DIY: Steek With Me - Steeking (Cutting) a Pullover Sweater into a Cardigan

I’d been planning a super scrappy baby cardigan project since the beginning of this year, and quarantine times just felt like the perfect opportunity to teach myself a new skill. So I settled on my go-to baby sweater pattern, the FinnleyMarline by Park Williams, with plans to steek it into a cardigan.

Steeking looks and sounds super scary but I’m here to report that it’s actually really simple, and you likely already have the skills necessary to give it a try! I really enjoyed the learning process on a scrappy baby sweater - the project was a quick knit made entirely from scraps, so committing to cutting it in half felt a little less scary.

Follow the progression of sweater to cardigan in my four-part video series documenting my first steek!

Step 1: Mark the center

This is a 4-part tutorial for the knitting technique known as steeking. Steeking is the process of cutting a completed knit garment - in this case, I am cutt...

Some knitting patterns are written specifically for steeking, and thus the center lines and reinforcement lines are made clear in some way and should be easy to locate. I chose a regular raglan pullover, a pattern not written specifically for steeking, so my first step after knitting and weaving in all the ends was to locate the center. Since this pattern doesn’t have a perfect center, this first video talks about how I found the center line of the FinnleyMarline and how I plan to maintain symmetry. I also show close up the location of stitches on both sides of the center line that will be reinforced with crochet stitches in video 2.

Step 2: Reinforce stitches with crochet

This is a 4-part tutorial for the knitting technique known as steeking. Steeking is the process of cutting a completed knit garment - in this case, I am cutt...

I chose a crochet hook size slightly smaller than the needle I used to knit the sweater, and the same scrap yarn I used on the sweater edging.

Step 3: Pick up stitches for the button band

This is a 4-part tutorial for the knitting technique known as steeking. Steeking is the process of cutting a completed knit garment - in this case, I am cutt...

In this video I explain how I will pick up stitches for the button band, and how I used the gauge of the sweater band to figure out how many stitches to pick up.

Step 4: Cutting the center line!

This is a 4-part tutorial for the knitting technique known as steeking. Steeking is the process of cutting a completed knit garment - in this case, I am cutt...

The prep steps are so simple and straightforward - it’s clear the big reason people are intimidated by steeking is the final cut. Fear not! Your crochet reinforcements will hold tight. Watch in this video as I cut my work on camera!

I hope you enjoyed watching this process and feel inspired to try steeking yourself!