The Big Bottom-Up Sweater

The Big Bottom-Up Snugglery Sweater by Michelle Greenberg

What Is Being Made

The Big Bottom-Up Snugglery Sweater is an intermediate-level knitted pullover sweater designed by Michelle Greenberg. This garment is constructed using a bottom-up knitting method, meaning you begin knitting at the lower edge of the sweater body and work upward toward the neckline. The sweater features set-in sleeves that are knitted separately and then joined to the body, creating a classic fitted silhouette with finished bust measurements available in four sizes: Small (38 inches), Medium (42 inches), Large (46 inches), and Extra Large (52 inches).

Construction Technique

This sweater is worked in the round, which means you knit continuously in circular rows rather than flat pieces that require seaming. The construction method involves several key steps: first, you knit the body as a tube from the bottom edge upward. Next, you knit the sleeves as separate tubes. When the body and sleeves reach the appropriate length, you join them together by binding off a small number of stitches on each piece and placing all remaining stitches from both sleeves and the body onto the same long circular needle. This joining technique allows you to continue knitting in the round for the yoke and upper body sections.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

While the pattern references use of stitch markers to track your progress around the circular rows, the specific stitch abbreviations are referenced in a separate common knitting abbreviations guide. The pattern employs circular knitting techniques and requires familiarity with binding off stitches and managing multiple sections of stitches on circular needles simultaneously.

Materials Required

• Yarn: 275 to 350 yards (250 to 320 meters) of super bulky to jumbo weight cotton yarn, such as Bernat Maker Big, which is a tube yarn
• Needles: Two sets of circular needles—10mm (US 15) and 15mm (US 19)—that are long enough to accommodate stitches for the body and sleeves. For working smaller circumferences around the arms and neckline, you may use magic loop technique, a shorter circular needle cord, or double-pointed needles (DPNs)
• Notions: Four stitch markers to track pattern repeats and section divisions
• Optional: A crochet hook for seaming or finishing edges

Gauge

The pattern gauge is 6 stitches by 10.5 rows measured over a 4 by 4 inch (10 by 10 centimeter) swatch using 15mm needles. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for obtaining the proper finished measurements of the sweater.