A step by step guide to knitting the Lucky Dip Jumper. 

Well, aren't you a lucky thing! You've snapped up an exclusive Lucky Dip jumper 🥳

This is your step-by-step guide to knitting your new masterpiece. 

THE BASICS

If you're a total knitting newbie - WELCOME! 👋 Learning to knit can feel a bit like learning code. We've stripped away the complicated jargon and tried to keep things really simple so even the newest knitter can master the skill 🧶

Before we get started on the pattern it’s a good idea to learn the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your masterpiece. You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. The video below covers every technique you'll need to learn (spoiler - there's only 5!). Learn how to cast on, do a knit stitch, a purl stitch and put them together to create a rib stitch, lastly, we learn casting off. Once you've got these mastered you'll find this pattern is a cinch! 

💭 For more detailed videos of each technique, head down a little further where we've got specific videos for each stitch type.

YOU'VE GOT THIS ⚡️💪

Remember learning a new skill can be a little challenging at first, and you’re bound to find yourself making some mistakes along the way. But as with learning anything, your brain and your hands slowly start to get the hang of it, muscle memory is created, and soon the thing you found tricky/daunting/scary is like second nature! 

If you get stuck, reach out to us and we'll give you a (virtual) hand! 😎

TEST YOUR TENSION

Before you start your project, you should 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 7 stitches wide and 9 rows high. To test this, jump on your needles, cast on around 12 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (row 1 knit, row 2 purl) for around 10 rows. Then get a measuring tape and measure out 10x10cm and count your stitches and rows to make sure you're knitting at the correct tension. 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Your kit comes with everything you need to knit your masterpiece. 

• 10mm circular needles 
• 15mm circular needles
• 1000 to 1400 grams Chunky Merino yarn
• Darning needle 

SIZING

Your pattern has instructions for 3 sizes from size 6 to size 16. Your pattern is read like this: 6-8 (10-12, 14-16). 

THE TECHNIQUES YOU’LL MASTER

CASTING ON

Casting on is the first step in any project. It's the term we use for getting the wool onto our needles! We recommend using the two-needle technique as it's one of the simplest methods. Two-needle cast on uses your two needles (surprise!), starting with a slip knot on your left needle, each stitch is knitted to form a new loop and this loop is then added to your left needle. You repeat until you’ve made the desired number of stitches. 

💭 Casting on, like many things in knitting, can be done in a number of ways - our suggestion is a simple technique but you can pick any that’s right for you. 

KNIT STITCH 

This handy little stitch makes up the backbone of most knitting patterns. Each knit stitch looks like a little ‘v’.

PURL STITCH 

The second most common stitch, purl stitches look like little bumps (or purls!). You knit a knit stitch with your yarn tail at the back of your work and your needle going into the back of the stitch, the purl is the opposite, so your yarn tail is at the front of your work and your needle goes into the front of the stitch. 

RIB STITCH

A rib stitch is a textured pattern usually used on the cuffs and necks of jumpers. It’s made by alternating knit and purl stitches in the same row, then knitting the same stitch sequence in the next row. 

KNITTING IN THE ROUND

Knitting in the round is where we use our circular needles and knit continuously in loops, rather than back and forth in rows (like a lot of beginner patterns do). Now don't worry! It's not anywhere near as hard as it sounds. When knitting in the round, you're always knitting on the "front" side of your work so you don't need to turn the piece to knit on the "back" side. Plus, you don't need to sew your beanie together at the end! 

REDUCING STITCHES

We reduce the number of stitches on our needle by knitting or purling some stitches together. This simply means we put our right needle into the second stitch on your left needle and collect both the first and second stitch and knit them as you would a single stitch. 

CASTING OFF

To cast off, knit two stitches then slip the first stitch on your right needle back over the second stitch and off the needle. You’ll have one stitch left on your right needle. Knit another stitch so you’ve got two stitches on your right needle and then slip the first stitch off. Continue to the end of the row. When you’ve got the last stitch on your right needle, cut the yarn and thread this through the final stitch to secure. To see casting off in action watch our "Master The Basics" video above. 

OKAY, LET’S KNIT UP A STORM! 

Your kit comes with enough yarn to knit your chosen size but the way you knit your jumper is totally up to you! These instructions will give you the structure of your jumper, but you decide when you change colours and if you add any contrast stitch stripes. 

💭 To create a contrast stitch band while knitting in the round all you do is knit a loop in purl stitch instead of knit stitch. To create a contrast stitch band while knitting flat you just repeat a row of purl stitch.

BODY

We start knitting the body "in the round" and from the bottom up. That means we'll start with a rib stitch before we move into knit stitch and we're knitting in loops. Jump back up to the video above if you need a refresher on how to join your loop to knit in the round. 

Step 1:

Cast on the required number of stitches using your 10mm circular needles.

