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| Please help us to congratulate Jen for submitting this month's winning free pattern! We hope you love this amazingly cute sweater pattern as much as we do! |
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(Click on an image above to view a larger photo)
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This little Fair Isle pullover is chock full of a kid's favorite creatures. Inspired by the children's song "The Little White Duck", you'll find ducks, frogs, bugs and snakes floating in the water, separated by rows of lily pads. The palette is sophisticated Rowan colors, and the sweater is finished with special lily pad elbow patches and "pond ripple" cuffs for maximum cuteness. The fit is loose and comfy, with a tunic style for easy on and off, and a stretchy funnel neck. Featuring a yarn that's a blend of wool and cotton, it's the perfect layer for spring weather.
This sweater is a great introduction to stranded colorwork, for knitters wishing to expand their range. Each row of the pattern features only two colors - the rest of the details are added with embroidery. It's done in DK weight yarn, so there's no tiny needles to contend with. The sleeves are knit in plain stockinette, so there's no floats to catch little fingers. And the sweater itself has no seaming or finishing after the fact - it's knit in the round to the armholes, then uses a three needle bind off for the shoulders. The collar and sleeves are picked up and knit, so when you're done, you're done!
Photo credit [Alec Small - Model/Tim Musho (figmediainc.com) - Photographer]
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About the Designer
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Jen Small is a designer who loves the challenge of creating stories in knitwear. She began knitting 3 years ago, and immediately began creating her own designs as she made hats for her friends' babies. She is the author of the Pink Bunny Hat in Stitch n Bitch Nation, and is excited to be creating clothes for her own son now.
To read more about her adventures in knitting and other arts and crafts, visit her blog at http://bluecanary.typepad.com.
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Sizes
- Baby: 6 [12, 18] months (shown in 18 month size)
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Measurements
- Chest Circumference: 24 [25, 26] inches
- Body Length: 11.5 [13, 14] inches
- Sleeve Length: 6 [6.5, 7.5] inches
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Materials
- Rowan Wool Cotton [50% merino wool, 50% cotton; 124 yds per 50g ball], except where otherwise noted;
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2 balls of Rowan Wool Cotton
 [MC] Clear (941)
1 ball each of Rowan Wool Cotton
 [CC1] French Navy (909) [CC2] Poster Blue (948) [CC3] Aloof (958)*
Small amount of Rowan Wool Cotton
 [CC4] Deepest Olive (907) [CC5] Antique (900) [CC6] Cashsoft DK RYC Lime (509)* [CC7] Inky (908) [CC8] Rich (911)* [CC9] Pumpkin (962)
NOTE: Since small amounts of CC4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are used, feel free to substitute any DK weight yarn from your stash. Make sure it has some wool content and is somewhat elastic and springy, so that the colorwork looks good and stretches well.
*(Editor's note: The sample was knit with Rowan Wool Cotton colors that JBW does not currently stock, or colors that are now discontinued. I have suggested substitute colors in this list)
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Gauge
- 22 sts/28 rows = 4" in fair isle pattern
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Pattern Notes
The body is knitted in the round through most of the chart. However, when you divide for the armholes, you will be doing some rows of stranded color work back and forth. Hang in there, it will only be for an inch or two!
There is a separate chart for each size: the 6 month, the 12 month, and the 18 month charts. Click on the chart name to see a popup window with the full image. They're designed so that you end up with 6 repeats of the pattern worked evenly around the sweater, no matter what size you're making.
For a great guide on stranded colorwork, check out Nanette Blanchard's Stranded Color Knitting, which is available for download from her website. Her booklet takes the fear and guesswork out of color work, from how to hold the yarn to how to maintain good tension, to how to securely weave in ends.
Here is the popup window with the full embroidery chart image. The chart features French knots and satin or backstitch. Make sure that you don't pull the yarn too tight between each bit of embroidery - and weave the embroidery yarn through the strands in the back every 3 or 4 stitches, so you don't have any long floats.
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Abbreviations
- CO - Cast On
- Dec - Decrease
- DD - (Double Decrease) Sl 2 sts together knitwise, k1, pass 2 sl sts over k st-2 sts dec.
- k2tog - knit two sts together
- P - Purl
- p2tog - purl two sts together
- RS - Right side
- sts - Stitches
- WS - Wrong side
- yo - Yarn Over
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Directions
Body
- With MC, CO 132 [138, 144] stitches onto circular needles. Join in the round. Purl one round, placing a marker at the beg of the rnd and one after 66 [69, 72] sts. Knit 3 rounds, purl 2 rounds to create bottom edge.
- Knit 0 [3, 3] rounds in plain stockinette.
- Begin working chart, starting at bottom and working fair isle. Be sure to use the right chart for the size you are making.
- Work chart until body measures 6.5 [7.5, 8] inches from cast-on edge. Continue working in chart, but divide front and back to create armhole openings. To do this, on the next row, work from beginning of row to side marker and turn.
