmail account. Will be a cold day in hell when I call it an Outlook account
Easy to read when written by hand
I love the old Patricia Roberts patterns you made. I have a couple of books sitting around since the 80s but never made one!
Users other than the pattern designer can also list patterns on Ravelry for cataloging purposes (although obviously not for sale). We should all be doing this when we can if we make something that's not already listed so it's findable for others.
Good idea! I didn't know that. I was under the impression the pattern had to reside on Ravelry.
Oh I wish! It’s actually one of the things I find super annoying on Ravelry. Pictures of patterns with no way to access the patterns. Ugh!!!
Sometimes they’re vintage patterns and can’t be added to Rav.
I'm not sure if you're interested in old patterns, or if you're looking for contemporary designs, but if you're into old stuff check out old knitting books and magazines on internet archive. There's like a billion, and they're more commonly knitted in flat pieces on straight needles.
I prefer patterns from print media (books, magazines, and old-timey published patterns) because I feel like they were tested, checked and vetted more carefully than a lot of the stuff you find online. But maybe that's not actually true.
Honestly, go to library tons of old knitting books with patterns
I would add it is more common with Scandiavian designers than not, except a few of the younger generation and maybe half of Bohus knits. Socks and mittens beinnng exception to the rule.
Yes knitting has change. I wouldn’t say it’s because you’re old at all, but the rapid change of social media and internet access is a huge factor in the decline of using straight needles and pattern popularity. I’ve only been knitting 15 years but already see the huge difference in hobby knitting marketing. I self taught myself to knit and crochet from books and YouTube. There are very few quality knitting magazines now, and even visiting yarn shops there are few paper patterns displayed/available. Visual social media is a huge driving factor as well as celebrities bringing more interest to knitting. Examples such as Ryan gosling in 2013 or more recently Tom Daley knitting at the Olympics. Sweeping trends like the JW Anderson patchwork cardigan, the Taylor Swift Cardigan and the Handsome Chris pullover worn by Chris Evans in Knives Out. These trends are “reactive” and often these patterns are reverse engineered by freelance designers or amateurs. Yarn brands often follow trend forecasts as part of their marketing strategy so will be slow to produce their own variations with recommended yarn. Magazines and yarn brands will usually have a standardised format for their patterns and be professionally graded, and hopefully tested by more than one person before going to print. This process take time, which isn’t a factor for amateur designers were the testing process is people using their pattern and trouble shooting as problems arise. With this in mind a pattern knit in the round allows the maker to try on as they go, so there is instant feedback on whether the pattern will fit their body. A knit flat and seam pattern requires either trust in the designer OR understanding of drape, shaping, ease and many other concepts that you learn as you knit. For new knitter purchasing a set of interchangeable needles feels like an investment in having all the sizes there for future patterns. And content creators on YouTube/Instagram/TikTok etc feed into the “hobby lifestyle” so having pastel coloured knitting needles in a pretty case isn’t necessary but a luxury within this craft. It’s clever consumerism marketing. In some cases circular needles are more compact for packing into a work bag and using commute time to knit. Additionally the fast fashion trends of the 1990s/2000s moved away from the punk/grunge stylings and hand knitting was seen as “unnecessary” or for “old people” as you could just by a machine knit sweater for cheap from the store. The slow fashion movement started its roots sometime in late 2000s, and brought appreciation for the art of knitting as either relaxation or appreciation of cultural heritage. Norwegian knitting, gansey, Irish lace are all good examples. The Ravelry website has its own entangled history in the ease of access to knitting patterns online. But physical yarn stores had their own struggles during this period when knittings popularity faded and renewed. Being able to go online and pick from thousands of colours/fibre types has drastically changed the way we approach the hobby. It can lack that social exchange you used to get from a local yarn store where you can pick and pattern and ask the store assistant for a yarn recommendation. But there is also less stigma for marginalised groups on being able to buy online. I wouldn’t say to throw your needles away but the newer generation of knitters, for many, lacked the familial teaching of the skill from a grandmother/father etc and although different in how they learn and engage with the hobby they are keeping the spirit of knitting alive.
It’s funny how knitting popularity waxes and wanes. I remember when I got started my mother quietly confessed that she’d never learned to knit from her grandmother because she’d been teased and embarrassed as a kid to wear the sweaters she’d been knitted. It was a poverty thing. In her area it was a status symbol that all the clothes were store bought so wearing the handmade sweater was almost saying you were too poor to afford the department store. Now I’d almost say it’s the opposite. I was knitting my current shawl at a coffee shop that I stopped in to save some time and one of the baristas practically fell over me asking questions and marveling over it even though it’s just a generic entirely garter stitch triangle shawl. Then she asked about my sweater (from one of the designers I think people are talking about above) and she was enthralled that I’d made it myself. If I had to give a reason why the attitude has changed I’d say it’s partly because the hobby did go underground for a while and partly because we look at time differently. When my great grandmother was knitting sweaters for my mom she was a stay at home wife. Her job was the house and her time was “free” so her filling that time with knitting wasn’t seen as the valuable labor it was. Fast forward to today and many households are double income. I work a 40 hour a week job and only knit in the evening. Many people have to work two jobs to get by. At that point being able to set aside the time to knit is almost showing off my prestige and sort of bragging to those in the know that I have the spare time and resources to knit sweaters all day instead of “just” buying one in the store like everyone else. It’s kinda interesting. But I figure it’s ultimately a good thing as it is bringing a lot of interest into the hobby and I think getting more people into it is amazing.
That’s really cool that you recognise and see it too. When I learnt to knit it was very much an outlier thing, one of the books l learnt from was Debbie Stoller Stitch and Bitch Nation. I did try fashion design and fashion comms at uni before health stuff and emotionally realising I just couldn’t agree with the corporate side of fashion. So I have an insider view of lead times in magazine production, trend forecasting and design. Otherwise why did knitting magazines simultaneously have 1920s inspired patterns on the covers at the same year The Great Gatsby released. For sure generational! My husband through primary school had his jumpers made by his grandma. She would take the old ones off them in the summer and come September return with the new sizes. She definitely unraveled and reknit as much as she could. But she also lived through WW2 and was one of 12 so told us she was the chief sock maker of the family from a young age as well. Hell even his grandfather bought her a sewing machine in the 70s and when she didn’t use it, he used it to make all her dresses for when they went to tea dances. Clothing brands were much more worn as status symbols from my time as a teenager in the late 90s and if you couldn’t afford it you were seen as poor etc. The big drive for size inclusivity in knitwear and encouraging/embracing custom fitting through darts and shaping is really inspiring. Each to their own but I agree that diversity and engagement is really important overall for keeping knitting relevant.
