Free Children’s Sweater Knitting Patterns for Straight Needles

Nahomie Simple Sweater (4-12 years)

This kid’s jumper pattern is nice and easy with minimal shaping and no neckline to do either.

You need a free LoveCrafts account to download this pattern. The 1 page PDF is basic, but each size is colour coded throughout which really helps.

From French brand Phildar, the pattern uses Phil Beaugency fluffy yarn which may be hard to find.

is a close match in the US.

I’d say Drops Air would work well for this too. I love knitting with it because it’s super soft and snuggly yet light to wear.

You don’t have to use fluffy yarn, but be aware that the jumper would be heavier knit with traditional wool. instead You could use any thicker aran yarn or try going up a needle size with standard worsted or aran yarns to get the 17×23 gauge.

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.

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.