Free Children’s Sweater Knitting Patterns for Straight Needles

Big Hug Pullover (3 months -12 years)

Knit this cute sweater in no time in super chunky yarn on 8mm needles.

The back is a simple rectangle and the front only has slight shaping at the top for the neck.

The body of the sweater uses Premier Yarns Parfait Chunky Chenille which comes in a whopping 50 shades. If you’re outside North America, Paintbox Yarns Chenille or King Cole Yummy are close matches.

But you don’t have to use Chenille – any super bulky yarn with a 10 stitch gauge will work.

Super bulky yarns are less interchangeable than thinner yarn though, so double check the gauge and needles on the ball band before you buy. For example, Premier Yarns Anti-Pilling Everyday Bulky is a smooth acrylic yarn that matches the 10 stitch gauge, but you would need to use 9mm needles instead of 8mm.

This pattern uses Minikins self striping yarn for the sleeves. You just start knitting from the centre and the stripes magically appear – how clever is that?

So the one catch with this pattern is that it doesn’t give instructions for how many rows to knit in each colour, because the colours change automatically in the yarn.

But you could easily substitute with different colours of your main yarn, and use the pattern pictures as a guide or come up with your own stripes combo. It will still look super cute 🙂

This PDF pattern is free to download from Premier Yarns with no login required – yay!

Charlie Jumper (6 months -10 years)

Simple stripes give this sweater a striking look. I always seem to finish striped knits faster too, because every stripe feels like I’ve reached a milestone already! 🙂

I love the cute rolled ribbing here too. This fancy detail is so easy to do, you just do a bit of stockinette first instead of starting off with rib.

As well as the classic crew neck version, instructions for a polo neck option are also included.

You knit the whole thing with 4mm needles too, and any standard DK yarn (22 stitches x 28 rows gauge) should work well for this.

The pattern uses Wool Warehouse’s own brand Yarnsmiths Create DK, an affordable easy care acrylic yarn. It comes in over 100 colours, plus there’s extra baby shades in pretty pastels.

Download the free PDF pattern from Wool Warehouse below – no login needed:

Lawrence Jumper (2 -12 years)

It’s amazing the difference adding a simple garter stitch section can make to a basic stockinette sweater. This modern top knits up quickly in heavy worsted yarn on 5mm needles too.

The back is a rectangle – easy peasy! The front has minimal shaping right at the end for the neck.

After knitting the front and back, you pick up stitches for the sleeves and knit them from the top down, with simple decreases as you go.

Now the one catch with this pattern is that the neckband is knit in the round at the end with DPNs. Don’t worry – you can knit it with straight needles instead, but it means you need to change the order you knit the pattern in as follows:

1. Knit the Back and Front sections of the pattern but only seam one shoulder at the end.
2. Skip to the Finishing section, and knit the neckband with straight needles instead of DPNs – follow my guide here. Don’t seam the side and sleeves at the end, but seam the neck and the other shoulder.
3. Knit the Sleeves section & finally seam the side and sleeves.

This sweater is designed for Berroco Remix, a heavy worsted yarn with a tweedy look. But any proper aran weight yarn should work for this. Just note that the Remix gauge is 17×23 rather than the standard worsted/aran gauge of 18×24, so err on the thick side if in doubt.

Download the free PDF pattern from Berroco below – no login required:

Simple Childs Jumper with Dropped Shoulders (2-12 years)

The tiny low quality pic doesn’t do this jumper justice. It’s an ideal children’s pattern for beginner knitters.

This sweater has minimal shaping and a practical boat neck. That means there’s just a wide gap across the top with no round neckline shaping needed. So it’s easier to knit and the wider neck makes it easier to get on & off small kids too – win win!

Both sleeves are all simple stockinette stitch. The front and back pieces are exactly the same, mainly in stockinette but switches to rows of rib at the top. This nice design touch looks smart & sets it apart from boring plain stockinette sweaters.

Use any double knitting yarn that knits to the standard 22×28 gauge on 4mm needles to knit this cute top.

The designer, Deborah Mason, has even kindly made a 1 page printable PDF version. 👏

Child’s Crew Neck Jumper (2-10 years)

This free stockinette child’s sweater knitting pattern is a 3 page PDF with colour coded sizing – super handy.

The pattern uses acrylic yarn, but knits to a standard aran gauge, so any aran or worsted weight yarn should work well.

Child’s Colour Block Jumper (3-7 years)

Kids will look seriously cool in this modern top. The free pattern includes several color combos for inspiration or you can have fund choosing your own – maybe your little one can help?

The 3 wide stripes add interest and are handy progress points to help keep you knitting. 😊

This free pattern (design number 2558) is from Sirdar who are long known for their tried and tested patterns. You need a free account to download it.

Sirdar class this pattern as suitable for beginners and sizes are colour coded to make it easy to follow.

The pattern uses Sirdar Snuggly Replay DK, a lightweight, easy care cotton and acrylic yarn that comes in a whole rainbow of shades.

But it knits to standard double knitting gauge, so you can use any DK yarn you like.

Andrew’s Stripes Sweater (4-10 years)

Knit a fancy looking striped sweater with this easy 1 page pdf pattern.

You knit 6 rows in each colour. You could knit a rainbow or pastel jumper, football team colours or let the child choose their fave shades (which may change while you knit!).

