Paired New Year sweaters for two lovers are a bright, original and fashionable accessory. Decorated with deer, snowflakes and other festive patterns, they are made with knitting needles according to special patterns and give a special - homely and warm atmosphere to the family.
Paired sweaters for two, three or more close people have long become the norm in the society of many extraordinary nationalities on the eve of the New Year holidays. Such products are especially popular in Canada and the United States of America.
Tools and materials for knitting
Paired sweaters for two with patterns are made from white, blue, black, red or white shades of yarn using the jacquard technique, which places special demands on the materials used., namely:
- To the thickness of the yarn. All threads used in the work must have the same thickness and twist density. Yarn with a thickness of 150-300 m per 100 g skein of medium twist is considered ideal.
- To its composition.
It is recommended to knit winter sweaters from yarn containing 50-90% sheep wool, cashmere or mohair with 10-30% synthetic fiber (nylon, polyester) or cotton, which are responsible for maintaining the strength of the finished product, increasing its durability and preventing stretching during washing.
- To the color. The yarn must be dyed with wash-resistant dyes.
- To the manufacturer, responsible for the quality of the yarn.
Recommended yarns for knitting:
| Product name | His characteristics |
| BC Garn Bio Shetland | High-quality yarn made from Shetland sheep wool (100%). Ideal for jacquard knitting, it has a yardage of 250 m/50 g, medium-weak twist and a small pile that opens up only during washing. |
| BC Garn Bio Balance | Eco-friendly yarn with 55% organic wool and 45% cotton content has a triple twist thread, smooth, matte texture, without lint and shine. Footage - 225 m / 50 g. |
| Baby Wool Gazzal | Soft semi-wool yarn with 40% merino, 40% acrylic and 20% cashmere, with a light, thin and elastic thread. Size - 50g / 175m. |
| "Australian Merino" from Pekhorka | Yarn with 95% merino wool and 5% acrylic. Medium twist thread allows you to get an even pattern, and the finished product itself does not stretch when washed. Size - 400 m / 100 g. |
To create paired sweaters with a New Year's pattern, you will need yarn in 2 shades (for example, blue and white), as well as circular knitting needles, sizes 2.5, 3.5, 5.5. The number of skeins will depend on the size of the pair and will be approximately 1000 g of each type of yarn.
Taking measurements
The knitting process is necessarily preceded by the procedure of taking measurements from the couple, carried out with the help of a centimeter tape. During the process, the man or woman should stand straight, with a normal posture and arms down. The tape is applied to the body without stretching or loosening.
The following values are determined:
- Chest circumference (CG), corresponding to the value of the segment drawn between the armpits through the protruding points on the chest.
- Shoulder length (L), measured from the base of the neck down to the middle of the shoulder slope.
- Sleeve length (Length), corresponding to the value obtained by measuring the distance from the wrist to the shoulder seam. The arm should be bent at the elbow.
- Back lengths to the expected bottom of the product (EBP), measured from the seventh cervical vertebra down to the hip line.
Pattern placement and creation technique
Paired sweaters for two for New Year and Christmas are decorated with jacquard patterns with deer or snowflakes, made in several versions.
Life hacks for knitting paired sweaters for two:
- alternate stripes of jacquard patterns (animals, hearts, snowflakes) along the entire length of the product;
- place the ribbon with deer in the central part of the sweaters and complement it with another pattern at the top and bottom;
- place a jacquard pattern with deer on the top and bottom of the items, framing them with additional ornamentation, but leaving the central parts of the sweaters plain;
- choose a voluminous cartoon deer with clearly defined details as a pattern.
To create a jacquard pattern, it is recommended to use yarn of different shades, matching in thickness and quality.
The threads on the back side can be arranged in several ways:
- When weaving between threads from skeins of different colors, areas of different colors are formed on the reverse side.
During work, you need to adjust the tension of the yarn; it should be medium, since with weak tension, holes may appear on the front side, and with tight weaving, pulled areas may appear.
- A more reliable method, which does not require careful pulling, is considered to be the method of securing, in which threads of a different shade are intertwined after each knitted loop and remain on the back side.
