Kate Top in Adriafil Giada - Downloadable PDF

Kate Top in Adriafil Giada – Free Knitting Pattern Summary

The Kate Top is an elegant, fitted women's knitted top designed using Adriafil Giada yarn. This pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF and is suitable for knitters who enjoy working with shaping techniques and textural stitch patterns. The design features a carefully shaped silhouette with waist shaping, armhole shaping, and a graceful neckline, making it a polished and wearable garment for a range of occasions.

What Is Being Made

The Kate Top is a close-fitting, sleeveless knitted top with a defined waistline and shaped neckline on both the front and back. The garment is constructed in two main pieces — a front panel and a back panel — which are seamed at the shoulders to complete the top. The finished design features a refined neckline finish worked in the round using double-pointed needles, giving it a neat, professional edge.

Techniques Used

• Waistline shaping: The back piece incorporates gradual waist shaping through a sequence of decreases and increases worked at both side edges. Specifically, 6 single stitches are decreased at both edges, alternately every 6 and 8 rows, to draw in the waist. Once the work reaches 20 cm, the shaping reverses with 4 single stitch increases at both edges every 14 rows, allowing the fabric to flare back out toward the hip and bust.
• Armhole shaping: At the appropriate length — 41, 40, or 39 cm depending on the size being worked — stitches are bound off at both armhole edges in a stepped sequence: 1 x 3 stitches, then 1–2–3 x 2 stitches, and finally 4 x 1 stitch, every 2 rows. This classic armhole shaping creates a smooth, curved edge suitable for a sleeveless top.
• Back neckline shaping: When the back measures 57 cm, the center 20 stitches are bound off and each shoulder half is finished separately. At the neck edge, 4 x 4 stitches are bound off every 2 rows, creating a wide, elegant back neckline. Shoulder stitches are bound off when the work reaches 60 cm.
• Front neckline shaping: The front neckline begins earlier, at 38 cm, with the center 18 stitches bound off. Each side is then worked separately with a more gradual shaping sequence: 1 x 3 stitches, 1 x 2 stitches, and 6 x 1 stitch every 2 rows, followed by a further 6 x 1 stitch every 4 rows. This creates a deeper, more refined front neckline compared to the back.
• Seaming and finishing: Shoulder seams are sewn to join the front and back panels. The neckline is then finished by picking up 158 stitches along the neck edge using double-pointed needles, allowing for a smooth, circular neckband finish.
• Cable pattern at side edges: A cable stitch pattern runs along the side edges of the garment and is maintained for as long as the shaping allows, adding a decorative and structural detail to the silhouette of the top.

Stitches Used

• Cable pattern – worked along the side edges of both the front and back panels, adding texture and visual interest
• Standard knit and purl stitches – used throughout the main body of the top
• Bind-off and decrease techniques – used for armhole, shoulder, and neckline shaping throughout the construction

Materials – Yarn and Needles

This pattern is designed specifically for Adriafil Giada, a DK weight yarn. Adriafil Giada is known for its smooth, refined finish, making it well suited to a garment like the Kate Top where stitch definition and drape are both important. The pattern calls for double-pointed needles for the neckline finishing stage, in addition to the straight or circular needles used for the main body panels. Knitters should refer to the original PDF