Adjusting Sleeve Length in a Drop Shoulder Sweater

Drop shoulder sweaters are having a fashionable moment right now. Their oversized fit is irresistibly cozy and wearing one is simultaneously chic and comfortable. The key to keep a boxy sweater looking fashionable instead of frumpy, is making sure the sleeves fit perfectly. A slim fitting sleeve on a boxy sweater keeps it stylish and modern.  

Making sure the sleeves on your boxy sweater are the right length can be a bit of a challenge. Depending on how much positive ease you choose to knit your sweater with the sleeve may need to be lengthened or shortened. This is because the point at which the shoulder falls (and the sleeve begins) can be higher (for sweater with less positive ease) or lower (for sweaters with more positive ease) on the arm. If the shoulder is lower on your arm, you need a shorter sleeve. If it is higher on your arm, you need a longer sleeve.  

Following the instructions for the sleeve in the pattern will usually get you close to the right length, but a designer can only put so much information in a pattern and cannot anticipate all the adjustments each individual knitter may need to make. The purpose of this blogpost is to equip you with the tools to adjust your sleeves yourself so you can achieve the right length.  

There are a few ways you can figure this out. Option 1A is medium difficulty, and Option 1B is the hardest, but most specific. Option 2 is by far the easiest. Let’s begin: 

Option 1A:   

Where the shoulder falls on your arm is the thing that determines how long your sleeve needs to be. The easiest way is to just pop your unfinished sweater on and have a friend help you measure from where the shoulder falls down to your wrist. Presto, totally sleeve length determined.  

But hang on a minute, if you just pop on your unfinished, unblocked, neckline-less sweater, you will not get a good look at where that shoulder is going to fall. Go finish the neckline because it will affect how the sweater sits on your shoulders. It’s easier to do now before the sleeve are dangling in the way anyway. Then give the sweater a quick blocking. If it is stockinette stitch, it probably doesn’t need the blocking, but any other stitch is going to change a bit with blocking. If you are impatient, try giving your sweater at least a quick steam block. 

Once you have finished the neckline and blocked your sweater, put it on. It can be somewhat hard to do this part yourself so you may want to ask someone for help. The outside edge of the shoulder is going to stick out like a bad 80’s power shoulder. Guide it around the curve of your shoulder and down to your arm where it will lay when the sleeves are pulling it into place. Then measure from there down to where you want your sleeve to end (such as your wrist). You now have your total sleeve length.  

Now from your total sleeve length, you will subtract the length of the cuff. Pay attention to if the cuff is folded or not.

Total sleeve length – sleeve cuff length = length to work sleeve decreases over 

You can now work your sleeve at the rate of decrease specified by the designer over the length of sleeve to work decreases over. After reaching that point, work the cuff and you are done. It is pretty simple, and I recommend you do this if you don’t like math. 

Option 1B: 

Note: Option 1A is the beginning of this method so make sure you read through it first. 

But if you do like math, you can customize your sleeve decrease rate given your own specific sleeve length and row / round gauge.  

Step 1: find out how many rounds you will be working on your sleeve 

Length to work sleeve decreases over x rounds per inch / cm = total rounds you will work  

Step 2: find out how many stitches you need to decrease 

Total stitches at top of sleeve – stitches for sleeve cuff = stitches to decrease 

Step 3: find out how many decrease rounds you need to work 

Remember that each decrease round will remove 2 stitches. 

Stitches to decrease / 2 = decrease rounds to work 

Step 4: divide total rounds by decrease rounds to find out how frequently to work decrease rounds 

Total rounds you will work / decrease rounds to work = number of rounds to work decreases over  

Now you can scribble your updated numbers into the margin of the pattern and follow them instead of the designer’s numbers. Congratulations on doing some grading math! Your sleeve should fit you perfectly.

Option 2:

Hopefully you read through Option 1 and have already taken note of the part where it tells you to finish the neckline and block your sweater. If not, pop up there and read it. Making sure the shoulder is falling where it will land in the end is important for getting the correct sleeve length.

Once your sweater has its neckline on and is blocked, simply pick up the stitches for the sleeve and start knitting. Follow the designer’s decrease instructions and work until the sleeve is down past the elbow.

It is a lot easier for measure the length left to knit when measuring across only your forearm instead of most of your arm.

Once the sleeve is past your elbow, get out your tape measure and measure how much farther you need to go to get to your desired sleeve length. You can thread the tape through the fingers on the hand of the arm getting measured to help hold it in place.

Take off the sweater and lay it flat. Measure how much of the sleeve you have already knit. Add that to the length you still need to knit. Now you have your total length of your sleeve.

Subtract the length of your cuff from the total length of your sleeve to determine how long you need to knit to before beginning the cuff.

Just keep knitting until you have reached that length, work the cuff, and you are done!

 Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!