- Crossing of threads is used when creating large patterns. When working, several balls of yarn of the same color are used, each of the sections is knitted separately, and when switching to another color of threads, they are crossed from the back side.
Professionals also advise novice craftsmen to try knitting a small sample of the product with a pattern before starting work on paired sweaters, which will allow them to practice the technique of tightening the threads.
The products are made according to patterns, where the ornament in the jacquard technique is always indicated not by a text description, but by cells that differ in number and shade:
- 1 cell will correspond to 1 loop;
- 1 horizontal line – a row that needs to be knitted along them, moving from top to bottom;
- even rows correspond to purl rows and are performed from right to left;
- odd - front rows, knitted from left to right.
- When knitting in the round, the stitches are counted and all movements are performed from right to left.
- rapport – a pattern applied to a diagram, depicted using lines.
Approximate patterns of jacquard designs:
Master class on making paired white sweaters
Paired sweaters for two in white, decorated with a stripe with black deer, can be knitted from:
- 7-9 skeins of yarn containing 80% wool with the addition of 20% nylon (size 50g/160m);
- 4 skeins of black yarn (with the same characteristics).
You will also need the following for the job:
- circular knitting needles No. 2, 3.5 (for women's and men's sweaters);
- markers;
- tapestry needle.
Knitting density: 27 loops * 10 cm.
Knitting of women's and men's sweaters is carried out according to the scheme:
The number of loops cast on will directly depend on the size of the product (from 42 to 50). When knitting a men's sweater of size 52-56, the number of loops cast on should additionally increase by 5-10 in each size row with each cast on.
Job Description:
| For the front and back of the product: | Required:
|
| For sleeves | Need to: · Using circular knitting needles No. 2, cast on 52-64 stitches from white yarn. · Using a 2*2 elastic band (made from purl and knit stitches), knit a 6-7 cm section. · Switch to #3 knitting needles and knit with stocking stitch, increasing 5-9 stitches in each row until you start to widen. Stop when the row reaches 57-71 stitches. · To widen the sleeve, you need to make an increase of 28-32 loops, starting to add one additional one from each end, starting from the 10th row. The result should be 85-103 loops. · Close the first loop to create the armhole and 5 loops on each side before it (11 in total). · Set the remaining 74-92 stitches aside. |
| For the coquette | Required:
· Using circular needles No. 3, collect all the set aside stitches (348-472 pieces) and knit section “A” according to the diagram. · Remove 28-24 loops in the fifth row, so that you get 320-448 loops, and start making section “B”, making a decrease in accordance with the diagram to narrow the product towards the bottom. · After the section is knitted, slip 22 stitches from the center on the front and back sides, and knit the purl and front rows until the end of section "B". The remaining section should be 172-228 stitches. · Knit section “C” according to the diagram and finish it by decreasing 52-68 loops. · To make the collar, switch to circular knitting needles No. 2 and knit 16-18 loops with a 2*2 rib pattern, then close them at the same time. |
| Assembly of finished products | · Place the finished parts of the garment together, joining the shoulder seams, sew them with a needle, and attach the sleeves to the armholes.
· The resulting model must be washed, dried, ironed and tried on. |
A men's white sweater is also made according to the above scheme. The number of loops to be cast on should be increased by 5-15 for each size range - 225-280 for sizes 52, 54, 56, 58. The increase is also retained when knitting the sleeves.
Jacquard Sweaters
Paired sweaters for two using a jacquard pattern that repeats several times are made from woolen threads of different shades. In this case, it is recommended to knit from the front side, pulling the rest of the threads through the row and tucking it to the back side.
To work you will need:
- 350-400 g for a women's sweater and 500-600 g (for a men's sweater) of dark blue wool yarn with the addition of nylon or polyamide (20%);
- 300-350 g (for women's) and 450-550 g (for men's sweaters) of white thread of the same thickness and quality;
- circular knitting needles No. 5.5 No. 6.
Sweaters are made from 2 shades of thread according to the pattern in accordance with the data of chest circumference (CG), product length (PL) and sleeve length along the inner seam (SL).
