Yuletide Yoke Jumper - Free Knitting Pattern in Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky & Chunky Pots

Yuletide Yoke Jumper – Free Chunky Knitting Pattern by Paintbox Yarns

The Yuletide Yoke Jumper (also referred to in the pattern as the Yuletide Yoke Sweater) is a festive, cosy knitted jumper featuring a classic stranded colourwork yoke — perfect for the holiday season. This is a free, downloadable PDF knitting pattern from Paintbox Yarns, rated at an intermediate difficulty level, making it an ideal project for knitters who are comfortable with the basics and ready to explore colourwork and seamless construction techniques.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a seamless, bottom-up yoke jumper worked entirely in the round. The garment features a striking stranded colourwork yoke worked in two colours — a main colour (MC) and a contrast colour (CC) — giving it a traditional Scandinavian-inspired festive aesthetic. The jumper is available in eight sizes, fitting bust/chest measurements from 81 cm (32 in) up to 117 cm (46 in), with actual finished measurements ranging from 87 cm to 127 cm. Finished lengths range from approximately 59 cm to 70 cm, and sleeve seam lengths from 46 cm to 50 cm, making this a generously proportioned, wearable garment suitable for a wide range of body types.

Techniques Used

• Bottom-up construction: The jumper is worked from the hem upward, a method that allows knitters to easily adjust length before joining for the yoke.
• Seamless, worked in the round: Both the body and sleeves are knitted in the round using circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming and producing a clean, professional finish.
• Stranded colourwork: The yoke section incorporates stranded knitting, where two colours — Pure Black (MC) and Elf (CC) — are carried across rounds simultaneously to create a patterned design. This technique requires managing yarn tension carefully to keep floats even and the fabric smooth.
• Yoke shaping: Decreases are worked within the yoke to shape the garment from the body and sleeve stitches up to the neckline, a hallmark of the classic raglan or circular yoke construction.
• Stocking stitch (st st): The main body fabric is worked in stocking stitch, achieved by knitting every round when working in the round.

Stitches Used

• Knit (K) — the primary stitch used throughout the body and sleeves in stocking stitch
• Purl (P) — used for ribbing and any wrong-side detail work
• Make One (M1) — an increase stitch worked by picking up the loop lying between needles and knitting into the back of it, used for shaping
• Slip one (sl 1) and pass slipped stitch over (psso) — decrease techniques used in shaping
• Knit two together (K2tog) — a standard right-leaning decrease used in shaping rounds
• Stranded colourwork pattern stitches — knit stitches worked in alternating colours across the yoke rounds to form the decorative motif

Materials Required

Yarn

This pattern uses two specific Paintbox Yarns products, both in the chunky weight category:

• Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky in Pure Black (Main Colour / MC) — 5 to 7 × 100g balls depending on size
• Paintbox Yarns Simply Chunky Pots in Elf (Contrast Colour / CC) — 1 × 200g ball for all sizes

The Simply Chunky is a solid, single-tone