Classic jumper for children – sizes 0 - 2 years

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This classic sweater is knitted in one piece without very much assembly or fitting, yet with the loveliest details. You can choose to knit the heart on the chest, on the pockets, or both. You can also choose to skip both the pockets and the hearts and create a nice and completely classic jumper for the little ones. The shirt is knitted from the top down with raglan increases.

Measurements

Measurements: (0-3 mos.) 3-6 mos. (6-9 mos.) 9-12 mos. (12-18 mos.) 18-24 mos.

Chest width: 23 (24) 24 (25) 28 (30) 34 cm

Length: 23 (26) 27 (29) 30 (31) 32 cm

Materials

Needle: 3.5 mm both 40 cm circular needles and double pointed needles

Yarn: Infinity Hearts Baby Merino. Made from 100 % Merino wool Yardage 50 g = approx. 170 s.

Buttons: 3 pcs. Infinity Hearts Buttons Coconut 15mm

Yarn consumption

100 (100) 150 (150) 150 (150) 200 g. Yarn

Abbreviations

n: needle

K: knit

P: purl

ktog: knit stitches together

Loop: Yarn over the needle to create a loop.

M: Marker (Stitch marker)

Instructions

Neckline and yoke:

Cast on 75 (79) 83 (87) 87 (95) 95 s on n 3.5. Knit 8 n rib (K1, P1), back and forth on the needles. For example, a short circular needle.

Mark the raglan increase with stitch markers by doing the following:

Knit 1 M (= Marker), 1 stitch marker, 8 (8) 10 (10) 10 (12) 12 s (= Left sleeve), 1 stitch marker, 1 M, 1 stitch marker, 27 (29) 29 (31) 31 (33) 33 s (= the back), 1 stitch marker, 1M, 1 stitch marker, 8 (8) 10 (10) 10 (12) 12 s (= Right sleeve), 1 stitch marker, 1 M, 1 stitch marker, 27 (29) 29 (31) 31 (33) 33 s (= Front piece), 1 stitch marker, 1 M

To avoid holes in the raglan increases, you can do the following:

Knit to the first M (= Marker) or first stitch marker, insert left needle into the loop between the stitches, grab the strand from the back, so the yarn gets onto the needle. Knit this stitch. Now, knit M. Then increase on the opposite side like this: Insert the left needle under the strand between the stitches, this time from the front, and knit stitch. Continue until next stitch marker. Leave the stitch markers on each side of M-stitches, throughout all the increases.

Watch this video for a demonstration.

Raglan increase:

Knit the raglan increase like this: *knit the raglan increase, knit 1 M, knit the raglan increase, knit until next stitch marker*, knit from *until* the entire needle. Knit back and forth over the needles with raglan increase until your work measures 6 cm. Then knit circular by knitting the first and lasts together, so the 2 M (=Markers) become one. You can keep the stitch markers.

Continue the raglan increase on every other needle, in total: 19 (21) 22 (23) 24 (24) 26 times. You now have 226 (246) 258 (270) 278 (292) 308 s on the needle. Do plain knitting back and forth over all the stitches.

Heart:

If you wish to knit a small heart on the left front piece, use the following pattern when your work measures 4 (5) 6 (7) 7 (7) 8 cm:

 

Knit to the front piece (start on left sleeve), knit until you have 13 (15) 17 (19) 21 (22) 23 s until the next stitch marker. Here, you start your pattern. Continue over the raglan increases and remember the pattern. You read the pattern from the bottom right corner (1)

Body:

Now, put the sleeve stitches on hold with a stitch holder 46 (50) 54 (56) 58 (62) 66 s. Cast on 4 s with loops (these will lie under the sleeve). The M-stitches remain on the body piece. Put a stitch marker under both sleeves, the round starts under the left arm. Do plain knitting until you are going to knit the pockets. If you don’t want to do pockets, you can continue with the pattern below the instructions for the pockets.

Pockets (Double layer):

If you want pockets on your jumper, you can knit these when your work measures 17 (18) 19 (20) 21 (22) cm. Knit 12 (14) 15 (15) 16 (17) 16 s. Now, knit 16 (16) 16 (16) 18 (18) 20 s onto a double-pointed needle, knit over these stitches until the ”pocket piece” measures 8 (8) 8 (8) 10 (10) 10 cm. Then continue knitting until you have 28 (30) 31 (31) 34 (35) 36 left on the front piece (until next stitch marker). Then you knit the other pocket over the next 16 (16) 16 (16) 18 (18) 20 s. You can also put them onto a double pointed needle. Knit over these stitches until the “pocket piece” measures 8 (8) 8 (8) 10 (10) 10 cm. And then, you finish knitting the entire needle. Don’t fasten off the pocket stitches, but simply continue knitting over all stitches. This creates the double pocket, which only needs to be sewn together on the sides.

Pockets (single-layer with rig and heart):

This pocket may be best in smaller sizes as the double layer pocket may seem too thick.

If you want pockets on your jumper, you can knit them when your work measures 17 (18) 19 (20) 21 (22) cm. Knit 11 (13) 14 (14) 15 (16) 15 s. Now, knit 17 (17) 17 (17) 19 (19) 21 s onto a double-pointed needle, knit over these stitches until the ”pocket piece” measures 5 (5) 5 (5) 6 (6) 6 cm. Fasten off the pocket stitches. Then, continue knitting until you have 28 (30) 31 (31) 34 (35) 36 left before the stitch markers on the side of the jumper. Then, knit the other pocket over the next 17 (17) 17 (17) 19 (19) 21 s. You can also put them onto a double-pointed needle. Knit over these stitches until the ”pocket piece” measures 5 (5) 5 (5) 6 (6) 6 cm. And then knit the rest of the needle.

On the next needle, you knit 17 (17) 17 (17) 19 (19) 21 s with loops, where you fastened off the pocket stitches, so it creates a pocket front. Knit the stitches up over both pockets. Knit these stitches in rib (K1, P1) 6 n, and then plain knit over all stitches, and don’t forget the edge stitches. Now you can choose to make a heart on the pocket, like this: 

Knit 3 (3) 3 (3) 4 (4) 5 s, then the pattern in the same way as the chest. You read the pattern from the right bottom corner (1)

Regardless of which pocket you chose, you continue knitting as follows:

When your work measures approx. 21 (23) 25 (27) 28 (29) 30 cm, then knit 8 rows rib (K1, P1) maybe adjust the number of stitches accordingly.

Sleeves:

Now set the sleeve stitches on the double-pointed needles. The sleeves are made with plain knitting on the double pointed needles. Cats on 4 stitches under the arm. You can put a stitch marker in the middle of these stitches, as this will be used for decreases down along the sleeves.

Decreases on the sleeves:

Make the decreases with 2 cm space, so the sleeve narrows down along the arm. Knit like this:

3 s before you knit the stitch marker K2 tog, knit 2 s, K2 tog, then the decreases are placed next to each other along down the sleeve.

Knit until the sleeve measures 13 (14) 15 (16) 18 (19) 21 or the length you prefer (measured under the sleeve). Finish with 8 K rib (K1, P1) Bind off the sleeve loosely. Now, knit the other sleeve the same way.

Assembly:

Weave in all loose ends. Sew the double pockets in the sides. You can, for example, attach the bottom of the pockets to the front piece "invisibly" and attach the single-layer pockets flat and sew them invisibly onto the front piece.

Happy knitting!

You are welcome to use #ritokrea and #ritohobby when you post photos of the finished creation on social media, so we can see the result :-)