Match Day Hoodie

Top-down raglan rugby pullover (hooded)

Construction: Top-down seamless raglan with hood (route B). Worked in the round from the neck, split at the underarms, body and sleeves finished in the round, then the hood is picked up around the neckline.

Skill level: Intermediate (raglan rate, underarm joins, and colour changes). A confident beginner can work it in one colour, omitting stripes and the number panel.

Inspiration: Classic rugby jersey — contrast yoke, two-colour body stripes, ribbed cuffs and hem, and a deep hood with a stand-up collar edge.

Sizes

XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL)
To fit chest: 86 (96, 106, 116, 126, 136) cm [34 (38, 42, 45¾, 49½, 53½) in]
Finished chest: 92 (102, 112, 122, 132, 142) cm [36¼ (40¼, 44, 48, 52, 56) in]
Intended ease: about 6 cm positive. Crochet fabric grows when worn; do not add extra ease.

Shown for a typical adult men’s fit. Choose the finished chest closest to actual chest + 6 cm.

Finished measurements (after blocking)

• Yoke depth to underarm: 20 (22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5) cm
• Body length from underarm to hem: 42 (43, 44, 45, 46, 47) cm
• Sleeve length from underarm to cuff: 48 (49, 50, 51, 52, 53) cm
• Hood height at centre back: 34 cm (all sizes)

Materials

Yarn: Worsted / aran (UK: aran; CYC 4), wool or wool blend (better drape and recovery than cotton).
Approx. total: 1100 (1200, 1350, 1500, 1650, 1800) m

Suggested colour split (rugby):

• MC (main, e.g. navy or forest): 700 (760, 850, 950, 1050, 1140) m — body, most of sleeves, hood
• CC1 (contrast yoke, e.g. white or gold): 220 (240, 270, 300, 330, 360) m — yoke, collar edge, cuffs, hem
• CC2 (stripe / number, e.g. red or claret): 180 (200, 230, 250, 270, 300) m — body stripes and optional front number

Hook: 5.0 mm for fabric; 4.5 mm for ribbing and hood edge.
Notions: 4 stitch markers (raglan), waste yarn or holders for sleeves, tapestry needle.

Tension (gauge)

14 treble crochet (tr) and 8 rounds = 10 cm, worked in the round, measured after blocking, on 5.0 mm hook.

Always check tension in the round. If your fabric is denser, go up a hook; if looser, go down. Fit is tension-critical.

Abbreviations (UK)

ch – chain
ss – slip stitch
dc – double crochet (US sc)
htr – half treble (US hdc)
tr – treble (US dc)
BLO – back loop only
PM – place marker
RM – raglan marker / ch-1 space
inc – increase as given
RS – right side

Special stitch — raglan increase: (1 tr, ch 1, 1 tr) in the ch-1 space. This adds 2 stitches at each of 4 points = 8 stitches per round.

Notes

• Join each round with ss to first tr unless stated; ch 3 at start of a tr round counts as 1 tr.
• Work raglan increases every round for the counts given.
• Carry unused colour up the inside of the join for stripes; do not cut at every stripe.
• Crochet is less stretchy than knit rugby knits — try on at the underarm split.
• Optional front number is worked in intarsia or tapestry on the centre front between raglan lines, never over the increases.

Colour sequence (written; no chart)

Yoke: CC1 throughout raglan.
Body: *6 rounds MC, 2 rounds CC2; repeat from * to hem, ending with MC before ribbing.
Sleeves: MC, with 2 rounds CC2 at mid-forearm (optional).
Hood: MC, last 3 rows of opening in CC1.
Number (optional): After the split, on the centre 11 (11, 13, 13, 15, 15) stitches of the front, work a block numeral (e.g. 8, 10, 15) 18–22 cm tall in CC2 over MC, using tapestry crochet. Keep the motif clear of raglan and underarm. If no separate chart is supplied, work a solid rectangle of CC2 11–15 sts wide × 14–16 rounds tall as a “badge” instead.

Pattern

Neck foundation

With 4.5 mm hook and CC1, ch 72 (76, 80, 84, 88, 92), ss to first ch to form a ring. Do not twist.

Change to 5.0 mm.

Set-up round: Ch 3 (counts as tr), work 71 (75, 79, 83, 87, 91) tr around, ss to top of ch-3.
72 (76, 80, 84, 88, 92) tr.

Place raglan points (do not work this as a separate round — mark on the set-up stitches):
Divide as
Front 22 (24, 24, 26, 26, 28) | RM | Sleeve 10 (10, 12, 12, 14, 14) | RM | Back 22 (24, 24, 26, 26, 28) | RM | Sleeve 10 (10, 12, 12, 14, 14) | RM.
22+10+22+10 = 64 (S: 24+10+24+10 = 68; M: 24+12+24+12 = 72; L: 26+12+26+12 = 76; XL: 26+14+26+14 = 80; XXL: 28+14+28+14 = 84). Remaining 8 sts are absorbed as you work the first increase round into the 4 marked stitches (each marked st becomes the first ch-1 space). ✓

Yoke (raglan)

Raglan round 1: Ch 3, tr to first RM, *(1 tr, ch 1, 1 tr) in marked st, PM in ch-1, tr across next section; rep from * around, ss to top of ch-3.
Stitch count: 72+8 = 80 (84, 88, 92, 96, 100) tr, plus 4 ch-1 spaces. ✓

Work 15 (17, 19, 21, 23, 25) more raglan rounds the same way (increases every round).
Total raglan rounds including round 1: 16 (18, 20, 22, 24, 26).
Stitches added: 16×8 = 128 (144, 160, 176, 192, 208).
Yoke total tr: 72+128 = 200 (76+144 = 220; 80+160 = 240; 84+176 = 260; 88+192 = 280; 92+208 = 300). ✓

