Sleeves from the top down

I love doing raglans because it eliminates two seams i have to sew together. but not all patterns can work with this. some require cap sleeves. now i knew there had to be a way to make these from the top down. and i found it in 'knitting in the old way'. it uses short rows. i tested it out, but the sleeve was coming out way too shallow and it required you to pick up way too many sts. so i goofed around with it and figured it out! it still requires some short rows, but i also added in decreases. so, here we go.

first you have to figure out your pattern. lets look at a mock pattern.

work up to first decreases for sleeve cap shaping. bo 4 sts on next two rows. then on next rs row, dec 1 st on each side and continue on every 4 rows 4 times. work even for 5''. on next rs row bo 4 sts at beginning of row, repeat on next 3 rows. bo remaining 10 sts.

this is simple. but it covers all the basics: bo, dec, and working even. ok, now you need to break it down.

at the top of the cap, you will have 5 rows that are almost flat. the 4st bo on 4 rows, and the row that binds off the remaining sts. thise comes out to 26 sts total. these come out to then you will have 5" of working even. now for this you need to figure out exactly how many rows you need to work. so, lets say your gauge is 6 rows/1". multiply 5" and 6 rows and you get 30 rows. then you have your decs. also work these out. it's 4 rows times 4 times plus the first dec. 17 rows. then you have your two rows with the 4 st bo. ok.

now sew together your should seems. for now, don't worry about joining the sides. i'm going to show you how to do it flat first. to work it in the round, just join in the round when done with cap shaping. now you need 2 pieces of scrap yarn or any other marker you have. for the top you have to mark out the 26 sts. now the basic rule of thumb for this is 3 sts to every 4 rows. since we need to pick up 26 sts, we just need to use math to figure out how many rows we need. so that's 26 sts times 4 rows (104) divided by 3 sts which is 34.66. so lets say 34. mark off the center 34 sts.

then figure out how many rows you need to pick up. the 5" (30 rows) and the dec repeats (18) come out to 48 rows. divide by two (24) and pick this up evenly along the body. (NOT INCLUDING THE FIRST 4 ST BO). you don't pick those up along the body because patterns always have this match up for the first bo on the sleeve shaping. you pick these up in every st.

when you work the short rows, you have two options. work the wraps as usual, and either: 1) when you come to each wrap, work as you usually would or 2) just work across it without working it. at each turn work a wrap. i prefer just working across them.

now pick up the first 4 sts bo. then pick up the 47 sts evenly from this point to the first marker. then pick up the center 34 sts. then the 47 sts and the 4 sts in the last bo. turn.

note*instead of starting at the bos and working to the next marker. you can break your yarn and start at that next marker. this will eliminate that extra row that will form by working back to the marker.

the 34 sts have to be broken down. you have the center 10 sts and then the 2 groups of 4 on each side. these will be worked with short rows.

so work to first marker. work the first two groups of 4 sts and the center 10 sts, turn. work back over 10 center sts and the next group of 4 sts, turn. work the 4 sts, 10 sts, (work short row wrap as desired) then the next 4 st group, turn. continue, with each row adding the 4 sts on each end. you now worked the 34 sts on the top.

remove the 2 markers and mark the next 15 rows for the 5" that are worked evenly. you're going to work each turn with each st. when you turn and come to the wrap at the end of each row, knit the wrap st and the one before it together. on the rs you k2tog and on the ws you p2tog. work to markers.

the next row has what would be the last dec on the written pattern, now they're inc. cont working the k2tog and p2tog. on the rows that have the inc, simply do whatever inc you prefer 2 sts in from the wraps (these will be on the rs).

after those 18 rows are complete, work evenly, working the sleeve dec.