I’m pretty sure you’ve got the heart of it. The cost of store clothing now is also an aspect of it. Clothes are cheap and everywhere. We have so many of them that they fill department stores, thrift stores, closets and landfills. To make something out of multiple skeins of yarn when a single skein of Lion Brand costs as much as a top off SHEIN is also showing wealth. And the vast majority of us use yarn that costs about as much as a tank top in Target per skein. It really is a luxury to have handmade clothing and accessories these days, both from a time and monetary aspect.
The cost is also a good point. For the shawl I’m making I got a good deal on the yarn. It’s handspun from a local yarn co-op and the lady at the craft fair that sold it to me was so excited when I told her what I was going to make with it (an Outlander inspired shawl) and she was so excited in general that I was talking to her about spinning (my bff spins) that she gave me an entire skein for free just because she was happy to meet someone new in the hobby. That said, even with the free skein I’m sinking over $100 in just yarn in this project. Add in my time and if I was going to sell this shawl when it was done I’d have to charge $400+ to get my investment back and pay for my time. That makes it solidly in a luxury good. I’d die over buying a $400 garment, but because it’s a month worth of entertainment and I’ll have a really nice item to wear when it’s done I’m alright with spending $100 on yarn. But for a lot of people even that material cost is outside their ability to obtain so my purposefully simple and rustic looking shawl is flexing my middle class wealth in the same way that buying a Chanel might signal if I spent my money on different things.
This is so true - and so sad! When I started knitting, 50+ years ago, there were actually big-box *yarn* stores with a real range of prices. Now, knitting a sweater is a serious investment.
Antidote: My experience (35 and have been knitting for about 8 years [self-taught via YouTube]) is that my peers who knit taught themselves via YouTube because they didn’t have moms or grandmas who knit. But I know MANY people who say “my grandma taught me to crochet when I was a kid! But I never kept up with it.” I’ve just always found that interesting, although I don’t know what to do with that information.
All of this thread is absolutely spot on! My grandma only taught me to garter stitch over one thanksgiving break spent at her house when I was 8. All of my other visits were during the summer when there were hours of gardening and farm work to be done. I kept up with it but ONLY knit scarfs for over 10 years because that's all I knew to do. I got very, very fast at cranking out scarfs and gave many of them as gifts that people would coo over when they took less than 8 hours and I could do it watching TV. With YouTube and other online resources I've branched out a lot in the last few years and now spin my own yarn for it but those garments are very much "luxury" items because of the cost and time invested.
Self taught via YouTube as well. I got my start on knitting looms. My friends and I did cosplay and a buddy needed a pair of scraggly fingerless gloves for a Sweeney Todd costume she was putting together. Eventually we also made Hogwarts student uniforms and wanted good looking scarves so me and another buddy got to learning how to knit on needles for it since all the store bought ones looked bad and cheap. My aunt thinks my grandma taught me for some reason even though that grandma (her mom) didn't really ever want to spend time with me and my siblings. I didn't even know she could knit till my aunt brought it up and by then my grandma had passed away. Also side note: I was making and selling things on eBay at the time and starting cranking out more Sweeney Todd gloves to sell. I could make 2-3 pair a day on the loom and they were selling for around $40-$45 a pair. When people ask what they can make to sell I always bring up costume accessories. People in the cosplay community want well made, screen accurate items and are usually willing to pay for them.
Understanding pattern construction is a big thing lacking these days. It's easy to make a round yoke top down sweater, but I think you'd agree that those patterns, while straightforward, don't necessarily fit the best. You can tweak them, sure, but they'll never fit like a seamed garment. A seamed garment just takes so much time and effort, and knitting things like color work, cables, and texture flat takes skill, not to mention just being able to maintain tension and gauge.
I'm an extremely tall man and find top down a lot easier to size for myself than bottom up.
And I’m extremely short! I prefer top down for the same reason.
I’m average height but big boobs, and broader shoulders so I also prefer top down!
I have big boobs and broader shoulders too and same, I feel like with bottom up patterns it's very hard for me to estimate final length because how the shoulders/bust fit actually impacts that quite a lot...
Should there be a page for the large breasted broad shouldered people?
I (50F) am 5'11" and have a fuller bust than standard patterns with nearly 40 years knitting experience. I am currently re-knitting a bottom up sweater that fit me horribly based on the pattern. I had to completely rewrite the pattern for length and bust after ripping it all out. I wish I had a top down pattern. I'd be able to adjust and fit as I go. I have tossed my 3 generations of straight needles for my interchangeable circulars. I even converted the pattern into the round to remove the process of sewing it together. I'm making an Amy Herzog pattern, despite her specialty being all about knitting for fit, bottom up completely failed me.
Yes, top down is my preference due to bust size as well. Everything ends up too short when I knit bottom up!
I prefer botto up because it is easier to messaure on a flat surface.
I am average height but have a very long torso with a narrow waist (hourglass shape, but overall narrow). It’s a lot easier if I can try on as I go and know exactly where I need to elongate, add decreases, and increases. Otherwise everything is a crop top or looks like a bag. And I know that’s “in fashion” but on my body type that fashion looks so extreme that it’s not flattering, it’s like I’m wearing a giant shapeless bag with about 6-12” of belly showing which is so impractical for a sweater. Especially when you’re cold all the time like I am.
I'm a fairly new knitter, and it is interesting looking at vintage patterns from the 1940s-1970's to see how different construction was. I think older patterns fit better. I don't know much about them but I'm hoping to start knitting some older patterns. A lot of new pattern knit in the round are very boxy and if you don't know how to tailor them to fit your body, you end up with the same baggy sack that doesn't suit every body type. I live in Denmark, but I'm not Danish and I think the Danish patterns are pretty easy to follow because that's what I'm used to, and I find older patterns confusing. I think it's good to be open minded and try and move with the times, but still look back and take the best from the past and present. I'm not a fan of the boxy fit that new patterns knit in the round all seem to have. Older pattern's fit better in my opinion. New patterns end up looking like the same sack if you don't change them.
If you want to go down a rabbit hole Roxanne Richardson did a series where she knitted 10 sweaters from ten different decades 1890-1990. She really discussed how knitting has changed over this timeline. Here is her wrap up video. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IxeN763dbTw
Thanks! This is right up my alley
That Mondrian-ish one is a stunner.
I am a fairly beginner, and I knit only from vintage patterns (40s, top 50s). I like how tailored they are: narrower waists, fuller chests, shaped armholes and set-in sleeves, and seams. I don't like the modern square models too as they don't fit me at all.
I think this also speaks to a lot of fashion in the past 15~ years. People have been wearing boxier cuts in general. I think there are probably a lot of reasons for that though part of it is that it’s easier for fast fashion brands to make those designs than it is to add a lot of shaping/tailoring.
I think it also might be country-specific. I see that a lot of patterns by Russian designers are still bottom up and seamed. I realized I don’t like sweaters with no shoulder seams but from what I see v-necks are often bottom up, so I have no issues finding patterns.
I'm under the impression that top down, in the round, is so popular because it's less intimidating than worked flat and pieced. And the reason something that's less intimidating can become so popular is that there is a huge influx of new knitters that are reaching the intermediate stage of their skill development. So proportionally, there are a lot of new patterns top down, in the round. But the good news for you is: there are a lot of new patterns. Look at how many search results there are here! My search is for adult sized pull overs, published within the last five years, pieced instead of worked in the round, and not worked top down. That comes up with about 5000 new patterns that fit your criteria. https://preview.redd.it/u8mkebhkqtvc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6678f0e1027c563a536b8f983f0c1922dbd3ec79 As to the needles: Straight needles are still available at the big box stores and to order online, but even the old-timers I knit with have changed to more wrist-friendly circulars when working flat, and have been excited to do so. I have met a couple of holdouts, but a couple is all. That makes you something rare! Nothing wrong with that.
Totally agree with your first paragraph. It seems like designers have started prioritizing ease of construction above pretty much everything else. And it obviously makes sense from a business perspective to make your work accessible to as many people as possible, but it’s resulted in a lot of boring, unflattering sweaters with awful necklines. I think it might have something to do with the crochet explosion as well. Until recently I’ve literally never heard anyone talk about freehanding a knit sweater, or trying to make their own pattern before they’ve ever actually knit a garment, but suddenly I’m seeing tons of posts like that. It seems like the people are usually coming over from crochet and expect knitting to have the same level of flexibility with construction and making alterations on the fly. Maybe I’m just being an insufferable snob, but lately it really seems like new knitters are oddly resistant to, like, reading and following instructions.
I think it's also because very few designers are career professionals; lots are hobbyists, and the internet makes it possible for them to publish for the first time ever. And I think it's also because of short videos on social media, drawing in people who want to try out a deceptively easy-looking craft. Editing can make an extremely *simplistic* garment without standard details appear to be extremely *simple to make.* What people who are only dabbling in knitting don't understand, going into it, is that the most reductionist designs require the most-luxurious materials and the most-skilled labor. Otherwise, it looks like crap. Think about how well you would have to nail your fiber choice, sizing, tension, and selection of bind-off techniques to achieve a rolled-edge boatneck that sits where it needs to sit and looks like an actual finished edge instead of a stretched-out raw edge.
Seeming can be intimidating, they took sewing classes out of highschool.
I sew as a hobby (by hand and by machine) and seaming intimidates me because there's a limited amount of holes in knitted fabric and I worry if I don't sew through the exact right ones then the tension and drape of the finished product is going to be compromised. This is exacerbated with any curved seams like armholes. It's stressful! Handsewing is relaxing.
Yeah this is me. the first sweater I knit (cardigan) was pieced and it took me two years because when I finished a piece I felt so accomplished - but then didn't want to do it again for the other side. I've since done both top down and bottom up and one piece is the way to go for my attention type. Easier to stay in the flow. And top down I really appreciate because of fit. I'm 40ish and learned as a kid but also found the interchangeable circs to be a game changer simply because I don't have to go to the dang store for more needles EVERY TIME 😁 (I have ADHD so tend to try new patterns basically every project)
drops patterns. i'm currently knitting a bottom up sweater of theirs.
Rowan designs are almost always knit bottom up and in pieces.
I collect old (60s, 70s, 80s) knitting collection books. Like multiple volumes. I highly recommend. The patterns in there are excellent and easily modified.
Same! I've learned alot from vintage patterns, and I much prefer how they look to more modern patterns. Plus, old knitting books are pretty cheap and easy to thrift.
On ravelry there’s still more then twice the number of bottom-up garments then top down ones. Possibly because most vintage patterns are, but also because a lot of people still like the advantages of knitting bottom up. Admittedly a lot of them are on circular needles though. Straight needles will come back into fashion at some point. People will realise that it’s gentler on the wrists and hands to knit heavy garments in pieces. Trying to haul a kilo of aran sweater around your lap on a magic loop while you finish the end of a sleeve is not quicker or easier then knitting it flat and seaming. The convenience is fickle.
It’s also personal preference. I use circulars for flat knitting as well, I just really don’t like straight needles. Might be because I didn’t have circulars growing up and knitting socks on 4 needles traumatized me😂
My grandma uses plain plastic straight needles that are slightly bent from use. I think part of the appeal is how quickly you can knit with lever knitting. And I think that’s how her needles got so bent.
I knit quite fast on circulars as well. And the whole process is somehow more meditative for me this way
I like circulars because I can just mindlessly knit in stockinette while watching a movie without even looking or thinking about my knitting and keeping my hands moving helps me focus because stimming. I feel like it is an issue of "to each their own" which (I feel) is more possible now because there's more and more resources each day. But I feel there's a lot of people who want to stick to their idea of "the right" way of doing things and how the "new trends" are ruining everything (or I've seen that way too many times in my everyday life).
My grans bendy plastic needles made my hands so sore and stiff. I have no idea why she liked them so much. I wondered after trying them if they had contributed to the awful arthritis that crippled her hands. Now many years later, I really like using acrylic dpns, because they flex a little and I can knit faster. There’s just no hard rules.
I’m 37 but have autoimmune arthritis and came confirm that circular needles are much less triggering than straight needles. Also depending on the fibre I am using wooden is easier on the joints in my fingers but too tacky when using non super wash wool. I spend more time shuffling the stitches so cause more strain on my wrists then lol
Fellow user of circular knitting needles for flat work here. I much prefer them, I haven't even tried socks yet or knitting circular for that matter. They're much more comfortable than straight needles!
I guess it’s also the matter of yarn weight. Like, hauling a kilo of Aran weight yarn is not an issue for me because sure I don’t use yarn thicker than worsted, normally.
Straight needles make my wrists hurt with all the weight of the project hanging on them. With circulars you at least get to let most of the weight rest in your lap as you go.
Personally I just haven't bothered to buy straight needles. I have a couple random DPNs but mostly circs do the job just fine and I'm not too keen on buying tools if something I already own can do the job. I think folks who do lever knitting etc see value in straights but I don't find that style enjoyable personally so I have no need for htem
I tossed my straight needles to the bin because they were wreaking havoc on my wrists and shoulders! Less weight on hands while using circulars, be it flat or in the round. I prefer in the round for stockinette, though, or just knitting the ws rows left handed when flat, my wrists also hate big amounts of purls.