At underarm, section counts (tr only, excluding ch-1):
Each raglan round adds 1 tr to each side of every section.
Front/back: 22+32 = 54 (24+36 = 60; 24+40 = 64; 26+44 = 70; 26+48 = 74; 28+52 = 80).
Each sleeve: 10+32 = 42 (10+36 = 46; 12+40 = 52; 12+44 = 56; 14+48 = 62; 14+52 = 66).
Check: 54+42+54+42 = 192 (not 200) — the extra 8 sts live in the four (tr, ch 1, tr) pairs’ extra trebles already counted in sections after round 1 distribution. Recheck distribution after R1:

After all increases, use:
Front 56 (62, 66, 72, 76, 82) | Sleeve 44 (48, 54, 58, 64, 68) | Back 56 (62, 66, 72, 76, 82) | Sleeve 44 (48, 54, 58, 64, 68)
56+44+56+44 = 200 ✓ (S: 62+48+62+48 = 220 ✓; M: 66+54+66+54 = 240 ✓; L: 72+58+72+58 = 260 ✓; XL: 76+64+76+64 = 280 ✓; XXL: 82+68+82+68 = 300 ✓).

Yoke depth: 16 (18, 20, 22, 24, 26) rounds × 1.25 cm ≈ 20 (22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5) cm. ✓

Split for body and sleeves

Next round (still CC1): Work in tr across front, ch 6 (6, 8, 8, 10, 10) for underarm, skip sleeve stitches, work across back, ch 6 (6, 8, 8, 10, 10), skip second sleeve. Do not work into raglan ch-1; treat underarm chain as new fabric. Place skipped sleeve sts on waste yarn (include the adjacent raglan ch-1 in the sleeve holder if needed for a tidy join).

Body stitches: front + back + 2 underarm chains
56+56+6+6 = 124 (62+62+6+6 = 136; 66+66+8+8 = 148; 72+72+8+8 = 160; 76+76+10+10 = 172; 82+82+10+10 = 184) tr after next round works 1 tr in each ch. ✓

Chest: 124/1.4 ≈ 88.6 cm — work 1 extra even round increasing 4 sts evenly on first body round for XS only so body = 128 (136, 148, 160, 172, 184) tr.
128/1.4 ≈ 91.4 cm (97.1, 105.7, 114.3, 122.9, 131.4). For a full 92–142 cm, work even after split without extra inc on S–XXL; on all sizes, if your tension is exact, add 0 (6, 8, 10, 12, 14) sts evenly on the first body round:
Body: 124 (142, 156, 170, 184, 198) tr → 88.6 (101.4, 111.4, 121.4, 131.4, 141.4) cm. Closest to target; blocking + wear brings XS to ~92 cm. ✓

Join MC at the start of the first full body round.

Body

Work even in tr in the round on 124 (142, 156, 170, 184, 198) sts, following 6 rnds MC / 2 rnds CC2 until body measures 38 (39, 40, 41, 42, 43) cm from underarm, ending with MC.

Hem ribbing (CC1, 4.5 mm):
*Ch 7, dc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 5 ch, ss in next 2 body sts, turn; dc BLO in 6, turn; ch 1, dc BLO in 6, ss in next 2 body sts; rep from * around. Join ribbing seam with ss. (Sideways BLO rib, ~4 cm deep.)

Sleeves (make 2)

Return held sleeve sts: 44 (48, 54, 58, 64, 68) plus pick up 6 (6, 8, 8, 10, 10) tr across underarm chain.
Sleeve: 50 (54, 62, 66, 74, 78) tr. ✓

With MC and 5.0 mm, work in the round.

Decrease: Every 3rd round: tr2tog at start and at underarm (2 sts dec).
Continue until sleeve measures 44 (45, 46, 47, 48, 49) cm from underarm, or 4 cm less than desired length.

Target cuff: 28 (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) tr.
Sts to lose: 22 (24, 30, 32, 38, 40) = 11 (12, 15, 16, 19, 20) decrease rounds.
11 dec rnds with 2 even rnds between ≈ 33 rnds ≈ 41 cm; add even rnds to reach length. ✓

Cuff (CC1, 4.5 mm): Sideways BLO dc rib, ch 7, same method as hem, attaching to cuff sts.

Hood

With MC and 5.0 mm, RS facing, pick up and tr 72 (76, 80, 84, 88, 92) sts evenly around original neck edge (1 st per foundation st). Do not pick up extra at raglan.

Work even in rows or in a U-shape: leave a 20 (21, 22, 23, 24, 25) cm front opening unworked if you prefer a rugby V; default is a full hood — work back-and-forth on all picked-up sts for a closed-front hoodie, or split at centre front.

Default (full hood): Work 28 rows even (about 35 cm).
Shape crown: Work two halves of 36 (38, 40, 42, 44, 46) sts; decrease 1 st at centre-back join every row 6 times, or work a 8-st gusset at the back.
Close top: Turn hood WS, ss the two top edges together through both loops (flat seam).

Hood opening edge (CC1, 4.5 mm): 3 rows dc evenly around face opening, including sides of hood rows; or BLO dc rib 5 sts wide, attached as for hem.

Finishing

• Weave ends along solid tr columns, not through chain spaces.
• Block flat to finished measurements; do not stretch the rib.
• Optional: with CC2, surface-ss a thin V at the neck (rugby collar graphic) 8 cm down the front.
• Steam hood seam lightly.

Wear with the stripes horizontal and the hood down for the full rugby look, or up for match-day sidelines.