Bahamas Top in Adriafil Swing - Downloadable PDF

Bahamas Top in Adriafil Swing – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Bahamas Top is a stylish, lightweight knitted top designed for warm-weather wearing. This free downloadable PDF pattern from Adriafil produces a beautifully textured garment featuring an eye-catching diamond lace stitch as its main fabric, finished with classic ribbed and garter stitch borders. The pattern is available in sizes 42, 44, and 46, making it accessible to a range of knitters looking for a flattering, summery top.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a women's knitted top — the Bahamas Top — constructed in two main pieces: a back and (implied) a front, joined in the traditional flat-knitting construction method. The design is intended as a warm-season garment, combining open lacework with structured ribbing to create a piece that is both breathable and shapely. The top is worked flat on straight needles and seamed, making it an approachable project for knitters comfortable with lace and shaping techniques.

Yarn and Materials

• Yarn: Adriafil Swing in colour no. 85 — an aran weight yarn. The pattern calls for 250 g of this yarn.
• Knitting Needles: Two sizes are required — 4.5 mm (No. 4½) needles for the main diamond stitch body and border, and 5 mm (No. 5) needles for the k2/p2 rib sections.
• Notions: A tapestry needle is required for seaming and finishing.

Techniques Used

• Flat knitting — the garment pieces are worked back and forth in rows on straight needles.
• Casting on — the back begins with a cast-on of 109 (119–129) stitches depending on size.
• Shaping and decreasing — stitch counts are reduced through the body using specific decrease methods, including k2tog (knit two together) and the three-stitch decrease slip 1, knit 2 tog., pass slipped stitch over, which forms the central spine of the diamond motif.
• Yarn overs (yo) — used extensively within the diamond lace pattern to create decorative eyelets and maintain stitch count after decreases.
• Seaming — pieces are joined using a tapestry needle once knitting is complete.

Stitches Used

• Diamond Stitch — the primary stitch pattern used across the main body of the top. This is a lace-based pattern worked over a multiple of stitches across 19 or more rows, combining yarn overs with centred double decreases (slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over) and standard decreases (k2tog) to form a repeating diamond motif. The gauge for this stitch on 4.5 mm needles is 17 stitches and 22 rows per 10 cm.
• Garter Stitch — used for the border at the lower edge of the back, worked over 12 rows. Garter stitch is produced by knitting every row, creating a ridged, non-curling fabric that provides a neat and stable hem finish.
• K2/P2 Rib Stitch — a classic two-by-two ribbing pattern alternating two knit stitches with two purl stitches. This stitch is worked on the larger 5 mm needles and has a gauge of 27 stitches and 21 rows per 10 cm. Ribbing is typically used at cuffs, necklines, and hems for its elasticity and form-fitting qualities.

Gauge

• Diamond stitch on 4.5 mm needles: 17 sts and 22 rows = 10 x