Girasole Top in Adriafil Swing - Downloadable PDF

Girasole Top in Adriafil Swing — Free Knitting Pattern (Downloadable PDF)

The Girasole Top is a stylish, textured women's knitted top designed by Adriafil and worked in their signature Swing yarn. The design features a distinctive fancy rib stitch body that creates visual interest and a flattering fit, finished with classic ribbed borders and elegant raglan shaping. The pattern is available as a free downloadable PDF and is sized for a 42 (44–46) fit, making it accessible for a range of figures.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a women's sleeveless or short-sleeved top with raglan armhole shaping, a textured fancy rib stitch body, and a neat ribbed border at the hem. The garment is finished with 3 buttons, adding a practical and decorative detail. The construction is worked in separate pieces — a back and a front — which are then seamed together.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Adriafil Swing in colour no. 87 — 250 g total. Swing is an aran weight yarn, known for its soft, flowing drape and blend characteristics that make it ideal for garments with textured stitch patterns.
• Knitting needles: 4.5 mm (no. 4½) straight or circular needles
• Tapestry needle for seaming and finishing
• 3 buttons for the front or shoulder opening

Tension / Gauge

The stated gauge is 21 stitches and 23 rows to 10 × 10 cm, measured in fancy rib stitch on 4.5 mm needles. Achieving the correct tension is essential for accurate sizing, so a swatch is strongly recommended before casting on.

Stitches and Techniques Used

The Girasole Top draws on several knitting stitch patterns, each serving a specific structural or decorative purpose:

• Rib stitch (border rows): A simple 2-row rib used at the very beginning and end of the border section to create a tidy, stable edge.
• K2/P2 rib: A classic two-by-two rib worked over 10 rows as the main hem border, providing elasticity and a neat finish at the lower edge. This stitch alternates two knit stitches with two purl stitches across the row.
• Fancy rib stitch: The primary body stitch, worked over multiples of 4 + 1 stitches. It is a three-row pattern: Row 1 alternates a single purl stitch with three knit stitches, ending with a knit; Row 2 begins with a purl then alternates two knit stitches and a purl with a single knit; Row 3 repeats Row 1. This creates a rich, dimensional texture that is more visually complex than a standard rib while still retaining some stretch.
• Stocking stitch: Used to finish off the rib section cleanly before transitioning into the main body fabric.

Construction and Shaping Details

The back piece begins with a cast-on of 96 (100–105) stitches. The hem border is worked first — 2 rows of simple rib followed by 10 rows of K2/P2 rib — reaching approximately 4 cm in height. The body then continues in fancy rib stitch, with a small decrease of 3 stitches distributed across the first row of the body to adjust the stitch count for the pattern repeat.

Side shaping is achieved by decreasing 1 stitch at each end every 8 rows, 3 times, creating a subtle waist or silhouette taper. Once the back measures 24 (25–26) cm from the border, raglan armhole shaping begins. Stitches are bound off at each end every 2 rows in a stepped sequence — 3 stitches, then 2 stitches, then 1 stitch repeated 18 (19–20) times — which is the hallmark of classic raglan construction. This diagonal shaping creates a smooth, angled