V-Neckband

I am just about finished my first jumper, I am up to the V-neckband. I am having a lot of trouble picking up the neck stitches. So, I was wondering, can I knit the neckband separate from the jumper, and SEW it on when I am finished? What do you think?

Hello and congratulations on your first jumper!
There are patterns where you sew the neckband on later but the neckband is often a different stitch pattern, and gauge to the body. So it is possible but I suspect it would be harder than picking up stitches, especially with a V neck where you will have to work shaping.

What problems are you having with picking up stitches? What is your pattern?
Generally, there are a few tips that should give you a good result. Pick up a whole stitch away from the edge - if you pick up in the middle of the edge stitch, you will get gaps at the junction! Along the back neck, you pick up one stitch for each stitch; down the sides of the neck, you pick up fewer stitches depending on the gauge. This is usually 3 out of every 4 stitches, or 2 out of every 3 stitches. Your pattern should specify the ratio. That means that you pick up one stitch per body stitch 2 or 3 times, and then you skip a stitch.
The neckband is usually worked on a smaller needle than the body stitch - again, your pattern should specify. I often do the pick up row with a much smaller needle and then work the first row with the pattern needle- this gives a neater join.

I’ve recently had to pick up sleeve stitches 4 times until I thought it looked right! So don’t worry about it being a struggle - it’s the best way to learn! Good luck!

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I also use a much smaller needle than the pattern calls for, for the actual pick up row, just as @Mel61suggested this tip works really well. It reduces the amount of stress on the stitches you are going into for the pick up and shortens the length of yarn in each stitch which somehow ends up quite loose otherwise.

I also want to add. If it is just 2 or 3 places which you aren’t happy with a small hole say or an enlarged stitch which doesn’t look perfect, you can “fix” these later in the finishing stages. I had a tricky time with a button band pick up on stranded colour work because some of the ends of rows were a bit loose (to avoid tight stranded work) and I went back with a short length of yarn and put in a stitch on the wrong side, a duplicate stitch or similar, to reduce the size of an enlarged stitch or to draw 2 stitches closer together. Weaving in the ends makes this little fix invisible. No one knows but me (and the many knitters on this forum).

You could always try knitting the neck band and see how it looks and could even try tacking it in place. You don’t have to cut the yarn from the ball even if you cast off, just don’t put the tail through the last cast off stitch, use a locking stitch marker or safety pin to hold the last stitch. That way if you don’t like it you can frog it reasonably easily.

You can, but I haven’t tried it with a v-neck. Just thinking whether that would cause any problems … no, can’t think of any.

Are you familiar with how to do this? It tends to get called “the Phildar method” because it was described in Phildar magazines.

Here’s an article that shows the technique.

It’s rather a long article and you have to scroll down to the photo of a grey swatch with white edge to get to the “how to”.

I am afraid this article is rather long and it makes it seem a lot harder than it is!

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You can also find an explanation in “Big Book of Knitting” by Katharina Buss. Your local library may have a copy, or you can request it from another branch. Alternatively, a second-hand copy is good to have on your knitting bookshelf.

Another way to access it is by making a free account and “borrowing” it here:

In this edition, the technique you want is covered on pp. 70–72. The book shows facings and neckbands being backstitched on to a garment and has good photos and illustrations.

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