Well, hello there. I know I have been AWOL for quite a while, but here I am now. Back to business.
I have told you about the Raglan sweater and the Drop Shoulder one – now here is another: The sweater with Set in Sleeves.
In my opinion this is the kind that you can make fit best. The sleeves, as the name says, are fitted to your body, due to what is called the armscye they are not too big and not too small – when the sweater is well done. The armscye is the edge of the knitting to which the sleeve is sewn. When the scye is the right size, the sleeve will fit like a glove and you do not have to worry about bunching of too much fabric or stretching of too little.
Sweaters like these are usually knit in pieces and then seamed. That gives them stability, other than a Raglan knit from the top down that can stretch in every which way.
A lot of people like knitting sweaters in pieces, the work is manageable, you plug along one piece at a time. Fewer people enjoy seaming the sweater – which is not really hard but needs some practice and preparation. There are a lot of things you can do during knitting to make it easier, the most important one is to have a selvedge stitch (I prefer them in Stockinette Stitch) on each edge. Makes seaming a cinch. Seaming row by row makes for a nice join, and just looks the best, if you ask me.
If you do not like seaming, do not despair. There are patterns with Set in Sleeves that you can knit from the top down, which get joined in the round after the armhole shaping and that make you knit the so-to-speak Set in Sleeves with short rows. I have done it, it is not exactly like the sweater knit in pieces and then seamed, but it is close.
This is my bit for today – I hope it was helpful.
Happy Knitting, as ever!
– Mona
Espace Tricot Blog 
Mona, I’m working on my second sweater now and it’s one with set in sleeves. The edge is not your preferred one. Can you explain how we can do a selvedge edge with a stockinette stitch? I’ve just finished the decreases on both front & back, but I could do the balance in your preferred way (or knit back and do it all that way!)
Love your articles, save them all! Posette
Hello Posette,
All I do to make seaming simple, is to keep the first and last stitch of the knitting in Stockinette Stitch. Meaning you knit those on the right side and purl them on the wrong side. This way it is easy to seam row by row.
Best,,
Mona