Antoinette Top - Knitting Pattern For Women in Debbie Bliss Piper

Antoinette Top – Knitting Pattern for Women in Debbie Bliss Piper

The Antoinette Top is a stylish women's knitted top designed by Debbie Bliss and worked in the lightweight Debbie Bliss Piper yarn. This intermediate-level knitting pattern produces a classic, elegant top featuring a short sleeve length of just 3 cm / 1¼ in, making it a versatile wardrobe piece suitable for layering or wearing alone. The design is available as a downloadable PDF, giving knitters instant access to the full instructions.

Sizing and Finished Measurements

The Antoinette Top is graded across ten sizes, designed to fit a bust measurement ranging from 81 cm (32 in) to 127 cm (50 in). The finished bust measurements range from 92 cm (36¼ in) to 137 cm (54 in), providing a comfortable amount of positive ease across the size range. The length to shoulder spans from 52 cm (20½ in) to 62 cm (24½ in) depending on the size chosen, ensuring a flattering fit for a wide variety of body types.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a women's knitted top with a short sleeve. The silhouette is clean and wearable, with the design detail coming from the use of two contrasting yarn colours worked in stripes. The short sleeve length adds a relaxed, summery feel while keeping the overall construction straightforward enough for an intermediate knitter to enjoy.

Construction Techniques

• Bottom-up construction: The top is worked from the cast-on edge upward toward the shoulders, which is a familiar and intuitive approach for most knitters.
• Worked flat: All pieces are knitted flat, back and forth in rows on straight needles, rather than in the round. This means the back and front are worked as separate flat panels.
• Seamed finishing: Because the pieces are worked flat, the finished garment is assembled by seaming the panels together. Seaming creates a structured finish and adds stability to the garment's edges.
• Stripes: The design incorporates a two-colour stripe sequence using Colour A (Snow 01) and Colour B (Pool 10), adding visual interest without requiring complex colourwork techniques such as intarsia or Fair Isle.

Stitches Used

• Moss stitch (seed stitch): The pattern opens with a moss stitch border worked on the smaller 3.25 mm (US 3) needles. Moss stitch is created by alternating knit and purl stitches in a specific sequence so that knit stitches sit above purl stitches on every row, producing a textured, non-curling fabric. It is set up with a Row 1 of K1, *p1, k1, repeat from * to end, establishing the characteristic bumpy texture used for the ribbed or border sections.
• Stocking stitch (stockinette stitch): The main body of the top is worked in stocking stitch — knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side — which creates a smooth, classic fabric ideal for showcasing the stripe pattern.

Materials Required

The Antoinette Top is knitted in Debbie Bliss Piper, a DK weight yarn sold in 100 g balls. Two colours are used:

• Debbie Bliss Piper in Snow 01 (Colour A): 3 to 4 balls depending on size.
• Debbie Bliss Piper in Pool 10 (Colour B): 2 to 3 balls depending on size.

Two pairs of knitting needles are required:

• 3.25 mm (US 3) needles for the moss stitch border sections.
• 4 mm (US 6) needles for the main body worked in stocking stitch.

Tension / Gauge

The stated tension is 22 stitches and 30 rows to 10 cm