Looking for a colourful pattern

Hello everyone

I’d like to find a knitting pattern for a child’s sweater or cardigan in size age 11.
These are the things he has said he likes so if you know of something like this in a child size, I’d love some ideas.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/-14-sweater-with-intarsia-pattern


Thanks

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Ooh, how fun!

In terms of stranded colourwork, Tin Can Knits have lots of children’s patterns with colourful designs. There are also tutorials on designing your own colour scheme or stranded pattern using their sweater designs as a canvas.

https://tincanknits.com/

You could also try a stranded colourwork design from an adult sized down. It’s not too difficult with a swatch and some basic calculations.

Drops have lots of free colourwork designs that could be adapted this way. (You can take the stitch pattern and put it on a plainer style of sweater too.) You can browse through their designs on Ravelry. A lot of these don’t have the “all over” colourwork that you are looking for, but that is fairly easy to change.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#pc=sweater&pa=stranded&designer-link=drops-design&sort=popularity&view=captioned_thumbs

Or it might be fun to design your own motifs together using graph paper or drawing from a sourcebook such as “200 Fair Isle Motifs” by Mary Jane Mucklestone.

Even a cowl could be inspiration: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/28-mobius-cowl

I don’t know of many intarsia patterns for children that are in print. You can often find 80s books or pamphlets at the op shop with intarsia children’s designs because that is the last time intarsia was “in fashion”. Also your local library may have older Rowan books with Kaffe Fassett designs.

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I like kushami’s idea of using a child’s sweater as a template for the colorful stitchwork in the adult sweaters.
Here’s a couple of patterns with multi-colored yokes that might work. You could always repeat the design in the lower border of the sweater.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crazyheart

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Great ideas, thank you.

So, I could follow the colour charts of an adult sweater, cowl, or blanket and just put them onto a plain stockinette sweater pattern jn his size?
I have a plain pattern which I know will fit him so this sounds like an option.

Looking out for older books is a great idea, I’ll do that next time we go to the library.

It will be a lot of planning! I’ll gradually work my way towards it.

I like the idea of making our own design on graph paper, it would be nice to have his own drawing!
Is there an online tool I can an use or is there special knitting graph paper?

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I think that when you do a stranded pattern, your stitches end up close to square, so normal graph paper works. (Please someone correct me if that’s wrong.)

For intarsia, you would want knitter’s graph paper, which I think you can find as a PDF for free on a few blogs.

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I’ve used knitter’s graph paper for both stranded and intarsia. It seems to work.
Two nice references here for downloadable graph paper.

Also, a good reference to Stitch Fiddle which has been recommended here several years ago for colorwork. lace, cables, etc.

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Wow, this seems pretty cool!
I just had a quick play on it and it’s really quite amazing.
This could be a long time in the planning…
…perhaps I’ll aim for size age 12 rather than 11 ha ha.

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Colours! Woo hoo!

I love the idea of making a sweater with my son’s own drawing either on graph paper or using stitch fiddle, but he doesn’t seem as keen at the moment (maybe it’s too much pressure feeling like he has to draw something good?) So meanwhile I’ve been using your other ideas and browsing all sorts of charts I could borrow from.
And then my first stranded colour swatch.
I just used left over yarn and I don’t have many colours or the ones he would choose buts it’s a great start for practise and I really enjoyed it!
I’ve learned so much this year. Back in January when I started the first sweater and posted on here about the damaged yarn I had, well, I didn’t think I’d be comfortable holding 3 strands in one row but I’m doing it.

I love all the ideas and help you’ve both given me for the colour project. It will take me a while planning and deciding before I can start on the final thing but I understand how I can use a plain pattern I already have and put in the colour motifs.

Thank you :blush:

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Ooh, gorgeous! I think you have an eye for creating interesting and harmonious colour combinations.

I can’t take credit for these colours, my son chose them for his first sweater I made him in January and these are just the left overs which are useful for a colour practise.
He wants me to keep going to make it into a scarf… hadn’t planned that, it’s all stocking stitch and curly, I doubt he’d mind though really.

My son loves colour but with the patterns he is quite particular about what he likes and doesn’t like and I haven’t yet got onto the same wave length so I keep getting it wrong!
The help you’ve given is fab.

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