This lace cardigan is knitted top down. The increases are integrated into the lace diamonds, which makes it so enjoyable--you will not have to worry about increasing separately as you work your way down the piece. Advantage of top down is that there are few seams, you can try on the piece as you go, and best of all, once you separate the arms, the lace continues in one continuous panel, so you will not have to worry about any interruptions at the side seams. All in all a fun project.