Torrey Pines Top - Free Knitting Pattern For Women in Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK and Metallics DK

Torrey Pines Top – Free Knitting Pattern for Women by Paintbox Yarns

The Torrey Pines Top is an intermediate-level women's knitting pattern from Paintbox Yarns, available as a free downloadable PDF. This stylish knitted top is designed to be a wardrobe staple, combining clean, classic construction with a subtle shimmer detail made possible by the pairing of two complementary Paintbox Yarns yarn types. The pattern is sized to fit a range of bust measurements from 81 cm (32 in) to 107 cm (42 in), with actual garment measurements spanning 89 cm to 116 cm and a finished length of approximately 44 cm to 49 cm, making it a cropped-to-hip-length top depending on the size chosen.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a women's knitted top suitable for everyday wear. The design is worked in a combination of flat and in-the-round knitting techniques, giving the garment a neat, seamless quality in key sections while allowing for precise shaping in others. The top features a structured silhouette with a close-to-body fit and is intended to be worn with positive ease built into the actual measurements.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for two specific yarns from the Paintbox Yarns range, used together to create the finished fabric:

• Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK – a 100% cotton DK-weight yarn, used as the primary yarn. The pattern specifies Paper White (Color A) requiring 3–5 x 50g balls and Blush Pink (Color C) requiring 2–4 x 50g balls depending on size.
• Paintbox Yarns Metallics DK – a DK-weight yarn with a metallic finish, used alongside the Cotton DK to add a delicate shimmer to the fabric.

Both yarns are DK weight, which is a versatile medium-light weight yarn that knits up relatively quickly while still producing a fine, polished fabric. Paintbox Yarns notes that yarn quantities are approximate and based on average requirements, and the brand advises that they cannot accept responsibility for the finished item if any yarn other than the recommended yarn is used.

Techniques Used

The Torrey Pines Top is classified as an intermediate pattern, meaning it is best suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to expand their skills. The construction uses two core methods:

• Worked flat – sections of the top are knitted back and forth in rows, which is the traditional method for creating flat fabric panels such as the front and back bodice pieces. Working flat allows for straightforward shaping at armholes, necklines, and side seams.
• Worked in the round – other sections are knitted in the round on circular or double-pointed needles, producing seamless, tubular fabric. This technique is commonly used for neckbands, armhole edgings, or body sections to eliminate seams and create a cleaner finish.

The combination of both flat and in-the-round knitting is a hallmark of intermediate-level garment construction, requiring the knitter to be comfortable switching between methods and understanding how stitch counts and shaping instructions apply differently to each approach.

Stitches Used

While the full stitch list is contained within the PDF, the pattern makes use of standard knitting stitches and techniques appropriate to a DK-weight garment top:

• Knit and purl stitches – the foundational stitches of all knitting, used to build the main fabric of the top.
• Shaping techniques – including increases and decreases to form the fitted silhouette, armhole curves, and neckline.
• Ribbing or edging stitches – typically used at hems, necklines, and armhole bands to create neat, stretchy borders that hold their shape.

The pattern follows standard UK/metric sizing conventions and uses square bracket notation for multi-size instructions, with round brackets indicating stitch repeats. Where a figure of 0 appears, no stitches or rows are worked for that particular size.

Pattern Details and Sizing

The Torrey Pines Top is