I have already knit this Tundra Sweater before (once for my husband and a cute mini version for my dog). I was super excited because this was my first real attempt at knitting color work. I loved how it turned out for my family, so I was excited to knit one for myself! Keep reading for my experience knitting the Tundra Jumper by The Petite Knitter:
I planned to knit a lot of new things this year. I mostly wanted to challenge myself and practice more. I just finished up my beautiful Marled Magic Sweater which was very new to me and taught me a lot, but I was excited to switch to a more familiar project. Like I mentioned, I’ve knit this sweater once before for my husband (check out my project page on Ravelry), and it turned out really beautiful.
I love the Nordic look of this sweater with the detailed color work. I’m still new-ish to knitting, but to me, this is what I think of when I think of a classic knit sweater. It’s so detailed yet simple. I was searching through other Tundra Jumper projects and found inspiration from Camilla Vad. Once I saw how beautiful her sweater was, I knew I wanted to knit mine in the same colors.
YARN
I love Ravelry because it’s so helpful to research a new project. On Camilla Vad’s project page, she listed the yarn she used for her sweater so I was able to buy almost all of the exact same yarn/colors. I used:
- Camilla Vad Lamswool 9/3 – Dusty
- Camilla Vad Lamswool 9/3 – Neutral
- Isager Strik Alpaca 1 – Peach
- Istex Lettlopi – Rust Heather
I couldn’t find the Kobber color that she used at the time I placed my order, so I ended up using some Istex Lettlopi that I had left over from knitting my husband’s sweater.
These colors are beautiful and are definitely what I have in mind when I think of a snuggly-by-the-fireplace classic color work sweater, but with a girly twist.
PREPARATION
This was the first time that I was able to use my yarn swift to help wind my yarn. It is a total game changer! I don’t have a huge crafting area, so I chose an amish yarn swift that can be used on a tabletop or the floor (you don’t need to screw it onto the side of a table). It disassembles really easily for storage and it just makes my yarn winding so much easier.
Once my yarn was ready to go, I highlighted my size details on the pattern on my iPad. I just use Books and the editing tools to highlight and markup my patterns. It’s great because I can erase easily, and tracking my spot on a pattern is simple.
TUNDRA JUMPER
The Tundra Jumper by The Petite Knitter isn’t a free pattern so I won’t go into tons of detail. I knit a women’s size large, and used US size 4 and size 6 needles.
BODY
This sweater is knit from the bottom-up which was newer to me. I have knit the Flax Sweater and the Le Pouf Sweater before, and both were knit top-down. Overall, not too much was different though — I knit the rib for the hem, and then started the bottom color work. The color work pattern was really easy to follow, and a nice break from the ribbing.
Knitting with the Camilla Vad Dusty held together with the Isager Strik Alpaca made a really pretty marling color. I’m really surprised how much the pink from the Isager Strik impacts overall color of the sweater since it’s such a thin/lace weight.
Once the color work was done, I really enjoyed just knitting straight through the body. It was really relaxing to knit and watch a movie or listen to my music. I used my ChiaoGoo interchangeable needles set which made switching needles really easy. For the hem and the body, I used the 22″ cable that comes with the needle set. Whenever I took a break and when I finished the body section, I used a safety pin to join the cable together so I could set the sweater aside without worrying about my stitches falling off. These needles are definitely worth the investment if you are getting more serious about knitting. I find that using a safety pin to join the cable is faster than using the little stoppers, and I can keep my needles screwed on.
SLEEVES
The only thing I don’t like about my ChiaoGoo needles is that I can’t really use them for small circumferences — like the cuffs of my sleeves. I want to buy this ChiaoGoo shorties set, but they’re kind of expensive and I don’t know how much use I’d really get out of them especially when I can use my DPNs.
I ended up using DPNs for the cuffs and for the color work which was a little challenging. Once I had done three of the increases, I switched to my 8″ circulars needles. I’m much faster and more comfortable with circular needles.
Knitting the sleeves was really enjoyable. They knit up so fast compared to the body, and they were a little more involved since I had to track for increases.
I like the ChiaoGoo needle set for this knit because it comes with two of the 8-inch cords which worked our perfectly to hold each of my sleeves. I prefer not to use waste yarn if I can avoid it because there’s more of a chance at dropping stitches. It’s so much easier and faster to be able to just secure them on the cable.
JOINING
Once the sleeves were complete, I was excited to join everything together. I remembered it being a little awkward to connect the sleeves when I made this sweater the first time, so I was more prepared this time around.
In this section, I find the instructions a little confusing. I had to draw myself a little diagram to understand what needed to happen in order to connect everything. I’m not even sure I did it correctly, but since the yoke pattern is symmetrical, it worked out.
I used my 30″ cable to work the sleeve/yoke which worked out really nicely. This was a separate cable that I bought outside of the interchangeable needle set.
YOKE
The yoke of this sweater is really what makes it special. Following the pattern was really easy. I kept track of my place by highlighting each completed row on my iPad.
I love how the design grows and looks more intricate with each round. Knitting the yoke still felt a little awkward from joining, but it started to feel more normal as I knit a few rows.
Since I have knit this sweater before, I was more familiar with the patterns. I was better at managing my different colors and bring up colors so my floats weren’t too long.
With the decreases along the way, I switched out to my 22″ cable again until the end of the yoke pattern.
FINISHING
I switched out my to my smaller needles to knit the neck ribbing. I used Jeny’s Super Stretchy bind off for the collar instead of a tubular bind off. I love Jeny’s Super Stretchy bind off so much; I use it on all of my projects. And then I used the Kitchener Stitch for the under arms.
I had sort of weaved in my ends all along the way whenever I swapped colors or needed to bring in a new ball. So I just trimmed the ends and called it a day.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I love this sweater so much, and I’m excited to match with my husband and dog ♡! This sweater is a great project to start practicing color work. The pattern is easy to follow and well laid out. I had a slight issue with understanding how to join the sleeves, but once I thought it through and made my diagram, it was easy to execute.
I am blocking this sweater now which I think is necessary to really give it a polished look. I love these colors and how beautifully everything worked together. Definitely check out Camilla Vad’s yarns for more gorgeous neutrals.
The Tundra Jumper took me just over a month to knit. I was really happy to have such a beautiful and familiar knit to work on during this quarantine time. Knitting is so relaxing and fun for me and I’m just really grateful that I’m able to do it, and with such beautiful yarn.
For my next project, I’ll be knitting a Brioche Chevron blanket! I just received the most beautiful yarn from @SprinkledFibers and I’m so excited to start knitting. A blanket will probably take a while to finish, so I may sneak in a couple side projects along the way.
Check out my Knitting Inspiration post for other projects I’ll be working on this year, or check out my Ravelry page for more finished objects ♡.
