Mastering the Knitting Method Essential for Basic Cardigans

I will discuss the knitting method essential for basic cardigans. Typically, the placket is a separately knitted section consisting of full needle tape, ribs, and jersey stitch piping. It is often attached, but doing so can lead to distortion, sagging, or uneven sewing. Additionally, the seam allowance tends to overlap, resulting in increased thickness.　To address these issues, it is advisable to knit the placket directly onto the body.

Table of Contents

• What are the benefits of knitting with a placket?
• Allows for easy opening of buttonholes on the placket.
• summary

Benefits of Knitting with a Placket

While there are various knitting methods referred to as a placket, if, for example, the body is made of jersey stitch: Thin and lightweight knitted fabrics often become heavy with full needle and ribbed textures.

I believe that the Jersey stitch is suitable for pairing with the body.

A cardigan with a placket finished in a seamless, naturally flowing line. It’s sewn together without seams, so it doesn’t pull or stretch when worn, and it’s very light. The placket, applied to the fully fashioned rib knitting, ensures a smooth finish!

The advantage of this knitting method is that if it were just rib knitting, the stitches would stretch when the button is fastened. It would stretch, but interlock knitting helps suppress stretching and results in a thinner finish. Because it is firm, it maintains a relatively clean placket line even after repeated wear.

Allows for Easy Opening of Buttonholes on the Placket

It is certainly very intricate to create a buttonhole while shaping the placket.　It requires effort, but it results in a very beautiful finish.

The biggest advantage is that buttonholes can be added later with a sewing machine. However, it can be difficult to match the color of the sewing thread, and the holes might become misaligned. Creating buttonholes is a rather complicated process.

When knitting, it is necessary to increase the number of steps because the knitting must be done symmetrically on both sides. As the knitting machine programming becomes more complex, the knitting time will increase. This is one of the unique techniques of flat knitting.