Top in Schachenmayr Catania - S7360B - Downloadable PDF

Knitted Lace Top in Schachenmayr Catania – Pattern S7360B

This free downloadable PDF pattern (S7360B) from Schachenmayr guides knitters through creating a beautifully fitted, feminine lace top worked in Schachenmayr Catania, a popular sport-weight yarn. The design is available in three sizes — 36/38, 40/42, and 44/46 — making it accessible to a wide range of knitters who want a garment that flatters the figure through thoughtful shaping and an elegant openwork stitch pattern.

Design Overview

The top features a delicate Ajourmuster (lace/openwork pattern) as its main body fabric, giving the finished garment an airy, lightweight appearance that is ideal for warmer seasons. The construction includes deliberate waist shaping — both decreases and increases worked at regular intervals — to create a tailored silhouette that follows the natural curves of the body. A neat ribbed cuff or band (Bündchenmuster) provides a tidy, structured edge at the hem, anchoring the flowing lace fabric above it.

Techniques Used

• Lace knitting (Ajourmuster): The primary body fabric is worked from a charted lace repeat of 8 stitches, with additional stitches worked at the edges to complete the pattern. This openwork technique creates decorative eyelets and a light, breathable fabric through the strategic use of yarn-overs and decreases.
• Ribbed edging (Bündchenmuster): A ribbed band is worked at the lower edge to provide elasticity and a polished finish. The band begins with a wrong-side (Rückreihe) row and is worked on a finer needle size before transitioning to the main body.
• Waist shaping — decreases: Shaping begins in the 9th row of the lace pattern and continues with decreases every 4th row, repeated 9 times on each side. Decreases are worked as a slip-stitch decrease (Überzug) at the beginning of right-side rows — slip 1 stitch knitwise, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over — and as a k2tog (2 Maschen rechts zusammenstricken) near the end of the same rows, reducing to 100 (116/124) stitches at the narrowest point.
• Waist shaping — increases: After 14.5 cm (53 rows) from the top of the band, increases are reintroduced — 1 stitch on each side in a single right-side row, then repeated every 6th row, 9 more times — gradually restoring the full width of the fabric for the bust section.
• Stitch chart reading: Knitters work from a printed Strickschrift (stitch chart), following a defined repeat (Rapport) and working specified additional stitches (stitches 9 through 14 of the chart) outside the main repeat to balance the lace pattern across the row.

Stitches Used

• Knit stitches (rechte Maschen) — the foundation of the lace pattern rows
• Purl stitches (linke Maschen) — used on wrong-side rows and within the ribbed band
• Yarn-overs (Umschläge) — create the decorative eyelets characteristic of Ajourmuster lace
• Slip-stitch decrease / pass slipped stitch over (Überzug / SKP) — left-leaning decrease used for waist shaping at the beginning of right-side rows
• Knit two together / k2tog (2 M rechts zusammenstricken) — right-leaning decrease used for waist shaping near the end of right-side rows
• Edge stitches (Randmaschen) — selvedge stitches worked at both ends of every row to maintain clean, even edges suitable for seaming

Materials

The pattern is designed for Schachenmayr Catania, a smooth, mercerized sport-weight cotton yarn that is well-suited to lace knitting due to its stitch definition and dr