Kitty Striped Jumper with Short Puff Sleeves in West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab - DBP0196 - Downloadable PDF

Kitty Striped Jumper with Short Puff Sleeves

What Is Being Made

The Kitty Striped Jumper with Short Puff Sleeves is a knitted sweater designed by Dame Zandra Rhodes, featuring a distinctive striped pattern inspired by Zandra Rhodes' signature aesthetic. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a playful, statement-making garment with charming short puff sleeves that add visual interest and a contemporary silhouette to the classic jumper shape.

Design and Inspiration

This pattern is part of the Zandra Rhodes knitwear collection, compiled by Jenny Watson with technical editing by Helen Birch and Jill Gray. As Dame Zandra Rhodes states in the pattern introduction, "There really is something for everyone in this collection. I want those who knit my garments to feel happy and excited." The design draws from the designer's iconic approach to bold, expressive prints and colorways, translated into knitted striped construction.

Knitting Techniques and Stitches

This jumper employs fundamental knitting techniques suitable for intermediate-level crafters. The striped pattern is created through color work, which involves changing yarn colors at regular intervals to build the horizontal stripes throughout the body and sleeves. The puff sleeves are constructed using shaping techniques that create fullness at the shoulder, typically achieved through increases worked at specific intervals, then decreased toward the cuff to create the characteristic puffed silhouette.

The pattern utilizes standard knitting stitches including stockinette stitch for the main fabric, which creates a smooth, classic finish ideal for displaying the striped colorwork. Ribbing is likely used at the cuffs, hem, and neckline to provide structure and elasticity to the finished garment.

Yarn and Materials

The Kitty Striped Jumper is designed to be knitted in DK weight yarn, a versatile medium weight that produces a fabric with good drape and definition for color work. The pattern specifies West Yorkshire Spinners yarns in multiple colorways from their DK and 4 PLY collections, including:

• Zandra's Sunset
• Botanical Forest
• Bluebell
• Woodland Rainbow
• Bouquet Bloom
• Stripes
• Mist
• Awakening

Knitters will require appropriate knitting needles sized for DK weight yarn, as specified in the pattern instructions. The downloadable PDF format provides complete row-by-row guidance and stitch counts needed to successfully complete this intermediate project.

Project Suitability

Classified as an intermediate-level pattern, the Kitty Striped Jumper is ideal for knitters with foundational skills who are ready to tackle color work and sleeve shaping. The combination of striped construction and puff sleeve shaping offers an engaging challenge while remaining achievable for experienced beginners progressing toward advanced techniques.