The stripes help you line up each piece as you seam them together and the end result looks super smart.

This pattern uses Patons Canadiana acrylic yarn, but you could use any aran or worsted weight yarn that knits to the traditional 18×24 gauge.

Velvet Dreams Lace Ruffles Sweater (1-8 years)

This lace girl’s sweater is so pretty. I especially love the ruffles on the sleeve – ooh la la!

Designed by Rachel Brockman for Universal Yarns, they class the difficulty as easy. But I would only recommend it for experienced knitters as there’s a fair bit going on!

The lovely lace pattern down the front is only a 10 row repeat, which keeps things manageable.

The ruffles are knit on to the sleeves right at the end, after you attach them to the body. Despite the pattern saying the opposite, I’d leave the side body and sleeve seams until after you knit the ruffles, because then they should be easier to knit with straight needles.

You could also just leave out the ruffles to simplify things. If you’re on Ravelry, others have done this & the sweater still looks super cute.

Note the neckband instructions say to knit it in the round at the very end with a circular needle, but you can easily knit it with straight needles instead. Just leave one shoulder open instead of seaming both sides at the top. Then you can pick up all your neckband stitches on a straight needle and just seam the neckband edges and 2nd shoulder at the end. See my full guide on how to modify patterns to knit neckbands with 2 straight needles here.

Kids Chevron Sweater (3-7 years)

This free Sirdar kid’s sweater pattern number 2550 looks super smart with its modern chevrons. I’m jealous there isn’t a matching version for grown-ups!

Designed for Sirdar’s popular Snuggly Replay DK yarn, a cotton/acrylic mix, you could also use any DK yarn that knits to the standard 22×28 gauge on 4mm needles.

While Sirdar class this as an intermediate pattern, the sleeves are all stockinette which simplifies things.

Plus you don’t need any special knitting know how to do the fancy chevron pattern. You just purl certain stitches in every row. It is a 14 row pattern repeat though, so it’s not mindless knitting! You could always knit the back in plain stockinette instead if you’re running short on time or focus.

Even Sirdar’s free patterns are triple checked so you can knit with confidence. I love the way they colour code instructions for each size too – so handy!

You’ll need a free Sirdar account to download this PDF pattern. Just switch to the ‘Pattern Only’ tab on the pattern page linked below and click the ‘Free Download’ button there.

Watch the Birdie Jumper (6 months -6 years)

This little sweater is adorable! Designed by Jane Reay, you’ll just need a free LoveCrafts or Ravelry account to download it.

The side button opening at the neck is optional if you prefer to keep things simple.

It’s all plain stockinette apart from the band of birds along the bottom (using a 15 stitch chart repeat) and the little zig zags above the sleeve cuffs. So it’s a nice project to practise stranded colorwork.

This pattern uses Debbie Bliss Rialto DK wool, which I found lovely and soft to knit with, plus it washes well.

But the horizontal 22 stitch gauge is the standard for double knitting, so most DK yarns should work well.

If you like knitting this free pattern, Jane has lots more children’s knitting patterns for sale on LoveCrafts (and Ravelry).

Shooting Star Jumper & Cardigan (3-7 years)

This sweater certainly has star power, with it’s colourful rainbow shooting star motifs.

This free Sirdar pattern number 2586 also includes a cute cardigan version, shown knit in navy with a cream star.

So whether you knit this in a light or dark colour, your little star is sure to stand out.

Knit in Sirdar’s ever popular Snuggly DK easy care acrylic, you could also use any DK yarn that knits to the standard 22×28 gauge on 4mm needles.

You need 7 colours in total, but aside from the main jumper colour, you only need 1 small ball of each. So this pattern is great for using up yarn oddments.

The sleeves are all stockinette, with 7 short stripes (in 5 shades) knit near the bottom of 1 sleeve and near the top of the other.

Much of the front and back is plain stockinette too. But the back has some stripes on 1 side near the bottom and top which are knit using the intarsia technique. So you knit a bit of the row with a rainbow colour, and the rest of the row with the main colour, twist the yarn at the back when you switch colours to avoid holes.

If you’re new to intarsia, the back only uses it for simple stripes so you can start with that to get the hang of it. Then on the front, you can move on to doing the large intarsia star motifs at the top and bottom of the jumper.

Knitting a small child’s sweater is a great way to try out new techniques like intarsia. You get to learn something new & knit something super cute at the same time. 😊

Girl’s Lace Jumper (2-11 years)

This pretty girl’s sweater has 2 sleeve options to choose from. Knit striped sleeves in stockinette or knit ribbed sleeves (knit 1, purl 3 rib) instead.

The lace pattern on the front and back looks really fancy, but you just need to do simple yarn overs on a quarter on the rows to knit the lace. The rest of the rows are standard stockinette.

It’s a 16 row pattern repeat though, so this isn’t mindless TV knitting! Just take your time at first and once you do a few repeats, it gets much easier.

TIP: you could simplify this pattern & save time by just doing the lace pattern on the front and knit the back in plain stockinette.

This pattern uses Stylecraft organic cotton DK, so it’s a lovely summer knitting project.

But it knits to standard double knitting tension, so you could use any DK yarn for this.

Cotton jumpers are durable and wash well, but they can go out of shape. This jumper would also be lovely knit in soft wool or easy care acrylic either.