Be Bold Bubble Stitch Sweater - Free Jumper Knitting Pattern for Women in Paintbox Yarns Wool Blend DK by Paintbox Yarns

Be Bold Bubble Stitch Sweater – Free Women's Jumper Knitting Pattern by Paintbox Yarns

The Be Bold Bubble Stitch Sweater is a striking, colourful women's pullover jumper knitting pattern from Paintbox Yarns, available as a free downloadable PDF. Rated intermediate in difficulty, this design combines bold colour-blocking stripes with a distinctive textural bubble stitch to create a sweater that is as eye-catching as it is satisfying to knit. The pattern is worked in multiple construction methods — both flat and in the round — and is seamed together at finishing, making it an excellent project for knitters who are comfortable moving between techniques and ready to take on a more complex, rewarding make.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a women's fitted pullover sweater featuring a bold, three-colour stripe design and an all-over bubble stitch texture. The sweater is designed to be worn as a statement piece, with the vivid colour combination and raised stitch pattern giving it a strong visual impact. The pattern is graded across multiple sizes to accommodate a range of chest measurements, with instructions written for the smallest size and larger sizes given in parentheses throughout.

Construction and Techniques

The Be Bold Bubble Stitch Sweater uses a combination of construction techniques that give knitters a well-rounded project experience:

• Bottom-up construction: The sweater is built from the cast-on edge upward, which is a traditional and intuitive approach that allows knitters to try on the garment as they go.
• Worked flat: Sections of the sweater are knitted back and forth on straight needles, producing flat fabric panels that are later joined.
• Worked in the round: A US 4 (3.5mm) circular knitting needle is also used, likely for finishing details such as neckbands or cuffs, creating seamless, neat edges.
• Seamed finishing: The individual pieces are sewn together after knitting, a classic construction method that adds structure and durability to the finished garment.
• Stripes: The three-colour stripe sequence is a key design feature, requiring yarn management across colours Shocking Pink (A), Deep Teal (B), and Teal (C).

Stitches Used

The defining stitch of this pattern is the bubble stitch, which is created using a special technique abbreviated in the pattern as k4 below. This involves knitting into a stitch four rows below the next stitch on the left needle while simultaneously allowing the stitches above to drop and unravel down to the worked stitch, enclosing the four unravelled bars of yarn within the new stitch. This creates a raised, gathered "bubble" of fabric that gives the sweater its distinctive three-dimensional texture.

Additional stitches and techniques used throughout the pattern include:

• Knit (k) and purl (p) — the foundational stitches used throughout the fabric construction
• kfb (knit into front and back) — a simple increase stitch used for shaping, worked by knitting into both the front and back loops of the same stitch to add one stitch
• Decreases (dec) — used for garment shaping at armholes, necklines, and other structural points
• Alternate rows (alt) — a standard instruction directing the knitter to work a step every other row, commonly used in shaping sequences

The gauge for this pattern is 21 stitches and 42 rows to a 4in/10cm square worked in pattern using US 6 (4mm) needles. The relatively high row count per 10cm is characteristic of a textured stitch pattern like the bubble stitch, and achieving accurate gauge is particularly important for ensuring the finished sweater matches the intended sizing.

Materials Required

The pattern is designed specifically for Paintbox Yarns Wool Blend DK, a DK weight yarn sold in 3½oz / 100g balls. Three colours are used:

• Shocking Pink (A): 3(3:3:3:3:4:4) balls
• Deep Teal (B): 2