Product diagram:
Work on paired sweaters is carried out in several stages:
| To create the back shelf of the product | Required: · Using circular knitting needles No. 5.5, cast on 70 stitches for the women's model and 85 stitches for the men's model and knit them with a 1*1 rib pattern (alternating purl and front loops) for a length of 10 cm. · Replace all loops in the last row with purl ones, and switch to working with knitting needles No. 6.5. · Using white threads, knit 2 rows of stocking stitch and begin creating the pattern according to diagram 1, for which: · From the 3rd to the 14th row, knit the back shelf in height; · From the 15th to the 20th row, complete the pattern (rapport) and repeat it 3 times. · From the 21st to the 38th row, knit the pattern vertically and move on to pattern No. 2. · Work a row of symmetry stitches before the start of the pattern rapport, then repeat the 17-stitch pattern “A” twice. · Place one front and one back loop between the patterns and begin creating pattern B, repeating the loops included in it several times (as shown in the diagram). · In accordance with diagram No. 2, make the back pattern, placing it between rows 39 and 52. · Close the armhole loops after the garment reaches a height of 47 cm. This is done by alternately grabbing 4-x-2-x-1 loops so that there are only 69 loops in the final row. · Having completed the 56th row, move on to pattern 3, for which place the pattern in the space between the 57th and 89th rows. · Separate it from the next pattern with two rows knitted in stockinette stitch and repeat the rapport, placing it the required number of times between the 90th and 95th rows. · Close the loops at the neck as soon as the armhole height reaches 21 cm, counting 21 loops from the middle. The side parts of the product are knitted separately. · Close the next two loops from the inside, thus rounding both parts of the neck. |
| To create the front shelf of the product | Need to:
· Using circular knitting needles No. 5.5, cast on 70 stitches for the women's garment and 85 stitches for the men's garment, and knit them in the same way (according to the pattern diagram). · After the armhole reaches a height of 13 cm, count 19 loops in the center, transfer them to an additional knitting needle (you can use a pin) and leave them, continuing to work on the side parts. · Rounding the necks, alternately close in each row 2 times two loops and 3 times one loop, and then, as soon as the segment reaches 20 cm in height for a women's sweater and 23 cm for a men's sweater, simultaneously close the remaining 15-20 loops on one and the second shoulder. |
| For knitting sleeves | Required:
· Place 35-45 stitches (for women and men) on 5.5 cm knitting needles and knit using a 1*1 elastic band (front + back loop) for a length of 10 cm. On the last row, only back loops are used. · Transfer the knitting to knitting needles No. 6.5 and knit 2 rows in stocking stitch. · Increase 2-4 stitches (depending on size) until you reach 37-49 stitches and start working on the pattern, using diagram 1 as a guide, placing: · on rows 3-14 the first rapport; · from the 15th to the 20th rows - 2 rapports in a row, separated by front and back loops; · on rows 21-38 – 3 patterns (1+2). · Starting from the 8th row, constantly add 2-4 loops on each side (to form bevels). In the 6th row, the increase should be 1 loop six times so that in the end there are 60-65 loops. · Go to diagram #2, placing the required pattern on rows 39-56. From row 57, go to diagram #3 and complete one vertical rapport. · On the 71st-80th rows, the pattern should be repeated the required number of times, and at the height of the product of 45-50 cm, start working on the sleeve cap. For this, gradual closure is used on each side, symmetrically, in every 2nd row of loops according to the scheme - alternately 5 * 1 + 3 * 1 + 2 * 2 + 1 * 5 + 2 * 1 + 1 * 3 (the first number indicates the number of loops, the second - the required number of closures). |
| Assembly of products | After all the parts of the sweaters are ready, you need to:
· Close all remaining stitches on the knitting needles. Place the pieces together, joining them along the shelves, and sew the shoulder seams with a tapestry needle. · Transfer the remaining loops from the additional (pin) to the circular knitting needles, and knit the neck with a 1*1 elastic pattern (front + back loop) in a section of 15-18 cm. · Sew sleeves into finished products using a knitted stitch. · Wash, dry and iron the resulting models, and then try them on. |
With a cartoon deer
Paired New Year sweaters for two with the cartoon reindeer Rudolph are made according to the pattern from:
- 400 g (for women's) and 500-600 g (for men's sweaters) of black wool yarn (45% wool with the addition of 55% acrylic), size 380 m/100 g);
- 50-60 g (for each product) of threads in white, beige and red shades;
You will also need circular knitting needles #2 – 2.5 and a tapestry needle. Knitting density: 26 loops * 36 rows = 10 * 10 cm.