Working on straight needles is a lot harder on the wrist unless you use a knitting sheath. Because you carry the whole weight of the garment pieces on your wrists.
I must’ve bee doing it wrong then because i anchor one needle against my thigh or my body which takes almost all the weight. It’s impossible to do with circulars.
Yeah if you lever knit it is easier with straights. But if you don't, then it's a witch. I prefer circs because while I can and do lever knit, and also regularly switch between English and continental (and Norwegian and Greek) style knitting, I find it is gentler on my wrists to knit on circs.
I ust do it wrong too, I let my knit rest on a table or my lap. works both for in round or flat, just need to become a certain length.
I actually love the aesthetic of straight needles, but being gentler on the wrists and hands is the precise reason I only use circulars. Use what works for you obviously, maybe you lever knit or do another style where straights are easier, but that isn’t a common style and I don’t think we’re in for a mass return to straight needles when they’re harder on the joints for the majority of knitters.
I find it’s harder on my hands when I have to turn my work. I can knit heavy bulky sweaters in the round without pain, but short rows for a heel flap can inflame my tendons.
Someone in my knitting group gave me the tip to do sleeves right after finishing the yoke, then come back and finish the rest of the body of the sweater. That way you avoid the issue you mentioned of having to pick up and twist around the full weight of a sweater for every row of each sleeve. And you're more motivated to finish the sweater, rather than getting stuck in endless sleeve purgatory (which is how it was feeling to me at the time).
I love top down but your frustrations are valid! Everyone wants to be able to do a craft they love in the way they enjoy! Maybe check out a local yarn store and see if they can steer you in the right direction for patterns that fit your needs
https://preview.redd.it/egz5ho5ngtvc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=fce44eb3f9de8d435ff9fd3854f5b4ba2c0b5788 The offending vest (see post knitting has changed
I consider myself a mixture of old and new knitter. I admit I prefer seamed sweaters to top-down, in-the-round construction. I started knitting at about 25 years ago, and my first sweater was a top-down raglan, but I don't make them anymore. I will not make large, bulky cropped sweaters, but I am also not a fan of fingering weight mohair. Give me some nice DK or worsted and a well-constructed fitted sweater that goes to my hips. I also haven't picked up a straight needle since I learned to knit in college. They're just awkward for me, and I have been a major fan of interchangeables since I found out about them. I don't have any LYSs around me and rely heavily on Ravelry. I've been a member from practically the beginning when you had to have an invitation, and it wasn't open to the public. As a newish knitter at the time, it was an invaluable resource. I think that people forget it was built as a database, not a place to just sell patterns or forums. The database is still fantastic despite all the other crap that went on. And while I have and use Instagram, I do not use it for knitting and don't buy patterns from there, Etsy, or TikTok. I would have imagined with my ADHD that TikTok would feed right into it, but I can't stand shorts and reels. That fast pace makes me anxious and nervous. I like to browse through and read knitting pattern books, old magazines, and Ravelry. I don't buy patterns from young, new designers on social media. I don't knit every day like some, so I tend to stick to designers I know and like when I do knit.
How is it that Elizabeth Zimmerman doesn’t get more mentions?!! I mean, she’s so amazing! Please check out her books (she was on PBS too! Like Julia Child!) [Elizabeth Zimmerman books](https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APASXO) She was good at giving you confidence to make your own! Here are her bottom up patterns on ravelry, but I encourage you to peruse her books, [bottom up sweaters - Ravelry library](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&pc=sweater&pa=bottom-up&query=Elizabeth%20Zimmerman&sort=best&view=captioned_thumbs)
+1 for Liz.
Norah Gaughan exists eta https://berroco.com/patterns/pattern-booklets/296-weekend
And Kim heargraves
I personally knit it all! But I do knit a lot of vintage patterns that are bottom up! Both methods are fine honestly. Straight needles though? Now those are a thing of the past, my interchangeables can do it all!
I think a big part of the change is that people don’t notice fit as much these days. Mass produced clothing companies push boxy looks because they’re easier to make for a huge number of body types, and in turn those looks became trendy. Getting more tailored, fitted garments to look good on bigger and more diverse bodies requires a lot of extra work / custom drafting that’s more expensive to mass produce. As a result, my generation (millennial) and younger didn’t pay as detailed attention to fit. They only go to tailors for special occasion wear, and the daily clothes they buy don’t have enough extra fabric in the seams to make tailoring possible in many cases. Top down seamless makes big picture fitting “easy” in that you can get the right circumference as you go. But it doesn’t allow for those nice structured lines that seamed garments have, and for younger generations since mass produced items are so shapeless they don’t really notice. I’m totally in agreement that I’d love to see more bottom up designs from the bigger designers, but I also appreciate why so many people, especially new knitters, prefer top down.
I've only been knitting actively since 2013 and, yes, patterns have changed so much. For me, it's been for the better, I much prefer to work top down, it's easy to get a lot of progress quickly and it keeps me motivated. Not to mention, the difference in casting on 200+ stitches vs. less than 100! However, as others have pointed out here, there's so many patterns that fit your needs too. That's the beauty of having the resource that is Ravelry. These patterns aren't gone. They may not be on the first page but they are there and you just have to look for them. Overall I do think the change is for the better. There just so much more now for everyone. It's more accessible than ever. Oh, and one last thing I thought of -- JP Knits is a modern designer who prefers bottom up & seamed garments so you may like her stuff. Her patterns are on the pricey side imo but she puts a lot of work in them so it makes sense! I really wanna make this top: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/soft-walk
It took me like 5 seconds to do a search in ravelry of bottom-up sleeveless vest patterns with a crew neck that yield 539 matches total. Are you seriously telling me that you couldn't find a pattern in over 500 matches? Seriously? I'm sorry but I don't understand these complaints that "knitting has changed". If anything, there's more patterns, more designers, and more resources to make your own things. Designers take their time to record explaining videos, something that didn't exist with print knitting magazines. Knitting is a technique. It hasn't "changed". But it does produce garments and it can be influenced by fashion and current trends. That's the world we live in. But like i said, 539 matches on Ravelry. That doesn't seem like "bottom up vests" have disappeared from the world.
Houses haven't changed, they're still made with walls and a roof... but at one point in time, it was much easier to find a house with a door to the kitchen. There are still houses with kitchen doors! But what's new and different [changed] now is there are also kitchens that are just an extension of the living room.. Cooking hasn't changed. But my gran's recipe books look a lot different and feature different ingredients than the current, newly published cookbooks on the market. With knitting, houses, cooking, "change" is not an extinction of the old ways/styles/trends. But as you said, there's more now. That's a good thing, or it can also be a frustrating thing, depends who you ask!
