Relax Lace Top in Rowan Cotton Revive - Downloadable PDF

Relax Lace Top in Rowan Cotton Revive by Lisa Richardson – Pattern Summary

The Relax Lace Top is a beautifully feminine knitted top designed by Lisa Richardson for Rowan. Available as a downloadable PDF, this intermediate-level knitting pattern produces an elegant, lightweight garment featuring an all-over lace stitch pattern. The design is offered in two versions — a patterned lace version and a plain stockinette version — making it versatile for knitters who want either a decorative or a more understated finish.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a relaxed-fit lace top designed to be worn as a casual or semi-dressy garment. It is sized to fit a wide range of chest measurements, from 71–76 cm (28–30 in) up to 152–157 cm (60–62 in), with actual garment chest measurements ranging from 78.5 cm to 160 cm. This generous size range makes the pattern highly inclusive. The top is shaped with waist decreases and increases worked at regular intervals, giving the garment a flattering silhouette despite its relaxed name.

Design Versions

• Patterned (Lace) Version: Features a 16-row repeating lace pattern worked throughout the body. This version was photographed in Sienna 004, a warm earthy tone that beautifully highlights the open lacework.
• Plain Version: Worked in smooth stockinette stitch for a cleaner, more classic look. This version was photographed in Pebble 001, a soft neutral shade.

Techniques Used

This pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it suitable for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and simple lace construction. Key techniques include:

• Lace knitting — working yarn-over increases paired with decreases to create decorative open eyelets in a structured, repeating pattern
• Waist shaping — decreasing and increasing stitches at regular row intervals (every 6th and 8th rows) to shape the body of the garment
• Flat knitting — the garment is worked back and forth in rows on a pair of straight needles
• Seaming — as is typical for flat-knitted tops, pieces are sewn together after completion

Stitches Used

The lace version relies on a 16-row repeating lace pattern that combines several classic knitting stitches and techniques:

• Knit (K) and Purl (P) — the foundational stitches forming the fabric base
• Yarn forward (yfwd) — used to create decorative yarn-over eyelets that form the open lace holes
• K2tog (knit two together) — a right-leaning decrease used to pair with yarn-overs in the lace pattern
• Sl 1, K1, psso (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over) — a left-leaning decrease that balances the lace motif symmetrically
• Stockinette stitch (st st) — used throughout the plain version and as the base fabric structure in the lace version on wrong-side purl rows

The lace pattern is cleverly constructed so that the yarn-overs and decreases are offset across successive rows, creating a flowing, diagonal lace texture rather than a simple eyelet grid. Each wrong-side row is worked as a purl row, keeping the lace motifs clean and easy to follow.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern calls for Rowan Cotton Revive, a sport-weight yarn sold in 100g balls. This yarn is a sustainable cotton blend, well-suited to warm-weather tops thanks to its breathability and stitch definition. The quantity required ranges from 2 balls for the smallest size up to 5 balls for the largest size. The two colorways shown in the pattern photography are Sienna 004 and