Types of Sweaters: 26 Styles by Neckline, Knit, and Fit

A crewneck has a rounded opening near the base of the neck. The front covers the upper chest, leaving a continuous area of knitting beneath the collar. A ribbed neckband commonly finishes the opening, with matching bands at the wrists and hem. On a plain merino crewneck, those narrow ribs are often the main textured details around an otherwise smooth body.

The circular neckline also appears on fully ribbed sweaters. Here, the vertical lines continue down the torso, and the neckband follows its own curve around the opening.

A shirt collar remains visible above a V-neck sweater, with part of the shirt front showing inside the opening. The knitted edges slope toward a point on the chest, framing that exposed area. This is a familiar combination in knitwear worn with tailoring.

The depth of the V determines how far the opening reaches down the body. A plunging version can reveal much of an underlying top, including its neckline and upper chest. The ribbed edging follows both slopes and meets at the center-front point; a broad band makes that outline especially noticeable.

The collar of a turtleneck rises around the neck and folds back on itself. Its finished shape includes a rounded fold at the top and a doubled layer of fabric around the throat. The length of the knitted collar determines how much material is available for that fold, and its circumference affects how closely it sits against the neck.

Roll-neck is another established name for this style. With a jacket worn over it, the folded collar remains visible above the jacket opening.

The folds around a cowl neckline settle over the upper chest. A generous amount of fabric surrounds the opening, allowing the collar to turn over and fall forward. The lowest fold may hang well below the throat, with additional fabric resting around the sides of the neck.

The draping continues to change slightly as the garment moves. On a fine knitted top, the collar can collapse into several shallow folds, making the neckline part of the fabric’s movement across the front. A close view shows the finished edge among those folds.

Opening a cardigan separates the garment through the full length of the front. A conventional buttoned cardigan has two front panels, with one band carrying the buttons and the other carrying the buttonholes. The neckline may finish close to the throat or descend into a V above the fastening.

Different front constructions account for several familiar cardigan names:

These constructions can accompany different collars, body lengths, and knitted textures.

The fastening bands can also be formed during knitting. An integral facing is knitted into the front panel; STOLL documents a cardigan construction with a tubular facing and concealed buttonholes worked this way.

Quarter-zip and half-zip are closely related names for pullovers with a partial front zipper. Brands sometimes use the terms interchangeably, and the opening length varies between individual garments. The measured zipper length gives the precise depth of the opening.

The fastening commonly starts at the upper edge of a standing collar and runs down the center of the chest. Below the zipper, the front continues as a joined panel. Lowering the slider releases the collar edges so they can fall outward around the neck or sit over a shirt collar. The metal pull remains visible near the bottom of the opening.

The rounded edge of a shawl collar can be followed from the back of the neck down onto the chest. The collar rolls outward along this curve, exposing a broad folded section on either side of the front opening. Its thickness is particularly visible where the fabric turns near the shoulders. On a belted cardigan, the collar may continue toward the waist fastening.

Ribbing often runs through the collar and around the opening. Substantial buttons, knitted pockets, and textured wool bodies are also found on shawl-collar cardigans.

A knitted hood rests against the upper back when lowered, adding fabric behind the neck and shoulders. Raised over the head, it continues the sweater’s coverage above the neckline. Hooded knitwear includes zip-through garments made in medium-weight merino wool, with the front fastening running from the lower edge to the base of the hood.

The body can be relaxed through the chest and slightly boxy in proportion. This leaves room beneath the sweater and allows the fabric to hang from the shoulders, including around the base of the hood.

The sleeveless body of a sweater vest leaves the shoulders and armholes clearly outlined. Over a shirt, the vest covers the torso and exposes the shirt sleeves. A V-neck opening also reveals part of the shirt front, with the knitted band bordering that area.

Patterned vests can carry Fair Isle motifs across the chest and back. In a fitted version, the armholes sit relatively close around the upper arms, keeping most of the pattern on the torso visible. Ribbed edging finishes the openings and forms a boundary around the colorwork.