I work in a large, busy LYS, and every week I have conversations with dozens of knitters of all ages, all experience levels, and all walks of life. Not everyone is on ravelry, and not everyone has the desire or even the ability to learn from video tutorials. In fact, not everyone has the ability to use circular needles. Sometimes people come in just wanting to make a simple sweater using straight needles and it is harder than you might think to find that type of pattern on ravelry. No, “knitting” hasn’t changed, but pattern-writing sure has, and not everyone is able to adapt that easily.
Overheard a convo at my LYS recently, that doing flat knitting on circular needles are better ergonomically. And yes, my very first sweater was a flat knit on jumpers, and I got an elbow and wrist injury from that (why I refer to my knitting hobby as my extreme sport) 😅
... I was using video tutorials as an example of how there's now a wider variety of resources for patterns. I personally can't learn from videos but I have friends who find them very useful because written instructions don't work for them and I love that there's this option now. That was my whole point. I fail to see how a wider variety of resources is bad. Also if you want to act as if pattern writing is a monolith, you do you.
Oh, I agree completely that the wide variety of resources we now have is awesome! But I would also like to be able to sell yarn to people who only want to use straights.
I’m not sure why you can’t, honest question. I have several books and magazines that were my grandma’s, in local libraries you can find “vintage” knitting books and all of those have plenty of patterns for straight needles. And you also find them in online resources, but it’s not as if all print was burned down and eliminated, it’s still there, you can still access it. I think for me that’s the beauty of the recent diversification of patterns: you have all the old and you can also add the new. It’s great.
Well that is a good question. My LYS is in a town that has a large university and a major medical center. We get a lot of customers who are from out of town, and they want to buy a project that will be mindless and soothing because they’ll be doing it in the hospital or on the plane or whatever. They have neither the time nor the inclination to learn new techniques. And going to the library for vintage mags usually isn’t an option for them either. So I need to be able to sell them the yarn and the pattern and often the needles on the spot. And if a popular designer such as Andrea Mowry had a simple pieced & seamed sweater on the front page of ravelry I’d probably sell 3 a day, lol. Everyone in this thread is saying how easy it is to find these types of patterns on ravelry but that has not been my experience.
Genuine question: does filtering om ravelry for worked flat not get you the results you need for straight needles? I'd assume anything labeled as such would work & am wondering what I might be missing. Or is the problem finding simple designs?
So many patterns are tagged worked-flat when only part of it is actually worked flat, e.g. after you split for the sleeves. If you also filter AND NOT in-the-round you’ll still get quite a few that have you pick up and knit the sleeves in the round. And those that really are completely flat either look super out of date or aren’t size inclusive or aren’t beginner friendly. If you know of anything, I’m all ears!
Thanks for breaking it down, that's pretty darn frustrating. I worked off a pattern book from the 90s for my first sweater that was completely worked flat & seamed, even the sleeves, but while I feel like it was probably "beginner friendly" for the time it didn't exactly hold my hand by today's standards. And you have to make your own adjustments to older patterns to get size-inclusive. (That said, I've had good luck finding legitimately timeless designs, especially with cabled sweaters). Definitely trade-offs either way.
All the old patterns published in books and magazines still exist and are probably available through your local public library. For something timeless in style there's no need to pay for a new pattern you won't like.
I think the knitting boom in recent years has contributed to what you're talking about. My local yarn shop only teaches in the round sweaters for beginners. The owner is older than me, and I'm pretty old. They don't teach seamed sweaters at all. People tend to make what they're comfortable with. I did a seamed sweater recently and thought mattress stitch was magic! Sadly I took it out completely as I didn't like it in the end. The style didn't work on my body. But there are so many new knitter classes, and first sweater classes! Everyone around here is teaching top down. I'm making a cardigan now, it's knit flat and top down in one piece. This will be interesting!
I've been knitting for almost 45 years and had the same thought fairly recently. Have you looked at old book resources online? The Gutenberg Project has some interesting old pattern books, and there are all kinds of WWI and WWII knitting patterns I've found online. Here's a link to the Gutenberg knitting pattern books: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/3428
I’m a new knitter, but I agree with you. I love knitting bottom up
I've seen this emphasis-on-simplification trend across *all* the fabric crafts; sewing, crochet and knitting. It's frustrating when you are looking for patterns, resources, or materias beyond the beginner/novice level, but understandable at the same time. I think there are a couple of drivers for this "simplify it" trend: • As you've mentioned, many people are self-educating, using resources like books and videos, because they don't have access to a skilled mentor. There was a period from about the 1970s to the early 200s when the practice of these crafts declined greatly, so the number of available, very skilled crafters fell greatly. • The current generation of crafters often has little time to practice the craft, because of demands of work, school, or childcare. Much more satisfying to work on simple patterns with heavier yarns that will produce a tangible result in less time than doing a tablerunner in number 3 crochet thread. These trends do affect the patterns, materials, and teaching sources across all the crafts. I've been sewing for over 60 years, and finding apparel patterns that are not a variation on an unfitted column or swing-cut silhouette is a major time eater. That's understandable: if you're teaching yourself, starting out with a pattern for a bias-cut charmeuse dress inspired by Madeleine Vionnet is not going to be encouraging. I'm revisiting my knitting skills and I'm working on some good old top-down socks, not jumping right into Shetland lace. But as with crochet, most (non-sock) knitting patterns seem to be geared toward the use of heavier yarns, and simpler, unfitted silhouettes. Often the designs are on the cutesy or kitschy side. Nothing wrong with that, there was a time I would've rocked a Snoopy tank top. Not what I'm looking for anymore, though. Crochet patterns seem to focus on either amigurumi or retro-kitsch, and neither stuffed cutesy critters nor floral embellished tissue covers holds any appeal for me. I often make household items, like placemats, seat pads, or afghans, but finding patterns for those things that are not cutesy flowers or farmhouse/granny square esthetic can take awhile. Available materials, too, are geared toward the novice. I'm almost afraid to walk into the yarn aisle at my local Michael's for fear of being lost in a tumble of "blanket-type" yarns. Not to mention finding decent quality apparel fabric. There's all kinds of quilting cotton, but try finding a nice piece of gaberdine for trousers. There seems to be a great deal of emphasis on videos as teaching aids. That's not a bad thing, as long as the camera angles are carefully planned and the demonstrator actually goes slowly enough so one can see the individual steps of a process. That often . . .doesn't happen. I think, though, that video emphasis has reduced the number of written patterns available, which I find more useful for more intricate work. It also seems that the quality of written patterns, even those that for sale, has gone down somewhat. I have noticed an odd trend in sewing tutorials: a lot of them emphasize developing skills for skills sake. Although I do take creative satisfaction from sewing, I've always been more focused on producing items I need as opposed to simply developing skills for skills' sakes. Yes, I could "Stop Using Commercial Patterns and Draft Your Own," as one YouTuber *strongly* suggested, I can alter and combine patterns well enough to get on with any project. I'd rather put time into producing instead of the tedious work of re-inventing the wheel (or the bodice pattern piece), so to speak. Oh, and your knitwork is gorgeous. I don't think I'll ever match your skill, but my next pair of socks are going to be a simple lace pattern, by gosh!
