Crochet Man

Polo-neck jumper

How to make a polo-neck jumper

This article will give you the information to make your own polo-neck jumper to any bespoke measurements. This pattern uses the top-down approach, where the garment is created using rounds (rnds) without any visible seams, starting at the neck and finishing at the bottom.

Guage or tension

Start by deciding what weight of yarn to use, for this example we will use Aran yarn, 400g @ 800m. Next you need to know what type of stitch will make up your fabric, I find that half trebles allow the fabric to drape nicely. Next you'll need to decide how dense you want your fabric to be.  I used a 6mm hook which gave me the following 10x10 half treble swatch size. 

  • Height: 11cm
  • Width: 9cm

This means that my half treble stitches are each 1.1 cm tall and .9cm wide. From this measurement I can easily calculate the number of stitches required to make the garment.

Ribbed stitch

There are a number of methods for creating a ribbed stitch, needed to make the polo neck, cuffs and waist band. I prefer to make alternate half trebles, one through the front of the post and the next through the back of the post. For this stitch you will need an even number of sts to create the ribbing. Here are the dimensions of 10 rib sts, using a 5mm hook.

  • Height: 6cm
  • Width: 6cm

Jumper Dimensions

Measurements

Using this image as a reference (showing the order of construction), make the following measurements of the wearer's body.

  • Neck diameter: Simply measure around your neck.
  • Chest diameter: Measure under your arms and around your chest.
  • Waist diameter: Measure your waist.
  • Bicep diameter: Measure around your arms at the wide end.
  • Wrist diameter: Measure your wrists.
  • Neck height: This is the height of the polo neck.
  • Yoke length: This is the distance across the top of your shoulders. Or from the edge of the neck to under your armpit.
  • Sleeve length: The length of your arm, from shoulder to wrist, not including the cuff
  • Body length: The length of the body from chest to waist, not including the cuff

From these measurements, you will be able to calculate the number of stitches and rows required. Here is an example:

  • Neck circumference: 43cm / 0.6 = 72 sts
  • Chest circumference: 113cm / 0.9 = 126 sts
  • Waist circumference: 107cm /0.9 = 119 sts
  • Bicep circumference: 37cm / 0.9 = 41 sts
  • Wrist circumference: 20cm / 0.9 = 22 sts
  • Neck height: 11cm / 0.6 = 18 rnds
  • Yoke length: 25cm / 1.1 = 23 rnds
  • Sleeve length: 49cm / 1.1 = 45 rnds
  • Body length: 43cm / 1.1 = 39 rnds
  • Cuff length: 5cm / 0.6 = 8 rnds

Ease

Ease in a garment, is the amount of fabric you add or remove, in order to tighten or loosen the fit. This garment design has an ease allowance of 2 sts, that can be added to each of the circumferences.

Instructions

With these measurements, you now have enough information to make this top-down jumper as follows:

  1. Polo-neck
    1. Using a 5mm hook, make a ring of 74 half trebles.
    2. With the ribbed stitch, make 18 rnds.
    3. Turn inside out before next step (polo-neck gets folded over when wearing).
  2. Yoke
    1. Using a 6mm hook, increase from 74 sts to 214 sts (chest plus both biceps), evenly over 23 rnds (6 sts per rnd).
  3. Chest
    1. Using a 6mm hook, go round the 128 chest sts only, leaving two arm holes of 43 sts each.
    2. Decrease from 128 to 121 sts, over 39 rnds.
  4. Using a 5mm hook, add ribbed sts to finish body over 8 rnds.
  5. Sleeves
    1. Using a 6mm hook, join yarn at one of the arm holes.
    2. Complete 2 rnds
    3. Decrease from 43 sts to 24 sts evenly over 45 rnds (1 st every 2 rnds)
  6. Using a 5mm hook, add ribbed sts to finish sleeve 8 rnds.

test 21 Nov 15:32