The Skye Jumper

By Cardigang Knits Oct 9, 2022

A step-by-step guide to knitting the Skye Jumper.

Ever gotten halfway through a project and thought “Hang on, am I even doing this right?” We have 🙋‍♀️

That’s why we’ve created these step-by-step guides to walk you through the knitting process.

Even if you've never knitted before, we'll take you from zero to knitting hero in no time 🦸‍♀️

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Before we get started on the pattern we suggest you spend a bit of time learning the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your masterpiece. The Sky Jumper is made using a combination of knit and purl stitches. We put these together to make a 2x2 rib stitch and a stockinette stitch. You'll want to be confident with the knit and purl stitches before you start. You'll also want to get a hang of tying a slip knot and casting on your stitches which is the first step in any knitting project.

📹 Watch How To Tie A Slip Knot

📹 Watch How To Cast On

📹 Watch How To Knit Stitch

📹 Watch How To Purl Stitch

You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. Once you've got these mastered you'll find the pattern a cinch!

👩‍🏫 For a more comprehensive lesson on the basics of knitting visit our Learn How To Knit page.

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Looking for something a little more personal?

Book in for a one-on-one knitting or crochet session with the
Cardigang Hotline ☎️. These sessions are designed to help give you the skills you need to create a masterpiece. Whether you're just starting out, or you've got a specific question or problem (dropped a stitch, no stress!), we're here to get you out of a bind.

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TEST YOUR TENSION

First thing's first. Before you start your project, make sure your tension (how tightly or loosely your knitting is) is juuuust right 🥣 We do this by knitting a “tension swatch”. It's a bit like goldilocks, if the tension is too tight, your piece will be too small, and if it's too loose it may not hold its shape and might be too big.

If done correctly, your 10x10cm knitted swatch should be 11 stitches wide and 16 rows high when knitted in stockinette on 6mm needles.

To test your gauge grab your needles and chunky cotton yarn. Cast on 16 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (knit first row, purl second repeat) until your piece is just longer than 10cm high. Then measure your 10x10cm swatch and count the stitches and rows within your 10x10 square.

Gauge Tension Swatch Count Your Stitches

💡 We know knitting a gauge swatch can seem like a bit of a drain, but it's really important because the difference of a few millimetres in a gauge swatch can lead to a finished piece this is quite different in size to what you intended.

Onto the knit

SIZING

You can knit your jumper in size 6-8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-20 or 22-24. Your pattern is read like this: 6-8 (10-12, 14-16, 18-20, 22-24). Make sure you're following the right instructions for your chosen size.

MEASUREMENTS

Laying flat, your finished piece will measure approximately:

6-8: 55cm wide x 43cm high
10-12: 60cm wide x 43cm high
14-16: 65cm wide x 47cm high
18-20: 70cm wide x 50cm high
22-24: 75cm wide x 50cm high

USING YOUR PATTERN

One of the things we found the hardest when we were learning to knit was keeping track of our rows. Before we were able to easily identify a row of stitches we used a pen and paper to keep track. That's why we've included handy circles in our patterns - you can tick them off as you go. The dashed circles are for the larger sizes. We've also colour-coordinated the circles to help keep track of the colour you're knitting with.

LET'S KNIT UP A STORM

We knit our masterpiece in pieces, starting with the back panel, then the front, and then the sleeves. Once we have all our pieces we’ll sew the jumper together and knit the ribbed neckline.

BACK

We knit the back panel from the bottom up.

STEP 1

Cast on your stitches in colour 1. We recommend using the long tail cast-on method when using the chunky cotton yarn. It's a lot easier to get the new stitches onto your needle.

This is what it will look like when all your stitches are cast on.

Casting on

STEP 2

Complete 7 rows of 2x2 rib stitch. A 2x2 rib stitch is where you knit 2 stitches, then purl 2 stitches, then knit 2, purl 2- repeat. Remember to move your yarn from the front to the back of your work as you alternate knit and purl stitches.

📹 Watch How To Do A Rib Stitch - make sure you're knitting 2 stitches, then purling 2 to make a 2x2 pattern, instead of a 1x1.

2x2 Rib Stitch

STEP 3

Continuing in colour 1, you'll begin knitting in stockinette stitch Stockinette stitch is made by alternating knit and purl rows.

Knit one row, then purl the next.

STEP 4

Change to colour 2. We change colour at the end of a row. Tie a knot with the new yarn colour around the end of the tail of the colour you were knitting with, then start knitting with the new colour. You can cut the yarn from the ball of colour 1.

📹 Watch How To Change Colours

Complete two more rows of stockinette stitch.

STEP 5

Change to colour 3 and continue in stockinette stitch.

STEP 6 - 8

Continue in stockinette stitch and change colours as instructed.

STEP 9

Cast off all stitches and cut your yarn from the ball. Secure the last stitch by threading the tail through the stitch and pulling it to secure.

📹 Watch How To Cast Off

Well done 💪 You've finished the back!

FRONT

The front knits up the same way as the back until you get to the last 6 rows which is where we create the shape for the neckline.

STEP 1 - 12

Repeat the same sequence as the back.

STEP 13

We're going to start shaping the neckline. To do this you'll knit up one shoulder and then the other. We decrease stitches every second row to create a curve for our neckline.

Knitting your neckline

In this step, you'll knit the instructed number of stitches and then you'll knit two stitches together.

📹 Watch How To Knit Two Stitches Together

STEP 14

Flip your work and we're going to purl the same stitches again. The rest of the stitches will just hang out on your needles, we'll come back to them once the first shoulder is finished.

STEP 15

We're going to do another decrease on this row. Knit the instructed number of stitches before you knit the next two stitches together.

STEP 16 - 19

Continue in this fashion, following the stitch numbers, before casting off the stitches for the first shoulder.

STEP 20

⚡️ Rejoin your yarn by tying a knot to the base of the stitch closest to the end of your needle.

We're going to cast off 14/16 stitches before we knit up the second shoulder.

Once you've cast off the stitches you'll have one stitch on your right needle and the rest of the stitches on your left. Slip a second stitch from your left needle onto your right and then knit those two stitches together.

STEP 21 - 26

You'll knit up the second shoulder following the instructions and decreasing stitches around the neckline every second row.

The front is F.I.N.I.S.H.E.D! 🥳 Have a stretch and give yourself a pat on the back.