Crochet Christmas Sweater. Festive C2C!

Oh Christmas sweater, oh Christmas sweater, how lovely are your pixels!

Sweater? Jumper? Either way, here we have a free crochet pattern (borderline recipe) to satisfy your festive corner to corner compulsions.

I have finally managed to put together a video for you so that you can make your very own crochet Christmas sweater / Christmas jumper using the C2C crochet stitch. It’s super easy to make if you’re familiar with the corner to corner stitch. I would argue that this is an intermediate project and suitable for beginners who are patient and keen to learn a few new techniques.

Below, I have broken down all the essential info you need to make your own crochet jumper but please beware, I haven’t written this as a traditional pattern. It’s a guide, similar to the JW Anderson cardigan that I worked up last year. Actually, tell a lie, this one has waaaay more detail. The video tutorial is HERE. I have also created an ad-free PDF you can download including charts for 9 sizes. You can find that HERE on Ravelry and HERE on Etsy.

Yarn, Hooks and other Things you Need

To make a jumper of your own, you will need Paintbox Woolmix Aran [this is an affiliate link so if you buy via the link I receive a minimum of 5% of the cost]. I bought 10 balls of the main colour for size 3, Vanilla Cream, and used nearly all of it! The numbers below are estimates based on the weight of the sample size.

Size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Est. yarn weight in grams	749	883	985	1005	1167	1230	1369	1540	1606
Balls needed	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	16	17

Also required are a few metres of each of the five contrasting colours for the motif section. You could always use just one colour for the motif if you don’t want to buy whole balls of each colour just for a few metres.

I used a 3.75mm hook. I have average tension. This hook, with this particular yarn, creates a closed fabric that is not so tight that it feels stiff.

Oh, and stitch markers are helpful. I use them to pin pieces together.

Ideally you want to print out the C2C colour chart. Grab a pencil for crossing off each row as you go.

A decent needle for sewing everything together is also required.

Grading & Sizing your own Crochet Christmas Jumper

It is pretty important to make sure your Christmas sweater is going to fit before picking up a hook and buying loads of yarn. Let me try and provide you with as many tools as possible to work out a size that will fit you.

The sample I made is nearest to a UK 12 but after a bit of wear I suspect it may stretch to a 14. I broke the rules and didn’t block! If you are in between sizes you may wish to make the smaller size.

First things first, it is a very good idea to work up a swatch. You can use this swatch to determine how many C2C blocks you’ll need to work. Bear in mind that every 6.5 blocks is a measurement of 10 cm (4 inches). This will help you work out how many C2C blocks across you need your jumper to be. Work up a C2C square that’s 12×12 blocks to ensure you have a decent amount of fabric to get an accurate measurement. To be fair, you might get away with 11×11 if you’re feeling lazy!

A useful trick is to find a favourite jumper and measure it. How many blocks will you need to get the same width and length?

Size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
To fit Bust (inches)	28 – 30	32 – 34	36 – 38	40 – 42	44 – 46	48 – 50	52 – 54	56 – 58	60 – 62
To fit Bust (cm)	71 – 76	81 – 86	91.5 – 96.5	101.5 – 106.5	111.5 – 117	122 – 127	132 – 137	142 – 147	152 – 158
Width (back)  in cm	41	47	53	59	65	71	77	83	89
Length in cm	50	52	56	52	54	54	54	56	56
Body Blocks across	29	33	35	37	39	41	43	45	47
Body Blocks down	27	27	29	29	29	31	31	31	31

Corner to Corner Chart

Stitchfiddle is such a good tool for creating crochet C2C charts. If you’re making a different size to mine you can find the charts in the ad-free PDF on either Ravelry or Etsy. Or try creating your own design chart. Be careful, chopping and changing design ideas is addictive and before you know it, you’ll have lost hours by fiddling about!

Working the Corner to Corner Stitch

If you’re an absolute beginner, then this actually isn’t too bad of a C2C project. However, I do assume you have the crochet basics under your belt. I don’t plan on writing specific corner to corner instructions, instead, I demonstrate how to work a swatch in the video.

The basics of of corner to corner are that you build up each row one block at a time. When it’s time to stop building your blocks, you decrease until you reach the opposite corner. However, none of the pieces are exactly square. After building enough blocks to reach the first corner, you then work even by only increasing on one side to create the rectangle shape. Decreasing is my fave bit as it’s the race to the finish line!

Crochet Sweater Pieces

The pieces of your Crochet Sweater are made separately and sewn together.

Main body

The front and back are the same except for the colourful motif on the front. As you know from diligently watching all of the video, I made my front panel upside down to get the colour work done & dusted before the easy stuff could commence. This is why the charts are upside down.

Once you have the corner to cornering done, you can work a Join As You Go rib. I love this bit! Check out the video for the demo on how it’s done. I’ll try and remember to add the timestamps on YouTube for all these useful sections.

