North Top in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK & Kidsilk Haze - Downloadable PDF

North Top in Rowan Alpaca Soft DK & Kidsilk Haze – Knitting Pattern Summary

The North Top is a beautifully understated knitted top designed by Quail Studio and published by Rowan. Worked in a classic, elegant construction, this pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and is available as a downloadable PDF. It is designed to suit a wide range of chest sizes, from 71–76 cm (28–30 in) up to 152–157 cm (60–62 in), with an actual garment chest measurement ranging from 88 cm to 162 cm, making it an inclusive and versatile design for many body types.

What Is Being Made

The North Top is a pullover-style knitted top intended as a wardrobe staple. Its clean lines and relaxed silhouette make it suitable for everyday wear. The garment features a structured ribbed hem and a smooth stockinette stitch body, giving it a polished yet comfortable finish. Shoulder shaping is worked using a traditional turn-and-hold method, with stitches placed on a stitch holder to allow for neat, precise shoulder construction.

Yarn and Materials

This pattern is specifically designed to be knitted using two Rowan yarns held together, combining texture and luxury in a single fabric:

• Rowan Alpaca Soft DK – a DK weight yarn available in 50 g balls, used in the colourway Off White 221. This yarn brings softness, warmth, and a gentle halo to the fabric, thanks to its alpaca content.
• Rowan Kidsilk Haze – a lace weight yarn available in 25 g balls. Kidsilk Haze is a iconic Rowan yarn made from a blend of kid mohair and silk, renowned for its delicate, gossamer-like halo and subtle sheen.

Holding these two yarns together — one DK and one lace weight — creates a fabric that is light yet substantial, with a soft, airy quality that drapes beautifully. The combination of alpaca and kid mohair/silk produces a garment with exceptional softness against the skin. Knitters will need to check the pattern for the recommended needle size to achieve the correct tension and finished measurements.

Techniques Used

The North Top employs a range of classic knitting techniques that make it well-suited to an intermediate knitter looking to build confidence with garment construction:

• Ribbing – The lower back begins with a ribbed welt worked over approximately 6 cm, providing elasticity and a neat, professional edge. A decrease row is worked on the wrong side at the end of the rib section to adjust the stitch count before transitioning to the main body.
• Stitch count adjustment – A carefully calculated decrease row (using P2tog at regular intervals) is worked to reduce stitches from the rib count to the correct body stitch count for each size, ensuring a smooth transition into stockinette stitch.
• Stockinette stitch body – The main body of the garment is worked in stocking stitch (stockinette), beginning with a knit row on the right side and continuing until the back reaches the required length, which ranges from 60 cm to 74 cm depending on the size being knitted.
• Shoulder shaping – Shoulders are shaped on the right side by working across a set number of stitches, then turning and leaving the remaining stitches on a stitch holder. Each side of the neck is then worked separately, a technique that creates clean shoulder lines and prepares the piece for seaming or further neckline finishing.
• Working with two yarns held together – Holding a DK and a lace weight yarn simultaneously requires attention to tension and yarn management, making this an excellent technique for knitters ready to move beyond single-yarn projects.

Stitches Used

• Rib stitch – Used for the welts and cuffs to create stretch and structure at the cast-on edges.
• Stocking stitch (stockinette) – The primary stitch pattern for the body of the top, worked flat by