Buddy Jumper in Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino (EN) - RB002-00008-ENP - Downloadable PDF

Buddy Jumper by Erika Knight in Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino – Pattern Summary

The Buddy Jumper is a charming baby sweater designed by Erika Knight and published by Rowan as a downloadable PDF pattern (reference RB002-00008-ENP). Worked in the round from the top down, this seamless yoke construction produces a neat, professional finish with minimal seaming — making it an excellent project for knitters who enjoy circular and double-pointed needle techniques. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, reflecting the combination of yoke shaping, increases, and the transition between needle types.

What Is Being Made

The Buddy Jumper is a seamless, top-down baby jumper (sweater) designed to fit infants aged 0–3, 3–6, 6–9, and 9–12 months, with actual chest measurements ranging from 51.5 cm to 61.5 cm (20¼ to 24¼ inches). The garment features a rounded yoke that is shaped through a series of carefully spaced increase rounds, creating a smooth, fitted shoulder and chest area. Stitches for the sleeves are placed on holders while the body is worked downward, and underarm stitches are cast on to bridge the gap — a hallmark of the seamless top-down method.

Construction Technique

• Top-down seamless yoke construction — the jumper begins at the neckband and grows outward through the yoke before dividing for the body and sleeves.
• The yoke is shaped using paired increases (M1R and M1L) worked at regular intervals across multiple increase rounds, gradually adding stitches from the initial neckband count up to 154 [168: 182: 196] stitches at the point of division.
• Knitters begin with double-pointed needles and transition to a circular needle as the stitch count grows — a standard technique when working small circumferences in the round.
• Sleeve stitches are slipped onto holders at the division round, and underarm stitches are cast on to maintain the body circumference before continuing downward.
• The yoke measures approximately 9.5 to 11.5 cm from the base of the neckband at the point of division, depending on size.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette) in the round — every round is knitted, producing a smooth, classic fabric throughout the yoke and body.
• M1R (Make 1 Right) — a right-leaning increase worked by inserting the left needle from back to front into the horizontal strand between stitches and knitting through the front of the loop.
• M1L (Make 1 Left) — a left-leaning increase worked by inserting the left needle from front to back into the horizontal strand and knitting through the back of the loop.
• These paired increases are arranged symmetrically to create a balanced, decorative yoke shaping that is both functional and visually tidy.
• Casting on mid-round for the underarm sections — a practical technique used in seamless construction to bridge the gap between body and sleeve.
• Working on holders — sleeve stitches are reserved and returned to needles later for the sleeve sections.

Materials

• Yarn: Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino, a 4-ply weight yarn, used in 2 to 3 x 50g balls depending on size. The sample shown in the pattern photography is worked in shade Piglet 122.
• Needles: A set of four 3.5 mm (UK 10/9, US 4) double-pointed needles for the initial neckband and early yoke rounds, plus a 3.5 mm (UK 10/9, US 4) circular needle no more than 40 cm long for the remainder of the yoke and body.
• Tension: 23 stitches and 30 rounds to 10 cm measured over st