As I haven’t been knitting this month, I have been amusing myself by looking at various knitting themes. This week’s theme was sideways knitting in garments.
All sideways
Garments can be knitted in one piece, from sleeve cuff through body and across to the other sleeve cuff, then sewn at the side seams. Or elements can be picked up and knitted on.
The Sideways Spencer by Annie Modesitt was a big hit when it was published in Interweave Knits in 2004:
https://www.interweave.com/product/sideways-spencer-knitting-pattern-download/
The Carnaby Skirt, free from Knitty, is another classic, with its box-stitch short-row panels:
https://knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTcarnaby.php
There is a chance to embrace vertical stripes, such as the Cinna Top by Ksenia Naidyon:
https://www.knitpicks.com/cinna-top/p/14852D
Bolan, by Leila Raabe, is a delicate lace design in linen:
Joji Locatelli’s Rhapsody in Cables is a challenging all-over cable design in a lighter weight:
Or you can create a painterly effect, almost woven, by changing and mixing colours. Ravelry user “yarnbeth” has many lovely examples of colour mixing in her sideways-knit projects:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/11-wave-patterned-top/people
Remember your row gauge is now more important than it might otherwise be. Unless you add a band or ribbing at the bottom, you cannot change the length after the main knitting is finished.
Sideways yoke
I like this style because, after you have knitted the yoke sideways, you pick up and knit the body downwards. This gives control over the finished length, and makes it easy to adjust.
The sideways yoke can show off lace, cables, stripes and other directional patterning.
Natsumi, by Yoko Hatta, has a sideways yoke only, with body and sleeves in the conventional direction:
Patons has this lovely circular yoke design, for free:
Debbie Bliss created an ornate design called Silver Belle for Vogue Knitting’s 25th anniversary:
https://store.vogueknitting.com/product/cable-seed-stitch-jacket/
And Elizabeth Zimmermann gives us a versatile version in Knitting Workshop:
Sideways elements
Lace or cable trims, peplums and skirts can be added with sideways knitting.
Jo Sharp adds a touch of lace at the hem of a classic fitted cardigan:
St Brigid, by Alice Starmore, uses a sideways cable to finish the neckline:
https://virtualyarns.com/product/st-brigid/
Catherine Berry made use of a sideways neckline, sleeve cuffs and bands in her heavily cabled TKGA Master Knitter design:
https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-au/p/diamond-rings-aran-knitting-pattern-by-catherine-berry
And these Heidi Kirrmaier and Hinterm Stein designs play with neckline inserts:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mon-ami-breton
For those who love garter stitch, this design by Stephen West incorporates sideways panels in his signature multi-directional, yarn-mixing style:
Yarns
A mention must go to Noro, which looks fabulous in sideways elements:
Do you have a favourite sideways knit?
(I’m sorry not all the links are showing photos in the post. Not quite sure how to do that. I will try to improve it tomorrow if I have the brainpower.)