Dropping the shoulder seam down the arm is what makes a plus size crochet christmas sweater sit oversized rather than just large. Panels work flat, so the fit comes from the measurements rather than any shaping.
Red and white houndstooth across the whole body, large red bobbles down every inch of the sleeves and a green ribbed band at the neck, hem and cuffs. Three textures in one sweater is a lot to manage, and the oversized sweater shape keeps the proportions from tipping over into costume territory.
Plus Size Crochet Christmas Sweater
Each section uses its own stitch and they are worked separately before being joined. The houndstooth body is a two color repeat worked flat with both strands carried throughout, the sleeves are red bobbles worked in the round from the cuff up, and the green bands are a simple rib added last at the neckline, hem and cuffs. Seaming brings them together, so the join is the step that determines how the finished piece sits on the shoulder.
Quick Facts
- What this covers: the neckline, collar ribbing, and finishing stage of an oversized Christmas sweater, taken from Part 3 of the design along
- Skill level: Confident intermediate, mainly because of the corner decreases and post stitches
- Time: One focused session of around 3 to 5 hours
- Stitches used: single crochet, single crochet two together, a three stitch corner decrease, double crochet, front post and back post double crochet
- Colors: white, red, and green, changed at the end of rounds
- Neckline rounds: 15 or more, depending on how deep you want the collar
- Ribbing rows: 2 to 3 rows of front post and back post double crochet
- Reference baseline: the neckline began from a count of roughly 112 stitches
Worth saying plainly before you start: this covers the neckline and finishing only. If you are following the design along from the beginning, your body panels and sleeves are already joined and you are picking the work up at the raw neck opening. What happens here is the part that decides whether an oversized sweater reads as intentionally slouchy or simply too big at the shoulders. You take a wide, gaping opening, pull it in gradually with a decrease round, build height in alternating stripes, then finish with a ribbed collar that matches your sleeve cuffs.
That gradual approach is the whole point. A neckline drawn in all at once puckers and sits badly across the chest, and on a plus size garment that pucker lands exactly where you least want attention. Spreading the shaping across a single evenly distributed decrease round, then adding straight rounds above it, produces a collar that narrows smoothly and still slips over your head comfortably. The corner decreases at the shoulder junctions do the other half of the work, closing the sharp right angles where the front panel meets the strap so no gaps show.
Materials and Tools
- Yarn in white, red, and green, matching whatever you used for the sweater body
- The same hook you used for the body of the sweater, so the collar fabric matches
- Yarn needle for weaving in ends
- Scissors
- Stitch markers
- Your custom maker or brand tag, if you use one
Stay with the hook and yarn you already used on the body. A collar worked at a different gauge will look and behave like a separate piece, and the ribbing especially needs to match the sleeve cuffs to look finished. Keep all three colors within reach as you work, since the round endings come quickly once the alternating stripe section begins and cutting yarn every time creates far more ends than you need. Leave tails long enough to weave in properly, because collar ends sit near the face and a working knot is noticeable.
Know the Basics First
Customization Ideas Before You Start
- Stop the decrease at a wider point for a deliberate boat neck instead of a closer round neckline
- Add more alternating stripe rounds before the ribbing for a taller mock neck
- Work the whole collar in one color if the striped body already carries enough visual interest
- Reverse the color order so the ribbing matches your hem rather than your cuffs
- Extend the ribbing to five or six rows and fold it down for a cuffed collar
- Swap the front post and back post ribbing for a simple single crochet border if you want the neckline softer and less structured
- Use green only at the ribbing so it reads as a deliberate frame around the face
- Add a second decrease round if your opening is wider than the reference and one round does not draw it in enough
Decide how deep you want the collar before Round 11, since that is the last easy point to add or remove alternating rounds. Try the sweater on at that stage and look at where the collar edge sits against your collarbone. Depth is far more flattering to get right than color, and it is the adjustment people most often wish they had made. If you are between choices, add one more round rather than one fewer. A slightly taller collar can be folded, while a short one cannot be extended once the ribbing is on.
The Pattern
Stitch Abbreviations
- ch = chain
- sc = single crochet
- sc2tog = single crochet two stitches together
- 3scog = three single crochets worked together
- dc = double crochet
- FPdc = front post double crochet
- BPdc = back post double crochet
- sl st = slip stitch
Round 1: Foundation Neckline and Corner Decreases
- Identify the front and the back panels of your sweater before you begin.
- Insert your hook into the center stitch on the back panel, join your new color in white with a ch 1, then sc into the base of that chain 1.
- Work 1 sc in each stitch along until you are one stitch away from the 90 degree corner angle.
- Corner decrease, worked as 3scog: Insert your hook into the last stitch before the corner, yarn over, and pull up a loop, leaving 2 loops on the hook.
- Insert your hook into the corner space, yarn over, and pull up a loop, leaving 3 loops on the hook.
