Best Way to Change a Neckline?

Hello!
I am interested generally in how best to open up the neckline on crew neck sweaters. I have a really short neck (:pout:) and so I try to knit mostly v-necks but I have to bypass lots of sweaters I really like, especially Icelandic pullovers.
I had this idea that if I just left out a row or two of the neck decreases that it would make the neck larger. Would this work? What sorts of problems might that cause?
I really want to knit Meg Swanson’s spiral yoke pullover but the neckline has always put me off.

Those are beautiful patterns! If you leave out some of the neck decreases, you’ll narrow the neck. If you want to lengthen the neckband so it’s not so close to your neck, you could start the neck decreases earlier. You’d then have to pick up more sts around the collar but the neck itself would be longer.

Start the neck decreases lower if knitting from the bottom up; for the spiral yoke, don’t do as many decs or rows on the front neck, though you may want them around the sides and back. Not sure how that’s written. On the Icelandic ones, you could make smaller neckbands. One of the tricks in knitting in the round is to do short rows across the back of neck to raise it higher than the front.

Thanks guys! :grphug:
It hadn’t occurred to me to start the neck decreases earlier.
That’s interesting about the short rows in the back. I guess I need to choose the right pattern to modify. I’m really scared of short rows, but they sound so helpful I’m tempted to try them again.
The Icelandic patterns on patternfish are gorgeous. Just for eye candy, here is the sweater jacket I’m planning as my third steeking project.

Mmm, lovely jacket. Short rows sound more complicated than they really are and they’re a very nice shaping technique. I learned about this method here at KH for short rows and like it better than wrap&turn.


I think everyone who tries the German short rows likes them better. I’m sure glad someone posted the links for me when I first started doing short rows. They don’t show nearly as much as the w&t.

I’m going to give this a try!
I once tried to knit Kate Davies Owls pullover that had increases at the bust. I used whatever style was recommended in some nice projects and I watched tutorials and practiced on a swatch. I did the short rows (on bulky weight yarn!) as well as I thought I could but there was a dreadful hole right under the yoke on either side of the short row.
I studied other people’s pics on Ravelry and I saw that most people had them. Now, I like yo holes sometimes for decoration but not in the middle of the bust! I finished the sweater but all I could see were those awful holes so I ended up frogging it. :frog:
So, I guess how I think things should look is a bit different than how others feel. Also, I think that pattern may have been too young for me and that has transferred to my feelings on short rows.
Thank you so much for the links, I’ll definitely try again, especially if its just on the back of the neck.