Swift Top in Rowan Four Seasons - Downloadable PDF

Swift Top in Rowan Four Seasons – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Swift Top is a knitted women's top designed by Quail Studio and published by Rowan. It is worked in Rowan Four Seasons yarn and is rated as an advanced beginner project, making it an excellent step up for knitters who have mastered basic techniques and are ready to tackle simple shaping and textural stitch combinations. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF, giving instant access to the full instructions.

What Is Being Made

The Swift Top is a fitted or semi-fitted pullover top designed to be worn as a standalone warm-weather or transitional piece. It is worked in pieces — a back and presumably a front — and features elegant structural details including a defined back neck shaping and decorative column panels that frame the body. The garment is photographed in Blossom 006, a colourway from the Rowan Four Seasons range. It is available in a wide range of sizes, with actual chest measurements spanning from 82.5 cm / 32½ in up to 162.5 cm / 64 in, covering nine size options to fit chests from 71–76 cm / 28–30 in through to 152–157 cm / 60–62 in.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for Rowan Four Seasons, a worsted weight yarn sold in 50 g balls. Depending on the size being knitted, the pattern requires between 7 and 10 balls. Rowan Four Seasons is a yarn suited to warmer knits, making it well matched to a top silhouette. In addition to yarn, knitters will need stitch markers and stitch holders, both of which are used during the shaping and construction of the garment.

Needles

Two needle sizes are used throughout the pattern:

• 4.5 mm (UK no. 7 / US 7) needles — used for the cast-on and likely for any ribbed or border sections
• 5 mm (UK no. 6 / US 8) needles — used for the main body fabric

Both are straight, used as 1 pair of each size. Knitters should swatch carefully before beginning, as achieving the correct tension is essential for a well-fitting top.

Tension

The stated tension is 16 stitches and 24 rows to 10 cm, measured over stocking stitch using 5 mm (US 8) needles. Achieving this tension ensures the garment will match the stated finished measurements across all nine sizes.

Techniques Used

The Swift Top introduces and reinforces a number of knitting techniques that are ideal for advancing beginner knitters:

• Casting on — a large number of stitches are cast on at the beginning of both the back and front pieces
• Working in pieces — the garment is constructed flat in separate sections, which are then seamed together
• Stitch holder usage — stitches are placed on holders when working each side of the neck separately, a classic technique in garment construction
• Neck shaping — the back neck is shaped using a combination of decreases on right-side rows, with stitches worked separately on each side after dividing
• Slipped stitch selvedges — every row begins with a slipped stitch (sl 1 knitwise on right-side rows, sl 1 purlwise on wrong-side rows), creating a neat, even edge that is particularly useful for seaming and gives the finished garment a polished look
• Short-row style turning — stitches are left on a holder mid-row when dividing for the neck, and each side is then worked independently
• Decreasing — both K2tog (knit two together) and sl 1, K1, psso (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over) are used