Bottom/Cuff Edges

Have you noticed that sweaters change in length from one year to the next? Some sweaters are waist-length, while others are much longer. This longer length is called "tunic" length, also called "finger-tip length" among designers. Most often, the sweaters in department stores which have this fashionable, longer length come in generic sizes like small, medium and large, and are shapeless, sack-like and quite unflattering. It's a simple enough thing to add a bit of shaping at the side seams to correct that problem. If you would like to have a longer length sweater that has a trim and attractive fit to it, you can have one custom designed just for you. Your sweater will be right in step with fashionable styles, but yours will fit you much better than anything you can buy at the mall.

This page is devoted to the different type of edge trims which can be incorporated into your custom design. Since the sweaters are hand knitted one at a time on a home knitting machine, I don't mind taking the extra time to stop - and plan just the right details for the bottom and cuffs edges of your design - before I begin the actual knitting. Custom designing sweaters has been my passion and pleasure for most of my life. Even when I was a little girl, I would spend long hours creating interesting designs for my dolls' sweaters. Designing something special for you will be a pleasure for me.

Standard ribbing, which is the type of edge treatment most often found at the bottom and cuffs of a sweater, tends to be a little more sporty in its "look" than a hemmed edge, which lies flat and has a more refined appearance to it. For an elegant, dressy evening look, try a picot hemmed edge or a straight hem. A rolled cuff, which is usually incorporated into a design which has a rolled neckline, is also a nice look, not as dressy as the hemmed edge, but interesting and fun.

That's what is so nice about a custom design sweater - it doesn't look like the sweaters everyone else is wearing!

Here is the gold standard of sweater designs, the standard ribbed bottom and cuff, which is found on most styles. This has a sporty and traditional look to it. Ribbed edges tend to give a closer fit, as they stretch open when you pull them on and then contract back, to fit closely around your wrist, for example. At the bottom edge of the sweater, a standard ribbed edge will be pressed open so it will hang straight. The sweater shown above is color "natural ivory", with red hot and pure black in the border pattern.

A simple straight hemmed bottom edge has a dressier, more elegant appearance than the traditional ribbed edges. Hemmed bottom edges are often used with hemmed sleeve cuffs, too, although not always. Hemmed edges, which are most often used in ladies' designs, can be found in men's sweaters, too. The sweater shown above is color kelly green.

A simple straight hemmed bottom edge doesn't have to be plain solid color. The example shown in the photo above adds a decorative and colorful touch to the sweater design. The bottom hem is quite wide, 2.5 inches total width, and contains a bright red checkerboard pattern along with a row of dark brown "eyeglasses". The sleeve hem is more simple in design, a narrow .75 inches total width, and contains only the bright red checkerboard pattern. The inside of the hemmed edges is solid pure white. The overall theme for this particular sweater was a "readers' motif", as the lady for whom the sweater was designed is an avid reader of fine books. The sweater shown above is colors pure white, cayenne (bright red) and bark (dark brown).

A hemmed bottom edge can also be designed to be open at the side seams. This split hem is three inches deep and is hand stitched at the edges to provide an open edge. This is a nice feature for a custom design (and it doesn't hurt that it provides a little more room across the hips, too). The sweater shown above is knitted in color willow green.

Picot hemmed bottom edges and sleeve cuffs are a little more fancy than plain hemmed edges. A plain hem has a flat, folded edge, while a picot hemmed edge has a row of tiny "points" to it, making it much more feminine and delicate. The sweater shown above is pure white.

Rolled cuffs, generally found with a rolled neckline, are sporty and comfortable, with an added advantage that they are easily adjusted (you can roll them up or down, as needed). The sweater shown above is color "natural", a little darker than the photo at the top of this page.

Tipped ribbing is often found at the bottom edge and sleeve cuffs of a sweater, and sometimes at the neckline as well. The term "tipped" refers to the very narrow band of contrasting color at the edge of the ribbing. The above sweater, knitted in medium grey, has tipped ribbing in solid black.

There are a wide range of sizes available for your custom design sweater. Choose from the list of sizes, or have a custom size designed just for you. Please also take a look at the yarn colors available for your sweater design. With 49 beautiful yarn colors available, there is sure to be something to please everyone.

When you are ready to place your order for your own custom design sweater, you can place your order here.