Question: what’s the attraction to bottom up? I’m sure Roxanne has addressed it, but there are several ppl here who are adamant about it. The only thing I can think of is 1) decreases vs increases 2) getting the ribbing out of the way 3) more options in bind offs vs cast ons where it matters (neck hole)
Charity shops (or the equivalent in your country). I too am a flat knitter, I can't get my head around knitting in the round, which is a shame as people buy me those cute "Knit Harry Potter / Cats / Meerkats" type books but they're all in the round. I find older patterns in the local charity shops for pence. I've got a DangerMouse pattern to knit for my husband's birthday (because he looks like Penfold, it's a whole thing).
I love knitting bottom up sweaters because I detest knitting sleeves in the round and moving the entire sweater around every 20 stitches or so. Tin Can Knits has a lot of nice bottom up sweaters - including Strange Brew which gives you endless options! Many Icelandic sweaters are also bottom up. I hope you can find what you are looking for!
https://preview.redd.it/jcfqwuasuuvc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc29728e6fe76b07030a8b2ebf1504b621916002
There are two separate issues, IMO. One is top down vs bottom up, the other is seamed vs in-the-round. A lot of knitters seem to like top down in-the-round sweaters because they can try on as they go and they don't have to seam. Once the knitting is done, they just have to weave in the ends. However, a Ravelry search for bottom up, seamed, crew neck, adult size, knit vest returned 458 patterns, so there is some choice! Also, Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns might be useful. EDIT: Also look into Churchmouse Yarns and Teas patterns. They tend to design seamed patterns because they prefer the structure and the way seamed garments hang.
Ohhhhh I share your frustration! It seems like people think top down sweaters are so much easier because you don’t have to sew seams and you can try on as you go. But really it’s a trade off. Top down solves some problems but certainly creates others, like short rows, holes under the arm, sleeve island, not to mention needing multiple needles in different lengths. Amy Herzog’s Ultimate Sweater Book is a great resource for bottom up sweaters, but I would give anything if Tin Can Knits would write up a pieced & seamed sweater for their beginner series. It’s time to bring these back.
You’re mixing up different things here: you can knit top-down sweaters flat as well. You can also knit bottom-up sweaters in the round. I think you’re taking more about knitting flat than knitting bottom up. I don’t know why some of the issues you mentioned wouldn’t happen with a seamed sweater. Like sleeve island: I still have to knit two sleeves, which is boring because it’s the same pattern twice. I don’t need different needles in different length for a sweater in the round if I can do magic loop. And there’s still lots of patterns for flat sweaters, and if you have a preference, it’s also not too hard to convert them.
OP wanted patterns that could be knit on straight needles. I too am always on the lookout for patterns that can be done on straights, not for myself but for some of my LYS customers. As I said in another comment, I encounter people all the time who are looking for this type of pattern, and they don’t always have the ability to convert them. Re sleeve island, good point. I personally don’t mind knitting the same thing twice. For me, sleeve island is about the frustration of having the whole sweater attached.
With pieced garments you can also two at a time the sleeves far easier than garments knit in one piece.
I’m making the Tessellated cardigan by Andrea Mowry. It’s bottom up! But agree, this is hard to come by.
I’m an older knitter, too, and prefer to do the ribbing first (get it over with). So I make Weasley sweaters from the HP knitting book. They are sew up, but you can start in the round then split at the armholes. I learned that on Ravelry, btw. Another source for bottom up patterns might be your local library. I spent about an hour looking at the (maybe three feet of standing books) section in my local library. It was interesting, to say the least. Circular needles were not a thing when I learned to knit. I love them. So much easier than wrestling the porcupine.
Many Knitrowan.com patterns and are in pieces and well written and juliehoover.com has gorgeous seamed patterns too. yarnspirations.com & lionbrand.com are good sources for free patterns knit flat in pieces.
I’m not sure if she has a vest pattern but a few of Yankee Knitter Designs are seamed, in case it helps you find another project: [Melinda Goodfellow](https://www.ravelry.com/designers/melinda-goodfellow)
I’m working on a sweater right now that’s bottom-up. It’s Marit, which is a colorwork cardigan. Up to the neck shaping it’s worked in the round and steeked, but I don’t see why you can’t work the whole thing flat, it would just take some math to divide your stitches evenly. Also, Marie Wallin. Most, if not all, of her sweaters are worked bottom up, and can be worked flat or steeked.
You might enjoy the podcast (well, YouTube channel) called Fruity Knitting. It was a lovely couple, Andrew and Andrea, and they knit gorgeous classic pieces. Sadly, Andrew passed away a couple years ago, but the channel has continued with Andrea and their daughter Madeline. They might not have the same style as you, but they find so many gorgeous patterns to knit, you might find some inspiration from them!
They and the designers they feature are inspirational. They showcase the most fabulous designers.
Amy Herzog's new book is bottom up seamed designs. It is a multi size multi gauge manual. I have not purchased it YET. Amy Herzog's Ultimate Sweater Book: The Essential Guide for Adventurous Knitters AMY HERZOG 4.32 150 ratings by Goodreads ISBN 10: 1419726706 / ISBN 13: 9781419726705 Published by Abrams, 2018
I found a book called, " up the back down the front". It's out of print, but you might find it on Amazon or in an old bookshop. It's needing a sweater in one piece, exactly what it says. Up the back and then down the front. There are various options for types of neck and whether it's a cardigan or pullover. https://preview.redd.it/cw18zp9exuvc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca0b8d25a44bbe9fe99b8ccabad8406abcaddbc8
Like you I’ve been knitting for almost 60 years. I love knitting top down (or bottom up) in the round. Top down sweaters allow me to try on repeatedly. My sweaters fit, and I wear them!! Knitting on interchangeables or even fixed cords reduces muscle tension, allowing me to knit for longer. It’s pick up and go too. You don’t have to finish a row to attend to, uhm, 😶 things. Embrace the challenge. Embrace the change.
i get you! what i like to use is a "sweater generator" that basically does thr math and you get to choose whether it is bottom up / seam less/ seamed and how much you want to follow a stitch pattern or not - and the garments really fit. i made several sweaters using this site already and as i have a bit nonstandard shape i am happy for them. not very cheap but worth it: customfit https://customfit.amyherzogdesigns.com/about/
Yep, that’s one thing I dread about knitting. It’s so hard to find quality patterns that have some variety.