For the front piece I snipped the yarn from the main body piece and reattached to the right top corner. Work 3 sc in each vertical block and 2 sc in the bar of the stitch that lays horizontally. When working the back you can just turn, you don’t need to cut the yarn.

Snip again (both front & back) to reattach to the top right side. I think I decided on 11 stitches for the ribbing, so chain 12 to begin. All hdc (UK htr) sts are worked into the front 3rd loop of the st below.

Row 1: 1hdc in 2nd ch from hook and the rest of the chains to end, slip stitch in next 3 stitches of main body, turn to work back up the ribbing.

Row 2: Miss 3 sl sts, 11hdc in front 3rd loop of sts, turn.

Row 3: 1ch, 11hdc in front 3rd loop of sts, sl st in next 3 sts of main body, turn.

Rep Rows 2 & 3 across. You might end on Row 2 or Row 3 depending on how many stitches your foundation row is. It doesn’t matter which!

Sleeves

My sleeves (size 3) are 23×28 blocks. Look at the chart below and you’ll see how many blocks wide to make your sleeves. Don’t worry too much about sleeve length for different sizes. I often make the sleeves the same length across several sizes because our arms aren’t drastically different in length. If you know you have shorter arms, or they’re longer than average, then allow for that, add or remove a row. However, you will want wider sleeves if you’re after a bigger jumper.

Size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Sleeve Length (from under arm to wrist) in cm	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48	48
Sleeve depth at underarm in cm	18.5	21.5	21.5	21.5	25.5	25.5	29.5	33.5	33.5
No. of Blocks for sleeve length (cuff not inc)	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23
No. of sleeve blocks across (total)	26	28	28	28	32	32	38	42	42

Cuffs

Make 2, obvs. I worked a foundationless chain of 25 stitches and worked 22 rows in hdc (UK htr) in the front third loop. It’s in the vid but you can also find the foundationless start HERE as a separate video tutorial.

My wrists are a skinnyish 14cm circumference. Add 2 rows for every centimeter.

Sew the cuff ends together to get them ready to ease into the sleeve.

Waistband

Whatever your size jumper, make the waist band approx 10cm (4 inches) smaller than the circumference of the main body of the jumper. Reducing the circumference here brings the jumper in to create a bit more shaping. I worked 11 stitches for 120 rows of ribbing for my size 3, hold it up against the main body to check you’re happy with the length of yours. This was very much an eyeballing task.

Work the ribbing in one length to go around the circumference of the jumper, then sew the ends together.

Jumper Construction

All your pieces are finished, now it’s time to put it all together. So near yet so far! Exciting stuff!

Make sure all sewing is done on the wrong side of your jumper. Pay attention. Double check. Triple check that right sides are facing each other. It is guaranteed I will get this wrong at least once in any garment I make! Unpicking is par for the course for me but please try and do better than my efforts!

Below is a visual image of the steps of construction. Basically, sew the shoulders together first. I went for 10cm at each shoulder tab and I’m happy with that. More or fewer stitches will be required depending on what size you make.

Then sew the open sleeves to the shoulders. I don’t need to spell it out to make this evenly, equally spaced and at the centre of the shoulder. Fold the whole lot over, right sides facing, so you can sew the arms and body together. Voila!

Next up is to attach the ribbing on the sleeves and waistband.

For the sleeves, gather them at the wrist by creating a foundation round of sc stitches (UK dc) around the opening. Work 1 sc over each bar of the horizontal dc (UK tr) stitches and 2 sc into each of the vertical blocks. This brings in the sleeves a bit to make it easier to attach the ribbing. Then use plenty of stitch markers to hold the cuff in place whilst you sew it on. You will probably find the video useful for this bit.

Easing in the waistband is far easier. Use stitch markers to hold it in place here too.

Overview: How to Crochet a C2C Sweater

Much like the GB Bake Off final, I have taken away some of the instructions. Please refer to the charts to determine how many blocks across & down you need to work to make your size. And watch the video to see how to make everything! Purchase the ad-free version on Ravelry or Etsy.

Step 1: Make a gauge swatch! 12×12 blocks should do it.

Step 2: Make your C2C pieces – 1 back, 1 front (both the same number of blocks), sleeves x2.

Step 3: Add join as you go ribbing to the tops of the main body – see video tutorial.

Step 4: Make ribbing for cuffs and waistband. Work the waistband so that it’s roughly 10cm (4 inches) shorter than the main body of your jumper.

Step 5: Sew shoulders together.

Step 6: Sew sleeves to shoulders.

Step 7: Fold in half, right sides facing, sew along sleeves and down body, both sides.

Step 8: Add the foundation to the sleeves and ease in the cuffs.

Step 9: Ease in waistband. There’s no need for a foundation round here.

Step 10: Blocking? You can if you want. A light steam block is my recommendation but I’m going to let the wearing of it do the job.

The End

How did you get on with your C2C Christmas sweater!?