Wearing Circular Yoke Cardigans
pattern: Brighter Cardigan
yarn: Studio Donegal Soft Tweed (5548)
Watching a knitting podcast recently (something I have not done in a while!) I was surprised by the presenter stating they cannot wear circular yoke cardigans. They were not discussing my designs, but I mean the style in general. Other knitters in the comments agreed - some explaining that said style of yoke tends to slide off the shoulders when unbuttoned, some simply saying they had difficulty ‘styling’ them.
This discussion became interesting to me. There is nothing inherent to a circular yoke construction that should produce the sliding off the shoulder effect. In fact, circular vs raglan vs other types of yoke shaping should have no bearing at all on how a garment sits on the shoulders, because all of these different methods are just means to achieving what could be absolutely identical stitch distribution proportions.
More likely, the problem is an overly wide neckband, coupled with a too-shallow yoke… which might be more likely to occur on circular yoke designs not because of the design itself, but because both the designer and the knitter who opt for this (easier) type of construction might tend to be less experienced. Of course this is just a theory, but I think it does make some sense.
From a designer’s standpoint, writing a garment pattern with circular yoke construction is admittedly simpler than figuring out set-in, contiguous, or even raglan sleeve shaping. Therefore, a less experienced designer (myself included when I was starting out) is more likely to gravitate to this construction style. And by virtue of being less experienced, said designer is also more likely to make the mistake of not quite getting the yoke depth or the neck circumference right.
Alternatively, the issue could just as well be on the knitter’s end. An overly loose neckband is an extremely common problem for beginner sweater knitters. And getting the yoke depth wrong could be the result of misunderstanding the pattern instructions and measuring from the wrong location. Another surprisingly common mistake I have come across specifically in circular yoke garments, is knitters mistakenly starting the sleeve separation immediately after the circular yoke motif is completed, somehow failing to notice the pattern says ‘then continue working Xcm/ rounds in plain stockinette’.
Both of these possibilities would lead to the ‘sliding off the shoulders’ effect, but they are not the circular yoke’s fault per se…
Going back to the podcast I was watching, I scrolled through the channel’s older videos and indeed saw examples of circular yoke cardigans, all with loose neckbands. Whether this was due to user error or the designs themselves I cannot say, but the problem was there.
If you find that any cardigan you own, be it circular yoke or some other construction, slides off the shoulders - examine the neckband. Simply re-knitting it on smaller needles could very well solve the problem.
Getting back to circular yoke cardigans specifically though… even this issue aside, there is a sense I think that the circular yoke style - especially in cardigan form - can look a bit off in light of today’s trends, which tend to favour a more tailored look. So if you find that the issue is not so much the fit, but incorporating the cardigan into your wardrobe… try it over a button-down shirt. This can work surprisingly well, to give it a structured element. And the unexpected combination between folksy and formal can be quite interesting.