The step-by-step work on the product is structured as follows:
| To create the front | Need to: · Using black thread, cast on 104 stitches (for a women's sweater) and 110 stitches (for a men's sweater) onto circular knitting needles No. 2 and knit them with a 2*2 rib pattern (alternating 2 purl and 2 knit stitches) for a length of 5.5 cm. · Using white thread, continue knitting with garter stitch until the piece reaches 6-8 cm (depending on the size of the sweater). · The drawing of the deer is done according to the scheme, for which: · At a distance of 51 (for women's) – 55 cm (for men's product) from the beginning of the product, decrease on both sides - 3 loops (once) + 2 loops (twice) + 1 loop (2 times); · At a height of 55 cm (for women's) - 59 cm (for men's product), close 12 loops, thereby forming the neck, and then knit each side of the product separately. · Round off the neckline by closing 2 loops + 1 loop (3 times) from the inside. As soon as the fabric reaches a height of 67-71 cm, simultaneously close all the shoulder loops. The second side of the neck is knitted similarly to the first. · Use a needle to embroider small details of the design (eyes and horns) on the finished sweaters. |
| To create the back | You need to do a similar job without a pattern. The neck closure here is done at 58-62 cm, for which you need:
· Close the 16 loops located in the center and knit each side separately. · From the inside, alternately close 3+2 loops once. Close the remaining loops simultaneously on a section 67-71 cm high. The second side of the neck is knitted symmetrically to the first. |
| Sleeves | Required:
· Using black thread, cast on 50 stitches (for women's) and 53 stitches (for men's) on circular knitting needles and knit a 5.5 cm section with a 2*2 rib pattern (alternating 2 purl and 2 knit stitches). · Continue knitting with white yarn, using stockinette stitch, and increasing by one loop along the sleeve bevels for every 6th row. · After 7 cm from the beginning of the sleeve, add a black thread to it. · Close the sleeve at a height of 50-55 cm from the armhole according to the pattern – 3*1 + 2*2 (the first number is the number of loops, the second is the number of closures) and continue to decrease, removing one loop from each row until a segment of 40-43 loops is reached. · Close it on both sides first according to the pattern – 3*2 + 5*2, and then close the remaining 12-15 loops at the same time. |
| Assembling the product | · Connect all finished parts of the male and female models along the shoulder seams.
· Using black yarn, cast on stitches along the edge of the neck, knit them with a 2*2 elastic pattern (alternating 2 purl and 2 knit stitches), creating a 3 cm section. · Close all loops. · Using a tapestry needle, sew the sleeves into the armholes, and then join all the pieces together along the shoulder seams. · Finished sweaters need to be washed, dried and ironed, and then tried on. |
Drawing diagram:
Assembly diagram of the finished product:
Tips for Beginners
To successfully complete the work, professionals also advise novice craftsmen to familiarize themselves with several tips, recommending:
- When counting loops, use the diagram as a guide to avoid possible mistakes.
- Pay attention to the tension of the yarn on the back side, which will allow you to make the front side of the product beautiful (without gaps and tightening).
- Before starting work, place the different colored threads you will be using in different boxes, which will prevent the yarn from getting tangled and will speed up the work considerably.
- All increases and decreases in knitting must be recorded in a special notebook, which will help avoid mistakes.
Paired New Year's sweaters - original knitted items, usually intended for a couple in love or close people. Such things look original and allow others to understand that there is a special invisible but strong connection between people, which is based on love, trust and mutual understanding.
Made using the same patterns from wool yarn with a slight difference in the number of loops, they will give the holiday a special atmosphere, allow you to learn how to make a pattern using the jacquard technique, and can also become an original gift for two.
Video about knitting
Paired sweaters for two: