Paintbox Yarns Sleigh Ride Jumper Knitting Pattern

Paintbox Yarns Sleigh Ride Jumper

What Is Being Made

The Paintbox Yarns Sleigh Ride Jumper is an intermediate-level knitted sweater featuring a festive stranded colorwork design. This pullover garment is available in six sizes to fit bust measurements ranging from 81 cm (32 in) to 107 cm (42 in), with finished bust measurements from 90 cm (35½ in) to 114 cm (45 in). The sweater offers a finished length between 53 cm (20¾ in) and 58 cm (22¾ in), making it suitable for various body proportions and style preferences.

Techniques Used

This sweater is constructed using several key knitting techniques that define its intermediate difficulty level. The garment is worked flat, meaning pieces are knitted on straight needles rather than in the round, allowing for easier pattern management and shaping. The design incorporates stranded colorwork, a traditional Fair Isle technique where two colors are carried across rows to create the festive Sleigh Ride pattern. The sweater is finished using the seamed construction method, where individual pieces (front, back, and sleeves) are knitted separately and then sewn together with careful attention to alignment and tension for a professional appearance.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs fundamental knitting stitches suitable for colorwork projects. Stocking stitch (also called stockinette stitch in US terminology) forms the primary fabric structure, created by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows to produce the classic smooth, V-textured knit surface. The stranded colorwork technique requires managing two yarn colors simultaneously, with the unused color carried loosely across the back of the work. Additional shaping stitches include make one increases for gradual shaping and decreases for armhole and neckline shaping, allowing the sweater to fit properly across different sizes.

Materials

The Paintbox Yarns Sleigh Ride Jumper is designed to be worked in Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran, a medium-weight yarn supplied in 100g balls. The pattern requires 5 to 7 balls of Champagne White as the main color (depending on size), and 1 ball of Racing Green as the contrast color for the stranded pattern. The project calls for two pairs of knitting needles: 4mm (UK 8 – US 6) needles for ribbed edgings and 4½mm (UK 7 – US 7) needles for the main fabric. The recommended tension is 18 stitches and 24 rows over 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch using the larger needles, with 21 stitches and 22 rows over 10 cm (4 in) measured over the stranded colorwork pattern.