Pullover in Schachenmayr Solavita - 2062 - Downloadable PDF

Pullover in Schachenmayr Solavita – Pattern 2062: Free Knitted Top with Crochet Chain Details

This free downloadable knitting pattern (Design 2062) from Schachenmayr creates a lightweight, summery pullover top featuring narrow knitted straps and decorative crochet chain embellishments. Known in the original German instructions as a Top mit Häkelketten (top with crochet chains), this design combines straightforward knitting construction with a simple crochet finishing technique, making it an appealing project for knitters who also have basic crochet skills. The pattern is available in five sizes, accommodating a range of fits from the smallest to the largest, with stitch counts and measurements clearly separated by hyphens throughout the instructions.

What Is Being Made

The finished garment is a pullover top worked in two main pieces — a back panel and a front panel — both knitted flat and then joined. The top features a wide neckline with a generous cast-off at the center front and back, and is finished with narrow knitted shoulder straps approximately 3 to 4 cm wide depending on the size. The straps are an integral part of the knitted construction rather than added separately, giving the garment a clean, structured silhouette. Decorative crochet chains are referenced as a surface embellishment, adding a subtle textural contrast to the knitted fabric.

Construction and Structure

Both the back and front are worked identically up to a certain height, after which the neckline shaping and strap construction diverge slightly. Key structural details include:

• Cast-on stitches: 52, 56, 62, 68, or 74 stitches depending on size, worked throughout in the main stitch pattern.
• Armhole shaping: Begins at approximately 34 cm height, with decreases worked on both sides — first 1 stitch each side once, then 1 stitch every 2nd row for 3, 4, 5, 7, or 9 times respectively, reducing to 44, 46, 50, 52, or 54 stitches.
• Neckline shaping: At heights of 37.5, 38, 39, 40.5, or 42 cm, the central 24, 26, 26, 28, or 30 stitches are cast off for the neck opening, and the remaining strap stitches (10, 10, 12, 12, or 12 on each side) are placed on hold.
• Strap construction: Each strap is worked separately over the held stitches to approximately 22 cm strap height, using an alternating row technique — one stitch knitted, the next slipped with the yarn held in front — to create a firm, structured strap fabric. A final right-side row is worked across all strap stitches before placing them on hold for joining.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting in rows (Hinreihe / Rückreihe — right-side and wrong-side rows)
• Stitch decreases worked by knitting stitches together with their cross-thread (M mit dem Querfaden rechts zusammenstricken), a technique that maintains pattern alignment — the instructions specifically caution that pattern continuity must be preserved during all decreases
• Slipped stitch technique for strap construction, alternating a knitted stitch with a slipped stitch (yarn in front) to create a dense, stable strap
• Stitch holding (stilllegen) for managing multiple sections of the garment simultaneously
• Crochet chain embellishment (Häkelketten) applied as decorative surface detail using a crochet hook
• Casting on and casting off for shaping armholes and neckline

Stitches Used

The body of the top is worked in a main stitch pattern (Grundmuster) worked over an even number of stitches across a repeating 4-row sequence:

• Row 1 (wrong side / Rückreihe): Knit all stitches.