Elizabeth Top - Knitting Pattern For Women in Willow & Lark Ramble

Elizabeth Top – Knitting Pattern for Women in Willow & Lark Ramble

The Elizabeth Top is a women's crew neck jumper from the Homestead Collection by Willow & Lark, designed to be knitted using Willow & Lark Ramble, a 100% wool DK-weight yarn. With its straight, boxy silhouette, three-quarter length sleeves, and a striking two-tone Fair Isle yoke, the Elizabeth Top is a beautifully wearable project that sits at an intermediate difficulty level — ideal for knitters who are comfortable with colourwork and are ready to take their skills further.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a crew neck jumper with a relaxed, boxy fit and ¾-length sleeves. It is sized to fit busts ranging from 81 cm to 107 cm (32 in to 42 in), with actual garment measurements spanning 91 cm to 118 cm (35¾ in to 46½ in) across the chest, allowing for a comfortable amount of positive ease. The body length to shoulder ranges from 46 cm to 51 cm (18 in to 20 in), and sleeve seam lengths range from 36 cm to 38 cm (14 in to 15 in). This is a versatile, seasonally appropriate piece that works beautifully as an everyday layering jumper.

Design Details and Colourwork

One of the most distinctive features of the Elizabeth Top is its two-tone Fair Isle pattern, which has been cleverly engineered to appear as a positive and negative version of itself. In reality, this effect is achieved simply by swapping which colour dominates in each section of the pattern — a smart design trick that creates visual complexity without requiring additional colourwork charts. The pattern is offered in two suggested colourways:

• Raspberry 128 (Colour A) paired with Night Sky 125 (Colour B)
• Straw 114 (Colour A) paired with Thunder Grey 105 (Colour B)

Both colourways use shades from the Willow & Lark Ramble range, and the pattern has been specifically designed and tested with this yarn. As the fibre composition, weight, and twist of a yarn directly affect the appearance and drape of a finished garment, Willow & Lark strongly recommend using Ramble to achieve results consistent with the pattern photographs.

Materials Required

The yarn used throughout this pattern is Willow & Lark Ramble, a 100% wool DK-weight yarn sold in 50 g / 1¾ oz balls. The quantity required depends on the size being knitted:

• Colour A: 4–5 balls depending on size
• Colour B: 5–7 balls depending on size

Three pairs of straight knitting needles are required:

• 3.25 mm (UK 10 / US 3) needles — used for ribbing and edging
• 4.00 mm (UK 8 / US 6) needles — used for the main stocking stitch sections
• 4.50 mm (UK 7 / US 7) needles — used for the Fair Isle colourwork sections

The use of a larger needle for the Fair Isle sections is a common and recommended practice in stranded colourwork knitting. Because the yarn is carried across the back of the work between colour changes, knitters naturally tend to pull the floats too tight, which can cause the fabric to pucker. Working up a needle size helps maintain an even, relaxed tension across the colourwork panels.

Techniques Used

The Elizabeth Top is constructed using a combination of classic and colourwork knitting techniques, making it a well-rounded intermediate project:

• Bottom-up construction — the garment is worked from the hem upward toward the shoulders, a traditional approach that gives knitters good control over length adjustments
• Worked flat — the pieces are knitted back and forth in rows on straight need