Free Snoopy Christmas Sweater Crochet Pattern

A full-front charted panel is what separates a crochet tapestry christmas sweater from one with an appliqué stuck on. Carried yarn builds the design into the fabric, and the sleeves take narrow stripes so the whole garment is not one flat colour.

A large tapestry crochet panel runs the full front of this crochet tapestry christmas sweater free pattern, worked in white and black against maroon with the unused colours carried along each row. Narrow white stripes cross the sleeves at intervals. Body and sleeves work in rows, with the charted section limited to the front so the back stays plain. Keep the carried yarn slack, since tight carries pucker the panel and blocking will not lift it out.

Snoopy Christmas Sweater Crochet

Deep burgundy with thin cream stripes running across both sleeves and a tall colorwork panel filling the center front. Everything about this Christmas sweater is worked in one piece of fabric rather than sewn on afterward, which is what gives the front its flat finish. Away from the panel it behaves like any sweater with colored stripes, just with more colors on the go at once. Tapestry technique carries the picture. Colors are changed stitch by stitch across the row and the strands not in use are carried inside the fabric, so the design builds up like a grid and the wrong side stays tidy enough to wear. The rest is plain rows with a ribbed crew neck and dropped shoulders, and the sleeve stripes are simple two row changes that need no charting at all.

Materials and Tools

• Lightweight, category 3, 100 percent acrylic yarn. The original uses an Acrylic Christmas Pack and Amigo Hobby yarn from Hobbii
• Colors as needed for your chart, including a main background color plus white, red, black, green, and yellow
• 4.5 mm crochet hook
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Stitch markers
• The Snoopy Christmas graph, downloadable from the original video description, where one square equals one stitch

First, Master This Stitch

• Single Crochet

Finished Measurements

Reference size is an oversized fit. The panel measures 21 inches or 53.5 cm wide, which is 86 stitches in the reference panel. Length excluding the hem is 23 inches or 58.5 cm. Sleeve length is 17 inches or 43 cm, and sleeve width is 9 inches or 23 cm. These numbers are your reference point rather than a rule. Because the sweater is built from two straight panels with no side shaping, resizing means changing the stitch count of your foundation row and the number of rows you work, and both adjustments are simple once you have done the chart math below.

Technique Notes and Working Tips

• The graph is 64 stitches wide and your panel is wider than that, so the extra stitches get split evenly between the two sides to keep the design centered. Do that arithmetic before you make a single stitch, and write the two edge numbers on your chart printout. Counting your plain background stitches at the start and end of every chart row is the single habit that prevents a drifting design. If your motif starts leaning left or right as it rises, the cause is almost always an inconsistent edge count rather than anything wrong with your chart reading.
• Direction of travel matters as much as the chart itself. Odd numbered right side rows are read right to left, even numbered wrong side rows left to right, and mixing them up produces a mirrored or offset motif that you will not notice until several rows later. Mark your direction at the start of each row with a sticky note or a magnetic chart keeper rather than trusting memory. Change colors on the last two loops of the stitch before the switch, which puts the new color cleanly in place with no half formed stitch showing at the boundary.
• Carry your unused yarn loosely along the wrong side and catch the floats every few stitches so they do not sag. Tension on carried yarn is the difference between a flat panel and one that puckers behind the design, and puckering in acrylic will not block out afterward. Drop a color entirely once it is finished for that section rather than dragging it across the whole row. When you sleeve the body, count your stitches around each armhole so the two sleeves start from the same number, because uneven sleeve bases are difficult to disguise later.

The Pattern

Stitch Abbreviations

• ch = chain
• sc = single crochet
• hdc = half double crochet
• hdc2tog = half double crochet two stitches together
• sl st = slip stitch
• BLO = back loop only

Step 1: Understanding and Adjusting the Graph

• The complete Snoopy graph is 64 stitches wide.
• To make a wider sweater, for example 74 stitches, subtract the graph width from your desired stitch count, which gives 74 minus 64 equals 10.
• Divide that remainder by 2, which gives 10 divided by 2 equals 5.
• Add the equal amount to both sides of the graph, so 5 extra stitches on the right edge and 5 extra on the left edge, keeping the design centered.
• Working rows: odd rows are right side rows, worked from right to left.
• Even rows are wrong side rows, worked from left to right.

Step 2: Front Panel with the Colorwork Graph

• Row 1: Make a slip knot, ch 2, then work a foundation chainless half double crochet across your total desired stitch count. [86 sts for the oversized reference size]
• Row 2: Ch 2, which does not count as a stitch throughout, turn, and work plain hdc across all stitches in your main color.
• Row 3 and onward: Follow the chart row by row.
• To change colors, work the last hdc before the change until only 2 loops remain on the hook, drop the current yarn, pick up the new color, and pull through to finish the stitch.
• Carry unworked yarn loosely along the wrong side, catching the floats every few stitches so they do not hang loose at the back.
• Drop colors entirely when they are no longer needed for a section of the row.
• Complete all of the chart rows, then work a couple of plain rows at the top before shaping the neckline.

