Top Down vs Bottom Up: A Knitter’s Revelation (From a Lifelong Bottom-Up Girl!)

If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you’ll know I was raised on traditional British sweater knitting.

My mum taught me to knit when I was knee high to a grasshopper, and like so many of us in the UK at that time, the patterns we had access to were almost exclusively bottom-up, knitted flat, and seamed together.

For decades, that was my normal. Cast on at the hem, work your way up one flat piece at a time, seam it all together, give it a good block, and hope for the best. And honestly? I was perfectly happy with it… mostly.

But looking back, I can now see two things clearly:

• I failed to complete far more sweaters than I care to admit — and I could never quite explain why.

• The ones I did complete sometimes… didn’t fit. And again, I didn’t really understand why.

Of course, fast forward a few decades and I’m now a pattern writer for yarn companies, as well as a tech editor. I understand ease, body fit, proportion, grading, shaping — all the things that affect how a garment sits on the body. But in all that time, can you believe I had never made a top-down, in-the-round sweater?

I know. I couldn’t believe it either.

So… I Finally Tried a Top-Down Sweater

I decided the time had come. I picked a pattern I liked, chose some utterly gorgeous yarn from Skein Queen, and cast on.

And—well—WOH. What a revelation!

I knew the theory, of course. Every knitter has heard the promise:

• You can try it on as you go.

• You can adjust the fit mid-project.

• You basically eliminate seams.

But somehow, until I actually did it, I didn’t appreciate just how much of a game changer this would be.

The ability to pause, pop the stitches onto a longer cable, and slip the sweater over my head… honestly? Off the charts.
No more crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
No more realising at the end that the body’s too long, the sleeves are too short, or the bust shaping isn’t quite right.

I could see instantly how the fabric draped, how the ease behaved, how the neckline sat. It was like turning on a light in a room I’d been knitting in the dark for years.

Below is the rolled front neck, which I adore!

Comparing the Two Methods: Bottom-Up vs Top-Down

Bottom-Up, Flat & Seamed

The traditional British approach — and the one I grew up with.

Working in rows allows for stitch patterns that simply don’t behave the same when worked in the round. You’ll find:

• Pros:

  • Great structure: seams support weight and help garments keep their shape.

  • Pieces are portable (you can knit a sleeve on the bus!).

  • Blocking seams can create sharp, professional lines.

  Cons:

  • Fit is a mystery until the very end.

  • Adjustments require maths, guts, and often ripping back.

  • Finishing can feel like a whole second project — especially if seaming isn’t your favourite

It explains so much about why past sweaters didn’t quite fit — I simply couldn’t assess the garment until it was far too late.

What a beautiful icord edging to the cap sleeves below!

Top-Down, In the Round

The relative newcomer to my knitting life… and my heart.

Pros:

• Try-on-as-you-go magic.

• No seams! (Or very few.)

• Easy to adjust length and shaping.

• Great for visual knitters who like constant feedback.

Cons:

• Less structural stability, depending on yarn and style.

• Larger pieces on the needles can feel bulky.

• Not all designs lend themselves naturally to top-down construction.

But honestly? For this project — the benefits far outweigh everything else.

The Sweater So Far… What Do You Think?

Here’s where I am right now:
The body model is set to my exact bust size, and the fit is chef’s kiss. The drape. The flow. The way the fabric falls exactly where I want it to. I am over the moon.

And the best part?
Not a seam in sight.

I’m so close to finishing, and I already know I’ll be making many more garments this way. In fact… I’m already plotting my own top-down designs.

This first one is a raglan, so next up I’m going full adventure mode with a top-down drop shoulder.

EEK — wish me luck!

Final Thoughts

It’s funny, isn’t it?
You can knit for years — decades even — and still find an entirely new part of the craft that feels fresh, joyful, and full of possibility.

Bottom-up construction will always have a place in my heart (and in many designs). But top-down in the round has opened a new door for me. A door into customisable, confidence-boosting, joy-filled garment knitting.

If you’ve never tried a top-down sweater before, let me be the voice whispering: go on, give it a go. You might just have your own revelation too.

(Details of the pattern I used: Uptown Tee by Tori Yu availablle on Ravelry. I did some tweaking though!

Yarn: Selkino 70% merino and 30% silk fingering weight yarn by skeinqueen.co.uk).