A few years ago I designed a Christmas jumper featuring a reindeer for my then toddler son, now he has a toddler sister and it’s time to design a Christmas jumper for her. Penguins are one of my favourite Christmas motifs, so it seemed obvious to include one on a jumper.

The Waddle jumper is knitted in pieces from the bottom up; the neckline is knitted on in the round after seaming the shoulders of the jumper. The penguin motif is added using the intarsia technique.

The pattern for the intarsia section is provided both as a chart and as written instructions.

The jumper is knitted in aran weight yarn, and has a casual fit with 7.5 cm [3 in] positive ease, making it perfect as a cosy extra layer over the festive season.

The version of the pattern provided will not be the final version - the photo in the current version of the pattern is one of the photos from the version originally published in Knit Now magazine. The final pattern will feature photos of the blue jumper.

Samples shown are knitted in size 4 years, in MillaMia Naturally Soft Aran (100% merino wool, 80 m [87 yds] per 50 g ball) in Sky Blue (226, MC, blue version), Cherry Red (242, MC, red version), Ochre (240, CC1), Slate (200, CC2) and Ivory (221, CC3).

Sizes
2 (4, 6, 8, 10, 12) years, to fit chest sizes 53 cm [20.75 in], 58.5 cm [23 in], 63.5 cm [25 in], 67 cm [26.5 in], 71 cm [28 in], 76 cm [30 in] with 7.5 cm [3 in] positive ease.

Tools
5 mm (US 8) straight needles
4.5 mm (US 7) straight needles
4.5 mm (US 7) circular needle, 40 cm 16 in in length
Markers x 2
Tapestry needle
Chart row marker
Bobbins for holding the different yarn colours
during colourwork

Materials
Aran weight yarn in each of the following colours and amounts:

• MC (pale blue): 375 (470, 540, 630, 720, 805) m [410 (510, 590, 685, 785, 875) yds]
• CC1 (yellow): 5 m [10 yds]
• CC2 (dark grey): 20 m [25 yds]
• CC3 (white): 15 m [20 yds]

Difficulty:
Intermediate (knitting, purling, simple increases and decreases, simple intarsia)

Pattern Style: Jumper pattern is written using abbreviations (all abbreviations are given). Both charted and written instructions are provided for the intarsia section.

This pattern was originally published in Knit Now magazine, issue 66. The pattern in the magazine is written for sizes 2-10 years.