Switch Top in Rowan Cotton Trio - Downloadable PDF

Switch Top by Lisa Richardson in Rowan Cotton Trio – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Switch Top is a knitted garment designed by Lisa Richardson and published by Rowan. This intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a fitted top worked in a textured stitch pattern, featuring a distinctive V-neck front and a shaped neckband finished in the round. It is a versatile, wearable design suited to knitters who are comfortable with shaping, pattern stitches, and finishing techniques.

What Is Being Made

The pattern creates a pullover top with a V-neckline at the front and a back neck. The garment is worked in separate pieces — a back and a front — which are then seamed at the shoulders. The neckband is picked up and worked in the round on a circular needle, with a marked centre stitch at the base of the V used as a reference point for symmetrical decreases. The finished top is designed to sit close to the body, with actual chest measurements ranging from 89 cm to 173 cm, accommodating a very wide range of sizes across nine size options to fit chests of 71–76 cm up to 152–157 cm.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting – the back and front pieces are worked flat on a pair of straight needles, with right-side and wrong-side rows clearly distinguished throughout the shaping sections.
• V-neck shaping – the front neck is divided at the centre, with each side worked separately. Decreases are worked at the neck edge on alternate rows and every fourth row (and in some sizes every sixth row), creating a smooth, gradual V-shape. A centre stitch is placed on a holder and later incorporated into the neckband.
• Shoulder shaping – stitches are cast off to form the shoulder slope, with the final two stitches cast off after the neck shaping is complete.
• Back neck shaping – stitches are picked up along both sides of the back neck and worked into the neckband.
• Working in the round – the neckband is picked up and knitted using a 3 mm circular needle, working around the full V-neck and back neck opening in one continuous round.
• Seaming – shoulder seams are joined using mattress stitch, or back stitch as an alternative, for a neat, professional finish.
• Pressing and finishing – the completed pieces are pressed according to the yarn's care instructions before assembly.

Stitches Used

• Textured stitch pattern – the body of the top is worked in a repeating stitch pattern, with a tension of 20 sts and 36 rows to 10 cm measured over the pattern using 3¼ mm needles. The stitch pattern gives the fabric its characteristic surface interest.
• Decreases – K2tog (knit two together) is used for neck edge shaping, creating neat, directional decreases on the right side of the work.
• Pick up and knit – stitches are picked up along the shaped neck edges and from holders to form the neckband, requiring even spacing and careful counting across a large number of stitches.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: Rowan Cotton Trio, a 4-ply weight yarn sold in 50 g balls. The sample garment is photographed in Charcoal 119. The pattern requires between 5 and 15 balls depending on size, making it a relatively economical project in the smaller sizes.
• Needles: A pair of 3 mm (UK no. 11 / US 2/3) straight needles and a pair of 3¼ mm (UK no. 10 / US 3) straight needles are used for the main body pieces. A 3 mm circular needle no more than 80 cm long is required for the neckband, along with two double-pointed 3 mm needles for any small-circumference sections of the neckband.

Difficulty and Suitability