<p>Seam. The shoulders of a sweater are a high-stress area; the entire weight of the sweater hangs from them. A nice, solid seam gives a sturdy structure for that hanging. A graft - which is designed to be stretchy, just like the main fabric of the sweater - can result in droopy shoulders and stretched necklines. The excellent Techknitter wrote an <a href="http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-sweater-slips-off-my-shoulders.html">illustrated article</a> about the importance of seaming sweater shoulders, with lots of detail and tips for different types of necklines.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-27T14:45:27.150Z
2016-04-27T14:45:27.150Z
Belisama
<p>I'm putting together a knitted sweater. Should I graft the shoulders together or seam them?</p>

<knitting>
Should I use a graft or a seam when attaching sweater shoulders?
Belisama
# Should I use a graft or a seam when attaching sweater shoulders?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-04-27)

I'm putting together a knitted sweater. Should I graft the shoulders together or seam them?

**Tags:** knitting


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2016-04-27. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

Seam. The shoulders of a sweater are a high-stress area; the entire weight of the sweater hangs from them. A nice, solid seam gives a sturdy structure for that hanging. A graft - which is designed to be stretchy, just like the main fabric of the sweater - can result in droopy shoulders and stretched necklines. The excellent Techknitter wrote an [illustrated article](http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-sweater-slips-off-my-shoulders.html) about the importance of seaming sweater shoulders, with lots of detail and tips for different types of necklines.


---

