Gabrielle Fan & Feather Top in West Yorkshire Spinners Exquisite 4 Ply - DBP0012 - Downloadable PDF

Gabrielle Fan & Feather Panel Top – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Gabrielle Fan and Feather Panel Top is an elegant knitted top designed by Chloe Elizabeth Birch and published as a downloadable PDF pattern by West Yorkshire Spinners. Worked in the brand's luxurious Exquisite 4 Ply yarn, this design combines a classic decorative stitch panel with clean, wearable shaping to create a sophisticated garment suitable for a wide range of occasions. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, making it an ideal project for knitters who are comfortable with basic shaping and are ready to explore more textural stitch work.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a fitted panel top with sleeves, featuring the timeless fan and feather stitch as a central design element. The garment is sized to fit a wide range of bust measurements, making it an inclusive and versatile pattern. Finished measurements are as follows:

• To fit bust: 71–76, 81–86, 91–97, 102–107, 112–117, and 122–127 cm (28–30 to 48–50 inches)
• Actual finished size (approximately): 91, 101, 111, 121, 131, or 141 cm
• Full length: 60, 62, 64, 64, 65, or 65 cm depending on size
• Sleeve length: 44, 44, 44, 45, 46, or 46 cm depending on size

The top is designed with positive ease, giving it a relaxed yet structured silhouette that flatters a variety of body shapes. The inclusion of sleeves adds versatility, making this suitable for transitional seasons as well as layering.

Techniques Used

This is a flat knitting pattern, meaning the pieces are worked back and forth in rows and seamed together. Knitters will use a combination of foundational and decorative knitting techniques throughout the construction of this top:

• Fan and feather stitch – the signature panel technique that creates the flowing, rippled texture characteristic of this design. This traditional stitch creates a wave-like effect through a careful sequence of increases and decreases worked across a set number of stitches.
• Shaping – including increasing (inc) and making new stitches (m1, or make 1, worked by picking up the loop between the last and next stitch and knitting into the back of it) to achieve the fitted silhouette.
• Seaming – joining the knitted pieces together to assemble the finished garment.
• Marker placement and slipping – using place marker (PM) and slip marker (SM) techniques to keep track of pattern repeats and shaping sections.
• Reading a multi-size pattern – the pattern is written for six sizes simultaneously, requiring the knitter to follow the correct bracketed figures for their chosen size throughout.

Stitches Used

The Gabrielle Fan and Feather Panel Top draws on a small but purposeful set of stitches, each playing a distinct role in the overall design:

• Stocking stitch (st-st) – the foundational fabric stitch of the garment, worked over one knit row and one purl row alternately, creating a smooth, classic surface on the right side.
• Garter stitch (g-st) – every row knitted, producing a ridged, reversible fabric often used for borders, hems, or transitional sections in this type of design.
• Fan and feather stitch – the decorative panel stitch that gives the top its name. This stitch is built from a repeating sequence of yarn forwards (yfwd), knit-together decreases (tog), and knit stitches, creating the characteristic scalloped, rippling wave pattern. It is a traditional lace-adjacent technique with a long history in British knitting.
• Knit (K) and Purl (P) – the fundamental building blocks used throughout all sections of the pattern.
• Yarn forward (yfwd) – used within the fan and feather