Step 2:

Once you've cast on the right number of stitches you will join your stitches in a loop and then move on to the rib. Knit the rib following the instructions in your pattern. Remember to create a rib we knit 1 stitch, then purl the next. Make sure you’re moving your yarn tail from the back to the front of our stitch to ensure the stitch is executed correctly. 

💭 Make sure you use a stitch marker to keep track of the number of rows/loops you’ve knitted. A stitch marker can be anything round; a ring, hair tie or a spare piece of yarn. 

Step 3:

Next, we move on to using our 15mm circular needles and into knit stitch.

To switch to a different size needle we hold the new needle (in this case the 15mm circular needle) in our right hand and knit onto the stitch on your 10mm needle in your left hand. Simple! 

Knit the allocated number of knit rows. Remember to tick off a circle for each row/loop you've knitted so you can keep track! The dashed circles are for bigger sizes.

Step 5: 

We're going to split the work now, so we knit up the back and the front of the body separately. We knit up the back first. 

Because we're no longer knitting in the round, we have a 'front' and 'back' of the work. This means instead of knitting every row, we need to knit one row and then purl the next - this stitch is called stockinette. 

Knit one row. Then flip your work and purl the next row. 

The other stitches will just hang out on your needle until we're ready to come back to them. Knit your stitches. 

Step 5:

Cast off the stitches you've been working on. That's the back part of your body done! Well done 💪

Step 6:

Time to work up the front of your body.

First, attach your yarn to the first of the stitches you've got left on your needle. You'll want to pick the side that means you'll start with a knit stitch - so the little V's should be on the side facing you. 

Knit this row. Then,  flip your work over and purl stitches. 

We're going to complete the allocated number of rows of stockinette stitch.

Step 7: 

Okay, time to start shaping the neckline! We do this over 4 rows. We'll knit up one shoulder first and cast off. We'll then reattach our yarn, create a space for the head-hole by casting off some stitches, and then knit up the second shoulder. 

So, knit the allocated number of stitches and then knit two stitches together. To knit two together you slip your right needle in behind two stitches instead of one, and then knit as you would. 

Step 8: 

Flip your work and we will purl those same stitches. Leave the rest of your stitches on your needle, we'll come back to them later.

Step 9-10: 

We repeat the same sequence from the last 2 rows to reduce the next knit row and then purl a row. 

Step 11: 

Cast off those stitches. That's shoulder 1 done! 

Step 12: 

Rejoin your yarn by tying a knot to the base of the stitch closest to the tip of your needle. We're going to cast off some stitches to create that gap for the head-hole. 

Cast off the allocated number of stitches. You'll have one stitch left on your right needle. Just slip that one back onto your left needle and we will knit two stitches together before we knit the rest of the stitches. 

Step 12-16: 

We continue in the same way we did for the first shoulder. 

Cast off the stitches for shoulder 2 and that's the body done 🚀

SEW YOUR SHOULDERS

Before we move into the sleeves we're going to sew the shoulders of your body together. Grab your darning needle to sew the shoulder seams together using the invisible seam technique - demonstrated in the video below. 

SLEEVES

Onto the sleeves. You'll do two of these 😎🧶

We start at the top of the sleeve and knit down to the cuff.

Step 1: 

Using your 15mm needles pick up the allocated number of stitches from around the arm hole. The below video demonstrates this technique on a neckline but the process for the arm holes is the same. 

Step 2: 

We're knitting in the round again which means we knit every row. This should be a cinch by now! 💪 

💭 Remember to use a stitch marker to keep track of your rows and change colour as you like.

Step 3: 

To get the shape in our sleeve, we're going to decrease some stitches before we knit the cuff. You'll knit two stitches together all the way along the row.

Step 4:

Once that’s done you'll swap to your 10mm needles to start your rib stitch for 9 rows. 

Step 5:

Cast off your stitches. When you cast off make sure it’s not too tight otherwise you’ll have a really tight wrist hole!

Repeat for your second sleeve. 

NECKLINE

We're SO CLOSE! I can see the finish line 🎢 🙌

We knit the neck in the round with our 10mm needles. 

So first things first. We pick up the allocated number of stitches in equal distance from around the neck hole. Once you’ve got all your stitches on your needles you join the loop together and start the rib stitch.

Knit in the round until you’ve completed 6 loops then cast off. 

💭 Remember to use a stitch marker to keep track of your rows. 

🚨 Now this part is critical! Cast of extra loosely!! You need a loose cast off in order to be able to fit your head through the hole. Rib stitch has a stretch to it, but if you cast off too tightly you'll have a hole that's too small for your head to fit through. Been there, done that and DON'T recommend 😝

The last thing we do for every piece is weave in the ends. That’s basically just tidying up the piece so all loose ends are trimmed down and tucked in.

We'd 💕LOVE💕 to see how you go! Share your masterpiece with us by tagging @cardigang_knits on Instagram or by sending us an email at hello@cardigang.com.au 

Until next time! 😘🧶

Morgan & Cat xx