Cassandra Dotted Top - Knitting Pattern For Women in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

Cassandra Dotted Top – Knitting Pattern for Women in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

The Cassandra Dotted Top is a women's fitted knitted sweater top designed by MillaMia and worked in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino yarn. The design features a striking all-over dotted colourwork pattern created through a clever combination of colour changes and slip stitches, making it more approachable than its intricate appearance suggests. A standout construction detail is the wide centre vent at the back, which adds sophisticated shaping and a polished silhouette. This is a seamed, flat-knitted garment, meaning the individual pieces are worked flat on straight needles and then sewn together to finish.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a women's short-sleeved or three-quarter-sleeved knitted top — a fitted jumper with set-in sleeves and a fixed sleeve length of 33 cm / 13 inches. It is available in six sizes to fit bust measurements of 82, 87, 92, 97, 102, and 107 cm (32–42 in), with actual bust measurements ranging from 88 to 120 cm (34¾–47¼ in). The finished length to shoulder ranges from 51 to 56 cm (20–22 in) depending on size. The design is rated as Improving / Advanced difficulty, making it an excellent project for knitters who are ready to progress beyond basic colourwork.

Techniques Used

• Worked flat (seamed construction): All pieces — front, back, and sleeves — are knitted flat on straight needles and then seamed together. This is a traditional approach that gives clean, structured edges ideal for colourwork garments.
• Stranded colourwork: The dotted pattern is achieved using stranded knitting, where multiple yarn colours are carried across the row. In stranded knitting, the non-working yarn is carried loosely across the back of the fabric, creating floats. Managing float tension is key to achieving the correct gauge and a fabric that lies flat.
• Slip stitch technique: The pattern cleverly incorporates slip stitches alongside colour changes to create the dotted effect, which simplifies the colourwork considerably — knitters work with only one colour at a time in many sections rather than managing multiple active strands simultaneously.
• Shaping: Standard knitting shaping techniques are used throughout, including increases (m1, m1p) and decreases (k2tog) to shape the bust, armholes, neckline, and sleeves.
• Garter stitch and stocking stitch borders: Structural elements such as hems and cuffs use foundational stitch patterns to frame the colourwork sections.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch): Used for the main body structure and as the base fabric. Gauge over stocking stitch is 25 stitches and 34 rows to 10 cm / 4 in using 3.25 mm (US 3) needles.
• Dotted colourwork pattern: The signature all-over pattern, worked using slip stitches and colour changes. Gauge over pattern is 25 stitches and 58 rows to 10 cm / 4 in using 3.75 mm (US 5) needles — note the significantly compressed row gauge, which is typical of slip-stitch colourwork fabrics.
• Garter stitch: Referenced in the pattern for specific sections, providing a firm, non-curling edge.
• Knit two together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used throughout for shaping.
• Make one (m1 / m1p): Increase stitches used to add width in shaped sections.

Materials – Yarn

The pattern calls for MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino, a sport weight yarn sold in 50 g / 1¾ oz balls. This yarn is a 100% merino wool, known for its softness, stitch definition, and suitability for colourwork. The quantities required vary by size