Christmas!!!

Christmas....

I gather it is ok to use the C word now we have officially made it into December...

I wanted to talk about the Christmas preparations...

But I am not one of those people who spend weeks ahead getting ready, buying out whole shelves at Toys are us and Sainsbury's... I admire you guys...

We put our tree up 12 days before Christmas and a few extra decorations in the window with crochet snowflakes and lights, buy truck load of food on the 22nd December, shut the front door and enjoy the time together until the food runs out.... That's when we re-emerge from the rabbit hole and go and visit family so we can eat all of their food...

But this year I am going to make an extra effort with my Xmas outfit...

I made this jumper aaages ago, when I picked up crochet again and it was one of my first garments I have ever made.
It is very simple and I still love it but I must admit I haven't worn it for quite some time...
It's been stuck at the back of my wardrobe giving me the guilt tripping looks every time I was choosing an outfit to wear.

But this Christmas it's a long awaited come-back for my beloved jumper kind of like when Backstreet Boys got back together and made that one more song...

I am going to "pimp my jumper" and wear it on Christmas day...Yaay!!!

If you are like me and haven't got time to make a whole new Christmas jumper to wear on the special day, join me and pimp your own jumper you haven't worn in ages with these easy and quick appliques.
It is really quick and simple and the whole make took me a couple of hours so there really is no excuse not to get involved and "pimp your jumper". You can use any left over yarn and scraps. I used 2 strands of DK to make the tree and the stocking so they work up even quicker and any scraps of DK for the other smaller bits.

And here it is.... My new Christmas jumper

So enjoy these free patterns for the festive appliques and don't forget to share them with me over on Instagram with #pimpyourjumper. I'd love to see all your makes.

Stitches and abbreviations (UK terms used)

ch-chain

tr- treble crochet 

st- stitch

rep-repeat

beg-beginning

dc- double crochet

htr- half treble crochet

dtr- double treble crochet

sl st- slip stitch

yo-yarn over

puff st- (yo, insert hook into st, yo, pull up a loop and leave on hook) 5 times, yo and pull through all loops on the hook, ch1 to fix the loops in position.

rem- remaining

tr2tog- treble crochet the following 2 stitches together

tr3tog- treble crochet the following 3 stitches together

dc2tog- double crochet the following 2 stitches together

Christmas Tree

You will need 6 mm hook and 2 strands of DK or chunky yarn in green.

Row 1- chain 4, work 2 tr into 4th ch from the hook, turn. [3 tr]

Row 2- ch 3(counts as 1 tr throughout the pattern), 1 tr in the same st at the bottom of ch3, 1 tr in next, 2 tr in last st, turn. [5 tr]

Row 3- ch3, 1 tr in same st, 1 tr in each st across until last st, 2 tr in last st. [7 tr]

Row 4- rep Row 3 [9 tr] 

Fasten off.

Join yarn in the treble stitch in the middle of last row.

Row 5- ch3, 4 tr in same st, turn. [5 tr]

Row 6- Row 9- rep Row 3 [13 tr]

Fasten off.

Join yarn in the treble stitch in the middle of last row.

Row 10- ch3, 6 tr in same st, turn. [7 tr]

Row 11- Row 14- rep Row 3 [15 tr]

Row 15- ch3, 1 tr in same st, *1 tr in next, 2 tr in next st*; rep from * across the row [23 tr]

Fasten off leaving longer tail for sewing onto the jumper. 

Christmas Star
You will need 4 mm hook and DK yarn in yellow.
Rnd 1- create magic ring, ch3 (counts as 1 tr), 2 tr, ch1, *3tr, ch1*; rep from * 3 more times, sl st to top of beg ch3.
Rnd 2- *ch 5, working back across the ch just made, 1 dc into 2nd ch from the hook, 1 htr in next, 1 tr in next, 1 dtr in last ch, sl st into next ch1-sp created in Rnd 1*; rep from * 4 more times.
Fasten off leaving longer tail to sew onto the top of the tree.

Christmas Lights
You will need 4 mm hook and DK yarn in gold.
Chain 160, fasten off.
Using small scraps of blue, red, white and yellow DK *miss 9 sts of the ch, join yarn in next st, loosen the first loop to make up the height of treble crochet st, work 1 puff st and fasten off*; rep from * 14 more times.
Use the tail ends of the puff sts to attach the lights to the tree.

Christmas Stocking

You will need 6 mm hook and 2 strands of DK or chunky yarn in white and red.

With white chain 17.

Row 1- working into 4th ch from hook, 1 tr across, fasten off. [15 tr]

Join red yarn.

Row 2- Row 8- ch3(counts as 1 tr throughout), 1 tr across, turn. [15 tr]

Row 9- ch3, 9 tr, ch 7, leaving the rem sts unworked, turn. [10 tr]

Row 10- working into 4th ch from hook, 1 tr in each ch created in Row 8, 1 tr to end. [15 tr]

Row 11- rep Row 2 [15 tr]

Row 12- ch3, tr2tog twice, 5 tr, tr2tog twice, 1 tr in last, turn. [11 tr]

Row 13- ch3, tr2tog twice, 1 tr, tr2tog twice, 1 tr in last, turn. [7 tr]

Row 14- ch3, tr2tog once, 1 tr in next, tr2tog once, 1 tr in last, turn. [5 tr]

Row 15- ch3, tr3tog once, 1 tr in last. [3 tr]

Fasten off.

HEEL

Join white yarn in the end st of Row 8.

Row 1- 5 dc, 2 dc into the side of end tr of Row 9, 5 dc into the underside of chain sts of Row 10, turn. [12 dc]

Row 2- 4 dc, dc2tog twice, 4 dc, turn. [10 dc]

Row 3- 3 dc, dc2tog twice, 3 dc, turn. [8 dc]

Row 4- 2 dc, dc2tog twice, 2 dc, turn. [6 dc]

Row 5- 1 dc, dc2tog twice, 1 dc, turn. [4 dc]

Row 6- dc2tog twice. [2 dc]

Fasten off.

Sew the stocking onto your jumper leaving the top opened so it doubles up as a secret pocket to stash all the chocolate and other treats.

Presents
You will need 4 mm hook and some scraps of DK yarn in various colours and white DK for the ribbon.
small (medium, large) presents
Chain 6 (9, 11)
Row 1- working into 2nd ch from the hook, 1 dc across, turn. [5 (8, 10) dc]
Row 2- 1 dc across, turn. [5 (8, 10) dc]
Repeat Row 2 for 4 (9, 8) more times.
Fasten off.
With white slip stitch across the middle going from side to side of the parcels, fasten off.
Slip st across the middle of the parcel from the bottom to the top, *chain 6 (9, 10) and sl st into same st as the last sl st creating a loop*; rep from * for the other loop of the bow.

Happy Christmas!

PDF version of this pattern can be purchased here
Enjoy...
Please leave a comment below or share your makes on Instagram with #pimpyourjumper

Veronika x

For my website with links to social media and pattern shops, click here