New to crochet and not sure how to read a pattern yet? The video tutorial below will guide you through it step by step, you’ve got this!

Step 3: Front Panel Shoulder and Neckline Shaping

• Divide your total stitches into three equal sections for the left shoulder, the middle neckline, and the right shoulder. [28 sts per section in the reference size]
• Work one shoulder first: hdc across the first shoulder section. [28 sts]
• Ch 2 and turn.
• Work hdc2tog over the first two stitches to shape the neckline edge, then continue hdc across.
• Work the following rows the same way, decreasing at the neckline edge on every row for about 6 rows, or 2 to 3 inches.
• Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.
• Second shoulder: Attach your yarn on the other side of the neckline, match the stitch count, and repeat the decrease process symmetrically.

Step 4: Back Panel

• Start the back panel with the same chainless hdc foundation row and the same stitch count as the front panel.
• Work in your main color, adding decorative white stripes every few rows, or keep it solid or customized to your preference.
• Match the exact number of total rows used on the front panel, and mirror the neckline and shoulder decreases.

Step 5: Assembly

• Shoulders: Lay the back panel with the right side facing up and the front panel with the right side facing down.
• Whipstitch the shoulder seams together with a yarn needle.
• Sides: Measure down from the shoulder seam and leave an opening of about 8 to 9 inches for each armhole, placing stitch markers to hold the panels.
• Whipstitch the side seams from the bottom hem up to the armhole markers.

Step 6: Sleeves Worked Directly onto the Body

• Attach your yarn at the armhole opening and work a round of hdc evenly all the way around the armhole edge.
• Join with a sl st at the end of the round, ch 1, which does not count as a stitch, turn your work, and continue working hdc in turned rows so the texture stays consistent.
• Count your stitches so that both sleeves match.
• Continue in turned rows, adding decorative stripes if you want them, until the sleeve measures about 16 inches, or a few inches short of your wrist to leave room for the ribbing.

Step 7: Cuffs, Neckline, and Bottom Hem Ribbing

Sleeve cuffs and neckline, worked in slip stitch back loop only:

• Without cutting your yarn from the sleeve, chain your desired cuff length, for example ch 11.
• Starting in the second ch from the hook, work slip stitches back down the chain.
• Sl st into the next 2 stitches of the sleeve edge, then turn.
• Work sl st in BLO back up the ribbing row.
• Repeat this all the way around the sleeve opening, then sew the two ends of the ribbing together.
• Repeat the same technique around the neckline opening.

Bottom hem, worked in single crochet back loop only:

• Attach your yarn at the bottom corner of the sweater.
• Chain your desired hem length, for example ch 9 for an 8 stitch width.
• Work sc in BLO across the chain, sl st into the next 2 stitches along the sweater bottom, then turn and repeat across the entire lower edge for a stretchy hem that does not compress the fabric.
• Seam the ends of the hem together.

Step 8: Finishing

• Weave in all loose yarn ends securely with your yarn needle.

Yarn Substitution

Any category 3 lightweight acrylic will substitute directly. Stay within the same weight rather than moving up to worsted, since the chart is sized in stitches and a heavier yarn will make the panel and the motif considerably larger than the measurements above. Choose colors with strong contrast against your background, because a colorwork motif lives or dies on contrast rather than on color accuracy. Acrylic is genuinely the right fiber here. It holds saturated color, survives washing, and does not fuzz over the chart area, which is where fuzz would do the most damage to the design.

Customization Ideas

• Work the back panel in wide stripes rather than plain, using your leftover chart colors
• Add matching stripes to the sleeves so the back and arms read as a set
• Swap the background color for cream or forest green instead of a bright shade
• Extend the body rows for a longer, more oversized fit
• Work the cuffs and neckline ribbing in a contrast color
• Make the neckline ribbing taller for a mock neck finish
• Use a different seasonal chart with the same panel construction, since the sweater is really a blank canvas
• Add a small motif to the back panel using leftover chart colors

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I resize the sweater without ruining the chart? Change only your foundation row count and add the difference evenly to both sides of the chart. The motif itself stays 64 stitches wide no matter what size you make, so a larger sweater simply gets more plain background stitches at each edge. Adjust length by adding plain rows below the chart rather than above it.
• Why does my colorwork panel pucker? Carried yarn pulled too tight across the back. Floats need to lie flat and relaxed against the fabric, caught every few stitches only to stop them sagging, not to anchor them firmly. Loosen your carrying hand and check the wrong side every few rows, since this is much easier to correct as you go than afterward.
• Can I work the sleeves separately and sew them on? You can, but working them directly onto the armhole is quicker and avoids a seam at the shoulder joint. If you do work them flat and seam them, match the stitch count around the armhole exactly and sew before adding the cuff ribbing so the cuff finishes cleanly over the seam.