So far, every sweater or vest created by Kit, with the Churchmouse design team, has been knit in pieces and seamed. Several customers have asked why.
Kit says, simply, it’s what she prefers. Among the many reasons:
She prefers the vertical structure offered by side seams, and the way the fabric hangs. Plus she finds seams offer a clear guide to true up any twist when blocking.
Kit takes her knitting everywhere she goes and finds that individual pieces are easier to transport and less cumbersome to knit. Being short, she isn’t fond of having the whole sweater dragging in her lap!
She’s also noticed over the years that a lot of knitters have a hard time keeping their tension consistent after they split a circular body to work the front and back separately above the armholes. Often the change in fabric texture can be quite noticeable.
And if knitting with a self-striping or shading yarn, there will be a less obvious shift in the depth of the stripes above the armholes, and in the sleeves.
Kit likes that starting with half the body, she gets good information about how it’s going sooner so is able to make tweaks as she progresses (before she gets so far that she doesn’t want to go back and fix it!). Plus the sideseams give you a nice spot to fix some fit issues later.
And when every row isn’t worked all the way around, she likes getting that little reward for finishing a row more often!
Of course, for every one of these preferences (or perhaps quirks!), there will be countless knitters and designers who hold the opposite, or at least a differing opinion. Another reminder that there’s no one “right way” in knitting!
This is not to say you’ll never see a sweater in the round from the Churchmouse Studio. In the meantime, there are countless wonderful designers who offer this option.
