Ladies’ Top and Scarf with Lace in Schachenmayr Catania - S6953 - Downloadable PDF

Ladies' Top and Scarf with Lace Pattern – Schachenmayr Catania S6953

This free downloadable knitting pattern (S6953) from Schachenmayr presents two coordinating accessories and garments in one elegant design: a ladies' top and a matching scarf, both featuring delicate lace (Lochmuster) detailing. The pattern is worked in Schachenmayr Catania, a popular sport-weight yarn, making these pieces lightweight and ideal for warmer seasons or layering. The combination of a fitted top and a coordinating lace scarf creates a cohesive, stylish set suitable for a range of occasions.

Garments and Designs Covered

Ladies' Lace Top (Damentop)

The ladies' top is the centerpiece of this pattern, designed with a shaped silhouette achieved through deliberate increases and decreases worked directly into the lace stitch patterns. The construction is notable for its diagonal shaping, where increases are worked at the center of the piece and corresponding decreases are worked at the side edges, creating an angled, flowing line through the fabric. This technique gives the top a distinctive, modern drape rather than a standard straight-edged construction.

The top is offered in three sizes: 34/36, 38/40, and 42/44 (European sizing), with instructions for the smallest size given before the brackets and larger sizes within. The gauge for all stitch patterns is 18 stitches and 31 rows to 10 cm × 10 cm, which is important to achieve the correct fit across all sizes.

Scarf (Schal)

The coordinating scarf uses the same lace vocabulary as the top, ensuring the two pieces work together as a set. The scarf is a straightforward accessory project that allows knitters to practice the lace patterns before or alongside working the more complex shaped top. Its lace construction keeps it airy and lightweight, perfectly suited to the sport-weight Schachenmayr Catania yarn.

Stitch Patterns and Techniques

The pattern employs three distinct stitch patterns, each contributing a different textural and visual quality to the finished pieces:

• Muster A (Pattern A): A foundational stitch pattern. Where the lace pattern cannot be maintained at edges or during shaping, stitches are worked as knit on right-side rows and purl on wrong-side rows — the standard stocking stitch substitution used to keep the fabric consistent when lace repeats cannot be completed.
• Muster B (Pattern B): A charted lace pattern worked from a stitch diagram. Only right-side (Hinreihen) rows are charted; all wrong-side (Rückreihen) rows are purled across, with yarn-overs worked as indicated. The pattern repeat runs over 18 rows, which are repeated throughout. Critically, Row 1 and Row 13 incorporate center increases and corresponding side-edge decreases (highlighted in grey on the chart), producing the characteristic diagonal slant of the fabric pieces.
• Muster C (Pattern C): A two-row repeat lace pattern requiring a stitch count divisible by 2, plus 2 edge stitches. It alternates between two right-side rows and two wrong-side rows:
  • Row 1: Edge stitch, *k2tog, yarn over*, repeat, edge stitch.
  • Row 2: All stitches and yarn-overs purled.
  • Row 3: Edge stitch, k1, *yarn over, slip-stitch decrease (Überzug)*, repeat, k1, edge stitch.
  • Row 4: All stitches and yarn-overs purled.

Key Knitting Techniques Used

• Lace knitting using yarn-overs (Umschläge) to create decorative eyelets and an open, airy fabric
• K2tog (two stitches knitted together) — a standard right-leaning decrease paired with yarn-overs to maintain stitch count in lace repeats
• Slip-stitch decrease (Überzug) — a left-leaning decrease used