Peony Top in Rowan Cotton Glace - Downloadable PDF

Peony Top in Rowan Cotton Glace by Sarah Hatton – Pattern Summary

The Peony Top is a charming children's knitted top designed by Sarah Hatton and worked in Rowan Cotton Glace. This downloadable PDF pattern is available as a free download and is rated as intermediate in difficulty, making it a rewarding project for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping techniques and are ready to work with finer-weight yarn. The design is sized for babies and toddlers, covering five sizes from 6–12 months through to 3–4 years, making it a versatile pattern to return to as a child grows.

What Is Being Made

The Peony Top is a neat, fitted children's top with set-in sleeves. It is a classic wardrobe staple for little ones, worked in a lightweight cotton yarn that makes it ideal for warmer months. The finished garment features a structured body with armhole shaping, shoulder shaping, and a defined back neck, giving it a polished, well-tailored appearance. The five sizes span the following actual chest measurements:

• 6–12 months: 31 cm / 12 in chest, 34 cm / 13½ in length
• 12–18 months: 31.5 cm / 12½ in chest, 36 cm / 14 in length
• 18–24 months: 32.5 cm / 13 in chest, 37 cm / 14½ in length
• 2–3 years: 34.5 cm / 13½ in chest, 39 cm / 15½ in length
• 3–4 years: 35 cm / 14 in chest, 40 cm / 15½ in length

Sleeve lengths range from 19 cm / 7½ in for the smallest size up to 29 cm / 11½ in for the largest, ensuring a comfortable and proportionate fit across all sizes.

Construction and Techniques

The Peony Top is constructed in the traditional flat-knitting method, with the back and front worked separately as individual pieces before being seamed together. This approach is well-suited to intermediate knitters who are familiar with reading multi-size patterns and working shaping instructions simultaneously on both sides of the fabric.

Armhole Shaping

The armhole shaping is a key technique in this pattern. On the back piece, stitches are cast off at the beginning of two consecutive rows to form the base of the armhole, with the number of cast-off stitches varying by size — for example, 4 stitches are cast off for the three smallest sizes, rising to 5 or 6 stitches for the larger sizes. This is followed by decreasing 1 stitch at each end of the next 5 rows, and then on the following alternate row, to create a smooth, curved armhole edge. This type of paired decreasing is a fundamental shaping technique in garment knitting and produces a neat, angled line that mirrors the set-in sleeve cap.

Shoulder and Back Neck Shaping

Once the armhole depth is reached — ranging from 13.5 cm to 15.5 cm depending on size — the pattern moves into shoulder and back neck shaping. This is worked by casting off shoulder stitches on the right side, then turning and working each side of the neck separately. The centre back neck stitches — between 27 and 29 stitches depending on size — are placed onto a stitch holder to be picked up later for the neckband. The second side of the neck is worked to match the first, with shapings reversed. This technique of working each side of the neck independently ensures a symmetrical and professional finish.

Front

The front of the Peony Top is also included in the pattern and is worked in a corresponding manner to the back, with its own shaping instructions to complete the garment.

Stitches Used

The pattern is worked primarily in knit and purl stitches, the two foundational stitches of knitting, which together form the basis of stocking stitch —