Christmas Jumpers
Love them or hate them, Christmas Jumpers are everywhere at this time of year.
Christmas Jumper Day is 14th December and in today’s episode, I’m running through your different options when it comes to embracing this staple of the festive season.
Prompted by a social media post from @fash_rev about the Brits’ obsession with the Christmas Jumper. Did you know that we will spend in excess of £220 MILLION on Christmas Jumpers this year?
A quarter of which will end up in the bin?
Charity shops are saying they are overflowing with Christmas jumpers. So, for our first option for acquiring a festive sweater is to go to your local charity shop and get your jumper from them. That way, charity wins twice!
Use a British (or local) Knitted Christmas Jumper manufacturer
The next option is to consider an onshore supplier for your Christmas jumper. Kate Hills of the Make It British podcast interviewed Bhavik Master, who runs a family knitwear factory in Leicester. They manufacture Christmas jumpers here in the UK. They are acrylic, but at least they are local and they have a good range of designs, including some that are on the nordic end of the festive spectrum. My favourites of these are the Classic Fair Isle and the Penguin Fair Isle design. You can find these at http://www.britishchristmasjumpers.com and you can hear the full story at makeitbritish.co.uk/008
Knit Your Own Christmas Jumper
Your gold plated solution, is, of course, to knit your own jumper that you can wear for the next 30 years, just like Uncle Robert. I’ve a selection of my favourite 6 knitting and 1 crochet patterns to share with you.
Santa on a Cute Unicorn by Blonde Moments. Image Copyright Blonde Moments .
Christmas Jumper Knitting Pattern Ideas
This designer has over 140 patterns available, including a sizable selection of novelty Christmas designs. If you’re not in the market for a Christmas design, you can check out the unicorn and German Shepherd Dog inspired patterns. If you are in the mood for Christmas wear, you can find any number of comic-style, cheesy colourwork patterns to suit your mood, covering every aspect of festive fun. Some stand-out designs include one of Father Christmas taking a dump down the chimney, one showing him pulling a moonie with the caption, ‘Bah Humbug’ and one of him flashing from under his red tunic, with only a yellow knitted star to maintain his modesty.
My personal favourite of the lot is Santa on a Cute Unicorn. This DK weight jumper is an intarsia pattern for Santa riding a unicorn.
This pattern is available on Ravelry for £3.60.
Christmas Jumper by Fiona Bennet. Image Copyright Fiona Bennet.
2) Christmas Jumper by Fiona Bennet
This is a cracking free pattern for an aran weight jumper, sized from small to extra large. The design is plain, with a round neck and understated colourwork yoke, featuring one of three motifs. Choose from a Christmas pudding, a snowman or a reindeer to adorn your yoke.
This pattern is free on Ravelry.
Christmas in July by Tanis Lavallee. image Copyright Tanis Lavallee.
3) Christmas in July by Tanis Lavalee
This fingering weight, stranded yoked sweater is an all-year-round suitable piece. The plain, neutral body of the jumper is complimented by a rainbow patterned yoke. You can create your own colour sequence for the yoke, allowing you to use up leftovers or showcase gradients. As it isn’t an obviously festive pattern, you can easily wear this versatile design all year round.
You can buy this pattern on Ravelry for CAN $10.80 (around £6.70)
Christmas Tree Sweater by Ewelina Murach. Image Copyright Ewelina Murach.
4)Christmas Tree Sweater KAL by Ewelina Mirach Designs
This is a lovely, simple, one-colour, 4ply jumper, sized from 2-14 years. The Christmas tree motif is created using different stitches to make the outline of the tree. Bobbles in different colours (or craft pom poms) are used to represent baubles. The overall effect is rather understated and looks a bit Boden-esque.
This pattern is available on Ravelry for £6.
The Perfect Christmas Jumper by Susan Crawford. Image Copyright Susan Crawford.
5) The Perfect Christmas Jumper by Susan Crawford
Embrace the glamour of the 1940s with this vintage pattern for a classy, puff-sleeved version of the Christmas jumper. With a high round neck and buttoned, back placket detail, it’s a refined option. The red and white colour scheme gives it a classically festive feel. With intarsia and stranded aspects, it has a plenty to keep you interested on the knitting front. Pair it with the Junior Christmas Jumper or the Junior Christmas Cardigan for a complementary family set.
You can buy this pattern on Ravelry for £6, with the full Vintage Gifts to Knit eBook at £14.
Tinsel Tannenbaum Christmas Jumper by PenniesfromDevon. Image Copyright PenniesfromDevon.
6) Tinsel Tannenbaum Christmas Jumper by Pennies From Devon
How could I not include this awesome crochet pattern? Embracing tinsel yarn to create the tree is a stroke of genius.
This pattern is available from Ravelry at £3.60.
183.5 Season Greetings by Drops Design. Image Copyright Drops Design.
7) 183.5 Seasons Greetings by Drops Design
This free pattern is knitted in DK weight yarn and comes in size S-XXXL. The Nordic pattern extends over the whole garment, neatly matching on the yoke and arms thanks to the seamless construction.
You can find this pattern for free on Ravelry.
You can find the whole collection of pattern suggestions here in my Ravelry queue.