Ladies Tops in King Cole Opium - 4828 - Downloadable PDF

Ladies Tops Knitted in King Cole Opium – Pattern 4828

This downloadable PDF from King Cole presents a collection of ladies knitted tops worked in King Cole Opium, a chunky-weight yarn celebrated for its distinctive thick-and-thin texture. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and covers a generous size range of 81–127 cm (32–50 in) bust, making it accessible to a wide range of knitters including those who prefer to work larger sizes. Because of the unique thick-and-thin nature of Opium yarn, the pattern specifically instructs knitters to cast on and cast off from the thin part of the yarn loosely, an important technique detail that ensures a neat, even edge.

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Garments Included in Pattern 4828

The pattern leaflet contains designs for ladies tops constructed with interesting structural choices. Based on the pattern content, the designs include garments with both split-piece construction and more traditional single-piece fronts, giving knitters variety in technique and finish.

Construction and Structure

One of the notable design features in this pattern is the back worked in two separate pieces — a right side and a left side — which are each cast on individually and later joined. This split-back construction is a distinctive intermediate-level technique that requires careful attention to shaping and symmetry. Coloured markers are used throughout to denote key structural points, including the right shoulder, left shoulder, and the back neck section. The back neck spans 28[30:30:34:34] stitches between the coloured markers, clearly defined for each of the five sizes.

The front, by contrast, is cast on as a single wider piece using 121[133:147:159:171] stitches depending on the chosen size, offering a more conventional construction approach for the front panel.

Techniques Used

• Thumb method cast on – specified for both the back pieces and the front, this technique creates a firm, elastic edge well suited to chunky yarns
• Two-piece back construction – each back section is worked separately and shaped independently before being assembled
• Shoulder and neck shaping – coloured markers are placed at specific cast-off stitch positions to accurately define shoulder placement and back neck width
• Make 1 stitch (m1) – an increase technique where the horizontal strand between the last worked stitch and the next stitch is picked up and knitted into the back of it, creating a neat, virtually invisible increase
• Tension/gauge checking – the pattern emphasises checking tension carefully, with guidance to switch to thinner needles if fewer stitches are achieved and thicker needles if more stitches result

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch – the primary fabric stitch, used as the basis for the stated tension of 18 stitches and 24 rows to 10 cm (4 in)
• Rib stitch (1×1 rib / 2×1 rib variations) – used for borders and edgings, worked as knit 1, purl 1 sequences; both the right and left back pieces begin with ribbed rows, as does the front
• Knit (k) and Purl (p) – the fundamental stitches forming all fabric sections
• Decreasing (dec) and Increasing (inc) – used during shaping for armholes, shoulders, and neck

Materials – Yarn and Needles

The pattern is designed specifically for King Cole Opium, a chunky-weight yarn with a characterful thick-and-thin construction that creates natural texture variation across the knitted fabric. This yarn's variable thickness is a key design element, and the pattern includes specific instructions to accommodate it during cast on and cast off.

• Yarn: King Cole Opium – chunky weight, thick-and-thin construction
• Main needles: 5 mm needles, or the size required to achieve the correct tension over stocking stitch
• Rib/border needles: