Friday 7 March 2008

A Jumper for Jelly Bean

In September, one of my best friends found out she was expecting. I was (and am) over the moon, and wanted to start knitting at once, but she sweetly asked me not to until they'd had their three-month scan, and after that Christmas and exams and things presented themselves with greater urgency - so now she's due in eleven weeks, and Jelly Bean is quite a bit more than a Jelly Baby, it's time I got clicking.


By 'jumper' I mean a sweater, but I suspect if you're American the word probably means something else entirely to you - a garment I've never quite understood. I looked it up on Wikipedia and found out that it can mean a jumper dress (which apparently I would call a pinafore, although I have never seen such a thing as the garments in the picture in real life, and I thought a pinafore was more like an apron and went over your clothes) or 'a unisex US Navy uniform garment'. Is that a jumpsuit?

And what about 'pullover', or 'jersey'? Does anyone use those words any more apart from my dad?

What do you call a knitted garment designed to cover the upper part of the torso and some of the arms, without buttons down the front? And what does a jumper mean to you?

5 comments:

Rachel said...

I would call that a sweater, or if I wanted to be more specific, a pullover (sweater could also include cardigans, I guess).
I don't think we have anything called a "jumper" in the states, that I know of anyway! We have jumpsuits, although I'm not quite sure what that is to be honest.

Anonymous said...

I love that photo you took!

Hmm...I usually call it a sweater. Although sometimes I say "pullover", especially if it's lightweight...don't know why. If there's a zip up the front it's a cardigan or jacket. if there's a hood I call it a hoodie.
I think of a jersey as something someone wears in a sport with a number on it! :o)

Emily said...

I'd usually say Jumper, I think. Sweater, pullover, cardigan, all make sense to me too. And for me, a sleeveless top to wear over a shirt is a tank-top; a vest is underwear to keep you warm, a sleeveless cardigan is a waistcoat...
And I do recognise pinafore dresses - usually worn by kids, in my day.

BTW, I'm 40yo and English.

Interesting!

elli said...

ok dearie, a jumper is a dress with no sleeves which is always worn over top of a shirt of some sort. It often has little or no waist shaping. They are very popular with gradeschool teachers who have been know to have vast collections, each with different holiday-themed or cheezy embroidery on them. They can also be very cute, if done right. I could send you many pictures of my younger, more awkward self in jumpers.

I think of a pinafore as something that buttons in the back and would be worn over another dress. So yes, aprony.

A sweater would be the knitted pullover. I agree that "jersey" has sports connotations.

I think most people realize that you crazy folks over there in the UK call sweaters jumpers (thank you bridget jones and harry potter) but I don't get the feeling that it'll ever catch on.

That would be my midwestern take on things, at least :)

Daphne said...

Your little jumper is very sweet so far! I would call it a sweater. Jumpers here are not that popular; I used to wear them all the time as a kid. My grandma made them for me and I loved them and asked her to make me a full-sized one when I was 18 or so. I wore it faithfully though I'm sure I was mocked behind my back for it; it wasn't shapely but it was made just for me. Now I have a dress or two that I wear jumper-style over other shirts, but they are more fitted than jumpers.