- Insert your hook through the center of the vertical double crochet that starts to travel upward, yarn over, and pull up a loop, leaving 4 loops on the hook.
- Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops on your hook.
- Work 1 sc into each makeshift or vertical side stitch up the arm strap and shoulder, working through the seams as you meet them.
- At the opposite top corner, repeat the same three stitch decrease, combining the vertical side stitch, the corner stitch, and the first horizontal stitch.
- Work across to the other corner, complete the circuit, and join back at the beginning.
- Switch back to red yarn as you complete your slip stitch join. [the baseline count referenced here was roughly 112 sts]
Round 2: Solid Single Crochet in Red
- Ch 1 and sc into the base of that chain 1.
- Place 1 sc in each stitch all the way around the neckline.
- Sl st to close the round, changing your color back to white.
Reading crochet patterns can be tricky when you’re just starting out, feel free to follow the video tutorial below instead!
Round 3: Gradual Decrease Round in White
- Ch 1 and sc into the base of the chain 1.
- Sc in each of the next 8 stitches.
- Work sc2tog in the next stitch by inserting your hook and pulling up a loop, inserting your hook into the following stitch and pulling up a loop, then yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.
- Repeat that sequence of 8 single crochets followed by 1 decrease all the way around, drawing the oversized neckline in evenly without pulling it tight.
- Close the round with a sl st and change back to red yarn.
Round 4: Solid Single Crochet in Red
- Ch 1 and sc into the base of the chain 1.
- Place 1 sc in every stitch all the way around.
- Close with a sl st and switch back to white yarn.
Round 5: Solid Single Crochet in White
- Ch 1 and sc into the base.
- Sc in each stitch around with no decreases.
- Close with a sl st, switching back to red.
Rounds 6 to 10: Alternating Color Rounds
- Continue working single crochet rounds, alternating white and red consistently to match the block color style of the sweater.
- Work up to Round 10, then switch to green yarn for the final color transition.
Round 11: Transition Round in Green
- Attach green yarn, ch 1, and sc into the base.
- Work 1 sc in each stitch around.
- Sl st to close the round.
Round 12: Double Crochet Foundation for the Ribbing
- Ch 2, which counts as a stitch.
- Place 1 dc in each stitch all the way around.
- Join the round with a sl st to the top of the chain 2, then ch 2 to prepare for the collar ribbing.
Rounds 13 to 15 and beyond: Collar Ribbing
- Work a FPdc around the next stitch.
- Work a BPdc around the following stitch.
- Alternate FPdc and BPdc all the way around the collar, then join with a sl st to the top of the chain 2.
- Repeat this ribbed pattern for 2 to 3 rows in total, giving a clean finish that matches your sleeve cuffs.
Finishing
- Sl st into the adjacent stitch, ch 1 to bind off securely, and cut your yarn.
- Weave in all loose tail ends from the color changes and the shoulder seams using a yarn needle.
- Sew your custom maker or brand tag onto the inside center of the back collar.
Three Tips Worth Following
- Spread the decrease round evenly and resist the urge to take out more stitches than the sequence calls for. Drawing in a wide neckline too aggressively creates a ruffled, puckered edge, and on an oversized sweater that ripple reads as a mistake rather than a design choice. If the opening still feels wide after Round 3, add a second decrease round higher up instead of tightening this one.
- Work the corner decreases exactly where the fabric changes direction, catching the stitch before the corner, the corner space itself, and the first vertical stitch going up. Those three points are what close the right angle cleanly. Skipping any one of them leaves a visible hole at the shoulder junction that no amount of weaving in will fully hide.
- Change colors on your slip stitch join rather than mid round. Doing it at the join keeps the color shift stacked in one vertical line at the back of the neck, where it disappears. Changing anywhere else scatters visible jogs around a collar that sits right under the wearer’s face.
Frequently Asked Questions
- My neckline is much wider than the reference count. What should I change? Keep the sequence proportional rather than copying it exactly. If your opening is considerably wider, work a second decrease round a few rounds above the first instead of increasing the number of decreases in Round 3. Gradual shaping across two rounds always sits flatter than aggressive shaping in one.
- Why does my collar flare out instead of drawing in? Usually because the decrease round was skipped or worked too sparsely, or because the ribbing rows are worked at a looser tension than the body. Post stitch ribbing pulls in naturally, so if it is not doing that, check that you are alternating front post and back post consistently rather than drifting into all front post.
- Can I make this collar without post stitches? Yes. Work 3 to 4 rounds of single crochet in the back loop only instead, which gives a softer ribbed effect that still has some stretch. It will not match your sleeve cuffs if those were made with post stitches, so consider redoing the cuffs to match or accepting the contrast as a design choice.
- How do I know how deep to make the collar? Try the sweater on around Round 10 and look at where the edge falls. A collar that sits just below the collarbone reads as a relaxed crew neck, while a taller one becomes a mock neck. Add rounds before you start the ribbing, since the ribbing itself adds height too.
