This sweater is one that I designed. Knit top down, seamlessly.

The beauty of top down sweaters is you just make it up as you go along and fit it the way you want.

One thing I learned with this sweater is to pick out buttons before dyeing the fibre - I’ll have to remember that for next time!

Here is what I did!

I provisionally cast on 30 stitches for the band (3 stitches for the I-cord edge, 26 stitches for 2x2 rib, 1 slip stitch edge stitch). Knit for over 6” and then knit from cast on edge until the band was about 13”.

Using knitted cast on I cast on 20 stitches for the shoulder, picked up 41 stitches along the band (slipped stitches from the collar) and another 20 stitches cast on for the other shoulder. When picking up the stitches along the band I left 2 stitches on either end for the front.
I knit short rows to create slopes for the shoulder (W&T 3 stitches past the previous W&T).
Knit the back for almost 2” (4cm). 81 stitches across the back.

Picked up 20 stitches on each front edge and did more shorts rows for shoulder slopes (I think it could have been knitted without slopes - I just thought it would look nice).
I picked up a few extra stitches on the band (4 each side) and I knitted 2tog along the band to join it to the fronts for a few rows, and then knit the band as well.
Knit each front for about 2” (4cm) to match the back.
I did have to add a few short rows in the collar to make it longer, and get it to match the front when it curved around my neck (this is the part about knitting top down and making it fit!).

Picked up 10 stitches for the sleeves and did increases (right and left leaning) on the sleeves every second row. Next time I would knit the front and back a bit longer and have more stitches at the top of the sleeves. I ended up doing a couple of increases on wrong side rows to get the sleeves to be wider at the top (once again trying it on and making it work!).

Increases along the front edge every 6 rows.

When almost at the underarm I did increases on the body on either side of the sleeves, every right side row. 7 times.
Then put sleeve stitches on hold and joined the body on the sides. I had 74 stitches for the sleeves. I cast on 6 stitches under the arms.

I continued knitting the body, with increases along the front edges every 6 rows.

I decided to add button holes on both front edges by knitting 2 together and a yarn over, just before the I-cord edge.

I knit the body, with increases, until I reached my waist and then started 2x2 ribbing (needed a multiple of 4 plus 2 stitches). The ribbing was knit straight with no increases, for about 6”. The length was determined by the fact that I only had 4 buttons and I had to make it work.

I knit the sleeves two-at-a-time, magic loop style to make them the same. I picked up 6 stitches under the arm (80 stitches).

I decreased 2 stitches about every inch on the sleeve (decreases made 2 stitches from the centre, underarm line - one decrease stitch on each side - left and right leaning).
When there were 60 stitches on the sleeves I started the ribbing - 2X2 for about 7”.

I chose a ‘new-to-me’ bind off for both the sleeves and the body called Two-Row Bind Off for K2, P2 Rib from the book ‘Cast On, Bind Off’ by Cap Sease, on page 122. It worked really well - made for a nice finish with just the right amount of stretch.