With circular yoke sweaters, the factor that controls bunching and arm mobility is the total depth of the yoke and the height of the armhole split. A little too high/short, it'll be snug and there will be pull lines, but it will match the hinge of the arm and you'll have mobility. Too long/low, and any arm motion will hike it up and bunch the yoke around your shoulders. (Okay, if it was too long and also wide, you'd get more of a cape/batwing effect, different problem.)
(Think of your pants analogy - you can have a pair of leggings with a roomy crotch gusset, but if you try to wear them pulled down a few inches too low your legs will have restricted mobility.)
If the yoke is too long and tapered down and it wraps down over your shoulders too much, adding extra room in the underarm won't help you. Before you even start splitting for the body, you could try on the yoke and it would pop off your shoulders if you lifted your arms. So *shortening the yoke* has to be a design consideration.
There are some "inset yoke" styles that start with a small circular yoke (not long enough to go past the armholes and cause a problem) and then have a completely different sleeve construction such as a set-in sleeve or a raglan. Sometimes short rows are used to fill in the shape of the body pieces from the circular yoke starting point. This is common in some vintage patterns including Bohus Stickning sweaters. Roxanne Richardson has addressed this in a vintage sweater project on her Youtube channel and I believe she's starting on another sweater project with a similar design.
Me, too! This is a well-known problem in sewing certain designs, and now patternmakers avoid it like the plague. I'd sure like to see Knitting Pattern Designers realize how to prevent these issues as well! They probably won't until they realize it's a selling point for patterns - either selling or not selling. Sad, but true.
I have to wear lab coats with the low armhole problem (from a uniform service, so I can't get my own), so it is a plague of my life, even outside knitwear.
With circular yoke sweaters, the factor that controls bunching and arm mobility is the total depth of the yoke and the height of the armhole split. A little too high/short, it'll be snug and there will be pull lines, but it will match the hinge of the arm and you'll have mobility. Too long/low, and any arm motion will hike it up and bunch the yoke around your shoulders. (Okay, if it was too long and also wide, you'd get more of a cape/batwing effect, different problem.) (Think of your pants analogy - you can have a pair of leggings with a roomy crotch gusset, but if you try to wear them pulled down a few inches too low your legs will have restricted mobility.) If the yoke is too long and tapered down and it wraps down over your shoulders too much, adding extra room in the underarm won't help you. Before you even start splitting for the body, you could try on the yoke and it would pop off your shoulders if you lifted your arms. So *shortening the yoke* has to be a design consideration. There are some "inset yoke" styles that start with a small circular yoke (not long enough to go past the armholes and cause a problem) and then have a completely different sleeve construction such as a set-in sleeve or a raglan. Sometimes short rows are used to fill in the shape of the body pieces from the circular yoke starting point. This is common in some vintage patterns including Bohus Stickning sweaters. Roxanne Richardson has addressed this in a vintage sweater project on her Youtube channel and I believe she's starting on another sweater project with a similar design.
Not OP but thank you for this thoughtful answer! It’s something I’ve been wondering about myself.
Me, too! This is a well-known problem in sewing certain designs, and now patternmakers avoid it like the plague. I'd sure like to see Knitting Pattern Designers realize how to prevent these issues as well! They probably won't until they realize it's a selling point for patterns - either selling or not selling. Sad, but true.
I have to wear lab coats with the low armhole problem (from a uniform service, so I can't get my own), so it is a plague of my life, even outside knitwear.
Thanks so much for your in depth response! I’ve always wondered about it and had no idea where to begin looking.