Gladiolo Top in Adriafil Chance - Downloadable PDF

Gladiolo Top in Adriafil Chance – Free Knitting Pattern (Downloadable PDF)

The Gladiolo Top is a beautifully structured knitted summer top designed in Adriafil Chance yarn. Available as a free downloadable PDF, this pattern is worked in sport weight yarn and produces a fitted, elegant top featuring decorative eyelet panels and long shoulder straps — a design that combines classic knitting techniques with delicate lace-like detailing. The pattern is sized for a size 42 (with 40 and 44 as alternate sizes), making it accessible across a range of fits.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a lightweight knitted top with a defined neckline, shaped armholes, and distinctive long shoulder straps. The front and back are worked separately as flat pieces and then seamed at the sides. The shoulder straps are an integral part of the construction, knitted directly from the body of the garment rather than added separately. The overall silhouette is sleek and wearable, suitable for warm weather or layering.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Adriafil Chance in off white, shade no. 12 — 250 g total
• Knitting needles: Size 4 mm (no. 4)
• Tapestry needle for grafting and finishing

Adriafil Chance is a sport weight yarn, making it ideal for lightweight warm-weather garments. Its smooth texture allows stitch definition to show clearly, which is particularly important for the eyelet pattern panels featured in this design.

Tension and Gauge

The pattern specifies a gauge of 24 stitches and 30 rows over 10 x 10 cm in stock stitch using 4 mm needles. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for accurate sizing, particularly given the precise stitch counts used in the armhole and neckline shaping.

Pattern Stitches and Techniques Used

This pattern makes use of four distinct stitch patterns, each serving a specific structural or decorative purpose:

• Rib stitch (K1/P1 in back loop): Used at the beginning and end of the garment as a border. Working into the back loop of each stitch creates a twisted rib, which gives a firmer, more defined edge than standard ribbing. The rib borders are worked for 10 rows (approximately 1 cm) and finished by grafting stitches with a tapestry needle for a seamless, polished edge.
• Stock stitch (stockinette): The primary background fabric of both the front and back panels. Stock stitch is worked with knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side, creating a smooth, flat surface.
• Eyelet stitch (worked over 4 stitches): A decorative lace-like pattern that forms the signature detail of the Gladiolo Top. It is worked over a 3-row repeat: Row 1 — (1 yarn over, k2tog) twice; Row 2 — purl; Row 3 — repeat from Row 1. This creates an open, airy column of eyelets that adds visual interest without overwhelming the overall design.
• Grafting with a tapestry needle: Used to join the rib border invisibly, this technique (also known as Kitchener stitch) creates a seamless join that mimics a row of knitting, ideal for finishing borders neatly.

Construction: Back

The back is worked as a flat piece. Once the piece measures 28 (26–30) cm from the border, the rib stitch border is worked for 10 rows and then grafted closed using a tapestry needle. The back construction is relatively straightforward, providing a clean, uninterrupted fabric as the reverse of the more detailed front.

Construction: Front

The front is worked identically to the back up to the point where the neckline and armhole shaping begins at 28 (26–30) cm from the border. At this point, the work is divided in half and each side is finished separately.

The front features two distinct sections on each half, reflecting the asymmetrical placement of the eyelet panels:

• First half (right side of work): Worked over 54 (52–56