Work Front
- Continue to work the front in fair isle chart as set, working back and forth, to the end of the chart.
- Continue working the front in CC1 until front measures 3.5 [3.75, 4.25] inches from beginning of armhole, ending on a wrong side row.
- Shape the front of the neck:
1. With right side facing, work across 30 [31, 33] sts, join new yarn and BO 6 [7, 6] sts VERY loosely, work to end. There will be 30 [31, 33] sts on each side.
2. With the right side facing you, work the left front:
3. Turn, and for this and all other wrong-side rows, purl across.
4. Turn, BO 3 sts and knit across to end.
5. On the next right-side row, BO 2 sts and knit across to end.
6. Then dec 1 st every right side row 3 times. 22 [23, 25] stitches left on each side.
7. Work until front measures 5 [5.5, 6] inches from start of armhole.
8. Put shoulder stitches on a stitch holder or waste yarn. Leave a long tail for finishing.
9. Work the other side of the front in the same way, but make all BOs and decreases at the beginning of the wrong side rows, and work the right-side rows even.
Work Back
- Join new yarn at beginning of back. Continue to work the back in fair isle chart as set, working back and forth, to the end of the chart.
- Continue working the back in CC1 until body measures 4.5 [5, 5.5] inches from cast-on edge, ending on a wrong side row.
- Shape the back of the neck:
1. With right side facing, work across 23 [24, 26] sts, join new yarn and BO 20 [21, 20] sts VERY LOOSELY, work to end. There will be 23 [24, 26] sts on each side.
2. Working each side separately, at each neck edge dec 1 st. 22 [24, 25] stitches left on each side.
3. Work until back measures even with fronts.
4. Put shoulder stitches on a stitch holder or waste yarn. Leave a long tail for finishing.
Finish Body
- Do embroidery on all animals according to chart.
- Turn body inside out, and weave in and trim any ends.
- Line up front and back shoulders, and work 3 needle bind off on each side. Work the bind off quite snugly, so the seam is firm.
- Turn body right side out and work collar: using dpn's and CC1, start at a shoulder seam and pick up and knit approx 58 sts around the neck. Join in the round and work in plain stockinette for 1.25 inches, making sure that the neck stays very stretchy. BO loosely and weave in end.
Sleeves
- With MC start at the underarm edge of the armhole and pick up and knit 54 [60, 66] sts. Be sure to work a stitch or two in the gap between the front and back underarm. PM at center of the underarm, join in the round.
- Work 7 [8, 7] more rounds straight.
- Work a decrease round: k1, k2tog, knit to 3 sts before the end of the round, ssk, k1
- Work two rows plain, then continue working a decrease round every third round until you have 34 [36, 36] sts left on your needles.
- Work cuff: P2 rows, K3 rows, P1 row.
- BO all sts.
- Work the same for both sleeves.
OPTIONAL: Lily Pad Elbow Patches
If you wish, work two lily pads and attach as elbow patches on the sleeves.
- Using same needles to obtain sweater gauge, with CC4, CO 41 sts, leaving a long tail for sewing.
- Row 1: K1, (p7, k1) across to end. Turn.
- Row 2 (right side): p1, (k2tog, k3, k2tog, p1) across to end. 31 sts. Turn.
- Row 3: Knit the knits and purl the purls. Turn.
- Row 4: K1, (k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1) across to end. 21 sts. Turn.
- Row 5: Knit the knits and purl the purls. Turn.
- Row 6: P1, (k3tog, p1) across to end. 11 sts. Turn.
- Row 7: K1, (p2tog) across to end. 5 sts.
- Break yarn. Thread yarn through remaining stitches with a tapestry needle and pull tight. Tie off and weave end through wrong (purl) side of the lily pad.
- Make another lily pad in the same way. Steam block the lily pads to flatten them out. Using cast on tail, sew lily pads to the elbows of the sweater, over the lines formed by the decreases, centering the lily pads approximately 4(4.5, 5) inches from the cuff edge. Place the lily pad opening in whatever whimsical position you wish.
Finishing
- Weave in any remaining ends.
- Lightly steam block the sweater, and adjust the fair isle stitches so that they look smooth and even. Do not block the collar.
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We hope you enjoy this free knitting pattern. This free pattern and the associated photographs are only for personal non-commercial use and are not for resale.
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As a winner of our pattern contest, Jen has agreed to the following: "By submitting a pattern to the Jimmy Beans pattern contest I certify that I am the sole creator of the work and that I have not violated the intellectual property rights of any other person in creating this pattern. This notice will serve as my written permission to allow my pattern, if selected as the winner, to be used exclusively by Jimmy Beans Wool in advertising and online. Note: Jimmy Beans Wool accepts no liability for submissions which prove to be un-original by the designer."
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