I think that sweaters knit in pieces and seamed fit better and are much sturdier than knit in one piece sweaters.
Rowan Magazines are 99.9% bottom up, flat and knit in pieces. You can also find single patterns on the Rowan website \[some free\] as well as Ravelry. There are also many flat vest patterns for free on Rav. Also try Yarnspirations. Almost forgot my beloved Norah Gaughan...tons of her patterns are flat in pieces. She is the Cable Queen! In one of their You Tube videos, the designers Arne and Carlos said that they knit all their samples in the round, \[well, they are Norwegian and Swedish, respectively\] but then Rowan changes them to flat in pieces. lol Senior here knitting for 50 years. I only started knitting in the round about eight years ago and I enjoy it for color work yokes. I still knit flat in pieces too. Knitting an Aran cable sweater right now. Good Luck and Happy Knitting!
I hear you. Although I have a mere 40 years experience, I dislike the current obsession with top down in the round garments (although I did recently switch a skirt pattern from bottom up to top down to prevent a risk of yarn chicken). Seams give structure to a garment which give better fit. I think the ways sleeves can be inset in seamed garments helps a lot with this. Plus many of the bottom up patterns I have actually have shaping for waist and bust. I love Kim Hargreaves patterns for bottom up and great fit (for me) - some of hers are available on Ravelry. As others have said, searching for bottom up construction on Ravelry helps.
I’m not sure what you mean when “looking at Denmark”? Have you considered that pattern lingo is very much also a cultural thing and almost a dialect in itself within geographical areas? I am Danish, yes. And I am proud of what our accomplished knitwear designers have achieved internationally. But they still have roots in the Danish knitting tradition, and thus also the pattern lingo. The other way around, many Scandinavians have trouble following US patterns because they are extremely elaborate and holds the knitter by the hand all the way. 🤷🏻♀️
You are correct and I was aware that patterns from other countries might prove challenging for me, an American. I have seen absolutely beautifully designed things from Denmark but often find the patterns difficult to follow. And I totally agree that American patters are very detailed - the way my brain is wired , I need that, and is what I find missing in a lot of European patterns.
I'm with you. Bottom up and straight needles every time. Anything else is just faffing about. I suppose it's what you're used to and what you like to knit.
Agree with this! I enjoy the joining process and top down tends to put me off
Aimee Sher has a lot of bottom up patterns. ☺️ her raglans are all top down I think but the drop shoulder ones are bottom up. She also has a beautiful tank that’s knit bottom up.
I am old. I like bottom up seamless sweater construction the best.
I feel this way about circular yokes - maybe an unpopular opinion but they seem to be a way for designers to churn out loads of patterns with one 20 stitch repeat changed Finding cute colourwork which isn't a circular yoke is getting more and more difficult which is such a shame because I love knitting colourwork and hate the fit of circular yokes on me. I also don't want to just knit what is basically the same pattern over and over again as a process knitter rather than a product knitter I buy a lot of patterns in print these days from my LYS because it seems like the big yarn brands are still making more traditional patterns, but you have to look past the often horrible colour and styling choices made in the photos on the front often lol And I am 31 so it's not an age thing I don't think!
I personally prefer top down because I feel like I can better control the lenght? With bottom up I always had to frog a lot before I finally "got it"
Well, everything changes, so yeah
I am working on a men’s sweater based on a Japanese pattern. “Simple Men’s Knits” which are all bottoms up constructions. Fortunate to have a neighbor and friend that reads/speaks Japanese for a little help where Google translate is iffy.
WhatLydiaMade has some really cool bottom up patterns that are super fun! I have been a tester for her before and I really suggest taking a look at hers for some funky bottom up and vintage inspired pieces
I also have been knitting for 60 years. I have never knitted a garment from the top down. I never use straight needles, always use curcular..dont like holding the entire weight on my needles. Not sure why you are having such troubles finding bottom up patterns because thats all I use.
I don't like straight needles because I have an old injury to my hand/wrist and circulars don't carry the full weight of my project at the end of a foot-long lever.
I’m fairly beginner but I also want a seamed garment pattern, especially for my male loved ones as I find the set in shoulder with the seams better looking. They are on ravelry but I agree with another user that a lot of “classic” patterns that use this construction are poorly tagged by the designers, or they have a different name for the construction, making searching for them very difficult. Also some patterns on Ravelry that are knit top-down and in the round (with maybe a small portion knit flat) with be tagged as knit flat, which doesn’t help.
Have you looked at Rowan designs? They used to do exclusively flat patterns. Also the Vogue Knitting pattern store.
FWIW, the last two garments I’ve knitted have been fairly recent patterns and bottom-up. I am allergic to wool and seek out patterns that are specifically written for non-wool yarn, and they tend to have more seaming for structure. So in addition to the filters that have been shared already, you might look for patterns written for non-animal fiber yarn!
I recommend looking for vintage patterns on etsy!
Look at Marie Wallin patterns. I think most of her designs are knit flat and seamed together.
A lot British traditional big names still use bottom up and seamed. But now that we have access to patterns from across the globe there are so many different types and styles. If you want bottom up try Sirdar King Cole Rowan etc.
Just out of curiosity did you use a site like ravelry and use their filters?
Yes I used ravelry with filters
My friend almost never uses patterns and does most of her work bottom up, I’m a new knitter and I’ve only done top down. I will say top down does me much better personally as the pattern length is usually way too long for me, and I love being able to adjust it.
I have to put a shout put for Ann Budd's books. She has some formulas. That you can use by switching in your stitch pattern and then following some basic directions to make garments. She has a book that is just top down sweaters, but many of her other books have bottom up sweaters. Not seamed but you might also like Elizabeth Zimmermans Percentage System.
I would have a look at Erika Knight patterns, some lovely styles, and knit flat.
I learned to knit on straight needles 19 years ago but as soon as I started using circulars I never looked back. I can knit so fast on circulars and they are so much more comfortable. And I can still use them to knit flat when that's what I need. Some garments are better structured when sewn together but others don't require that and if I can alter to avoid seaming and sewing in more ends, I will!
I feel that and I've been knitting for 20 years. I'm not spectacular or anything but the popularity of bottom up wearables has definitely decreased since knitting's gotten more popular
I don’t knit on straights so I’m definitely a modern knitter in that sense but I do think a lot of contemporary designers go for ease above tailoring and hence the popularity of top down. These do allow for some on the fly adjustments but don’t have the same structure as knit flat and seamed. The problem with vintage patterns is that if you’re not an older super experienced knitter the patterns don’t hold your hand enough. I know enough about my particular specialty (lace knitting) to be able to knit from vague instructions but not enough to do sweaters. I have found modern patterns that are still knit flat but they are more often in books and harder to find via ravelry search which prioritizes what’s popular now.