A raised cable can be followed through successive crossings in the fabric. At each crossing, a group of stitches passes over another group, redirecting the knitted columns. Repeating that movement at intervals produces the rope-like twist visible on the sweater.

A simple four-stitch cable crosses two stitches over two. More elaborate arrangements combine several groups into broad braids or interlocking shapes. The number of stitches involved affects the width of the cable, and the direction of each crossing determines how the twist travels through the fabric.

Purl stitches frequently surround the cables, forming a recessed background. On a single-color sweater, light and shadow along the raised edges make the pattern visible. Several cable panels can occupy the front, each separated by a narrow strip of background knitting.

1 × 1 rib means one knit stitch followed by one purl stitch. 2 × 2 rib repeats groups of two. These alternating columns produce the raised lines and recessed channels visible in ribbed fabric.

The structure spreads across its width as it stretches, then draws together as the fabric relaxes. An all-over ribbed sweater carries that movement through the body and sleeves. The columns follow the shape of the torso, and their spacing can open slightly where the garment stretches.

Ribbing is also used at the edges of otherwise plain sweaters. At a cuff, the knitted band gathers the sleeve around the wrist; at the hem, it can draw the lower body inward.

Argyle is recognized by overlapping diamonds. Solid blocks of color form the main shapes, and fine diagonal lines cross over them to create an offset arrangement. The thin outlines are part of the familiar pattern, running through the larger diamonds and the spaces between them.

The color areas can be produced through intarsia knitting. A sweater may therefore carry both terms in its description: argyle identifies the design, and intarsia identifies the method used to knit it.

A large colored shape in the middle of a plain sweater requires separate yarn supplies for the sections across that row. One supply forms the background on the left, another works the colored shape, and another continues the background on the right. The yarns interlock where those areas meet.

This is the basic arrangement behind intarsia knitting. As the shape widens or narrows, the positions of the joins change across successive rows. A letter, animal, or abstract block develops through those changing boundaries.

The same color can require several yarn supplies when its sections are separated within the design. A detailed picture therefore involves planning the individual color areas and the joins around their edges.

Small patterned openings give pointelle knitting its lace-like surface. The holes can form lines or geometric arrangements within the fabric, often beside narrow ribs. Clothing or skin beneath the sweater remains visible through those openings. A fine pointelle pattern leaves knitted fabric between the holes, preserving a delicate, closely arranged texture.

The openwork can also continue into shaped edges. In STOLL’s pointelle cardigan construction, groups of stitches are narrowed to form the V-neck. The pattern participates in the changing width of the front panel as it approaches the shoulder.

Small stitches produce the relatively smooth surface of a fine-knit sweater. The fabric is used for lightweight pullovers and knitted polos, including merino garments that fit beneath a jacket. Fine knitting also allows collars and folded cuffs to remain compact.

On a fully fashioned sweater, small shaping marks may be visible beside the armholes or other seams. They appear where the panel’s width changes during knitting. The front, back, and sleeves are knitted to their intended shapes and then linked together, leaving the shaping marks as part of the finished surface.

An oversized sweater contains generous room around the body. In knitting patterns, that additional circumference is called positive ease. A sweater measuring 120 centimeters around the chest, worn over a 96-centimeter body measurement, would have 24 centimeters of positive ease. The difference describes the amount of room at that measurement point.

The shoulder and sleeve shapes determine where the extra fabric hangs. A dropped shoulder places the sleeve join down the upper arm, extending the sweater body beyond the wearer’s shoulder line. Long sleeves may gather above ribbed cuffs, and a lower band can draw the hem inward beneath the roomy torso.

A cropped sweater ends high on the body, usually around the waist or upper hip. The hem’s position depends on the garment length and the wearer’s proportions. Short cardigans, fitted knitted tops, and wide-bodied pullovers all appear within this category.

The shortened body makes the lower edge prominent. A tie-front cropped cardigan, for example, brings its fastening close to the hem, leaving a relatively small area of knitting below it. The front opening and high lower edge together establish the garment’s proportions.