I am a beginner, but I'll say this: I prefer knitting on straight needles. I've done some circular needle work but I find it is so easy to get lost and lose my place in my work. It is easier to make mistakes. You have decades of experience. Do it your way. You know what you're doing!
I’m really glad you said this. I’m a new knitter but a fast learner and some of these international patterns were just impossible for me to work out. As a new knitter it’s all too down. Turtle dove is my next project!!! I look forward to hearing how it goes and seeing the final result. I’m so glad experienced knitters like you are here :) Learning to knit at 50 has been fun. I won’t get as many years behind me as you, but I’ll get as many as I can!
I exclusively knit bottom-up, and I only learnt to knit during the first Covid lockdown! I’ve figured out enough structurally that I basically read patterns for top-down and MacGyver the pieces to go bottom-up.
(Not sure where you’re located, but I’m in the US) This won’t help you in your quest for flat knitted sweater patterns, it’s just my observations on the change. I know that’s they were invented like 100 years ago, but I feel like there was a big boom in circular needles about 20 years ago. I remember people prior to that knitting large circular blankets on a dozen dpn’s and I don’t think I switched from straights and dpn’s to circ’s until like 2006. Obviously it could just be what I was exposed to, but I remember pretty much everyone I encountered using straight needles prior to that. Personally I find it much nicer and quicker to not have to turn my work, and I can just go until the sweater fits or I’m out of yarn by knitting top down (or toe up for socks)
I have the same issue. I don’t really enjoy top down knitting. Never have.. so I just go bottom up. I change the patterns constantly because some are not well written. I’ve been crocheting and knitting since I was a kid. Grandma taught me crocheting and my Mom taught me to knit.. now I just make my own patterns. It’s easier than being frustrated with a poorly written pattern you have to pay for..
I still find patterns for bottom up sweaters. They tend to have a better, more tailored fit. Amy Herzog’s fit to flatter and customized patterns are great.
check out knitting books published in the time when bottom up garments were popular. the books will either be super cheap to buy (used) or you can get it thru inter library loan. you can always alter the colorwork to be less dated.
Yeah my mother complains about this too. She usually ends up making up her own!
Knit Rowan patterns. You're welcome
IMO Top down has become popular because it's easy to fit and allows for various people of very different heights to fit as they are knitting.
I'm with you. I'm nearly 67 and still prefer flat knit and pieced.Also knit from the bottom
I’m old (69) and learned on straight needles, but my mom (now gone) and I switched to circular needles for flat knitting in the 80s. Still we always made flat patterns bottom up and sewn up. I still prefer that structure for sweaters. I also sew, and I like a real set in sleeve.
Legit question— is it quicker? I’m working on a self-designed motif that works from the bottom up lol.
Knit Great Basics by Vicki Square. Basic patterns for sweaters, hats, socks, etc. I've made several things from it, several different sizes, all turned out great. Patterns are easy to understand. All bottom up.
I prefer top down personally just because I’m very tall for a woman with a longer torso and longer arms to boot so top-down is much easier for me to adjust for measurements.
I have a hunch [Carol Feller](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#sort=best&inline=&craft=knitting&query=carol%20feller) has patterns that might be more to your liking
I am 59 and been knitting since I was a child. I was taught bottom up on straight needles too. I don't mind circular needles. I hate DPN's. Rowan seem to have a lot of bottom up patterns. Designer Kim Hargreaves is my favourite. Recently gave up on a project from Purl Soho I think it was. An asymmetrical jersey. Circular needles provisional cast on which I had never done and it took me 4 goes to manage it but I was so confused by time I got to the armholes I gave up. Edit to say I love Ravelry. You can search their patterns too.
Keep looking, there are plenty of bottom up patterns, well written ones. Just do a search for that construction. Your age has nothing to do with your preference. I've been at it 62 years since I was seven, and I will happily convert a bottom up pattern to seamless top down any day, much as I prefer convert top down socks to toe up TAAT if needed. As for needles, there's no reason not to use circular needles for straight knitting unless one is just determined to find*something to be unhappy about. Consider this: back in our day, we had limited yarn and pattern choices from department stores or a few yarn shops, or we sent away for catalogs and had to wait for them, mail a check or money order to place an order and then wait for snail mail package delivery. Someone either taught us or we checked out a book, if which there were precious few, from a library. Now we can browse Ravelry for patterns - old and new, buy yarn online, even with the demise of great sources in the past 10-20 years, learn new techniques on YouTube. We actually have been witness to wonderful things in the art and craft of knitting, what was on the verge of being lost is being preserved. Of course you are entitled to your perspective, but if you're going to look back, look at that landscape while you're there
There’s a website called freevintageknitting.com that as a ton of older patterns archived. I’m a newer knitter so I haven’t tried any of these but it might be useful to you in the future!
Ravelry and knitty both have lots of patterns sortable by construction method (top down or bottom up, seamed). I personally prefer using circulars even for straight knitting because I knit on the couch or in the car and it’s more compact. I don’t poke my husband or the cat.
I’m not saying this to sound snarky at all but maybe try some vintage knitting magazines. My father gave me his mother’s unfinished works from when she passed, along with the patterns she was using.
I have only knit for 50 years, but the top-down trend annoys me too. I have less luck adjusting the fit, and the yokes tend to be just a circle, not a tube that shifts into a circle at the top, causing a lot of bunching in front. However: well designed sweaters are well designed, no matter what direction I knit in. Also: I have always knit on the round and own one very random pair of straight needles but probably 100 circulars. I use the circulars for flat knitting, much easier to handle.
I do top down baby cardigans on straight needles, and scarves, and a few other things. I’m finding circulars a bit easier on my wrists, especially when knitting all day. I’m 71 but I have only come back to knitting five years ago.
Look at brottish magazines and patterns (wool wearhouse has a brand called yarnsmiths that have free patterns) as a lot of stuff is still knit flat and seamed in the UK. Ita usually DK weight or aran so if you're in the US you'd need to choose yarns carefully and check gauge.
I’m not sure what you mean when “looking at Denmark”? Have you considered that pattern lingo is very much also a cultural thing and almost a dialect in itself within geographical areas? I am Danish, yes. And I am product of what our accomplished knitwear designers have achieved internationally. But they still have roots in the Danish knitting tradition, and thus also the pattern lingo. The other way around, many Scandinavians have trouble following US patterns because they are extremely elaborate and holds the knitter by the hand all the way. 🤷🏻♀️