Afternoon in Lisbon (Top)

Afternoon in Lisbon Top by Lisa Hannes

What is Being Made

The Afternoon in Lisbon Top is a sleeveless summer knit garment designed by Lisa Hannes of maliha designs. This beautiful piece features a straight body silhouette with a wide crew neck and drop shoulders, creating a relaxed and comfortable fit perfect for warmer months. The design showcases an eye-catching mosaic motif prominently displayed on the shoulders, paired with two-colour stripes running across the body. This colour-work combination allows knitters to personalize the piece using their favourite two yarn colours, making each finished garment unique to the maker.

Design Inspiration and Features

The Afternoon in Lisbon Top draws inspiration from its sister pattern, the Afternoon in Lisbon wrap, which incorporates the same distinctive graphic mosaic motif. The interplay between the structured mosaic pattern on the shoulders and the rhythmic two-colour stripes on the body creates visual interest and demonstrates thoughtful design composition. This top is ideal for knitters seeking a summer project that combines colourwork techniques with wearable, practical garment construction.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Flat knitting: The sweater is worked flat in one piece rather than in the round, allowing for straightforward construction
• Mosaic colourwork: The shoulder motif employs mosaic knitting techniques, a method that creates geometric patterns using two colours without requiring complex colour changes on every row
• Two-colour striping: The body features alternating colour stripes, adding visual dimension and allowing for creative colour selection
• Seaming: After the flat pieces are completed, the garment is joined at the sides to form the finished top

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

Garter stitch forms the foundation of this design, providing a classic, textured fabric with excellent drape and stability. Garter stitch is created by knitting every row, resulting in horizontal ridges that are visible on both sides of the fabric. This straightforward stitch pattern makes the Afternoon in Lisbon Top accessible to intermediate-level knitters while allowing the colourwork elements to remain the focal point of the design.

Yarn and Materials

This pattern calls for 4-ply fingering weight yarn in two contrasting colours of your choice. The use of fingering weight yarn creates a refined, drapey fabric suitable for a summer top, while the 4-ply construction provides good stitch definition for both the mosaic motif and the striped sections. Knitters will also require appropriately sized needles for fingering weight yarn to achieve proper gauge and fabric characteristics.

Difficulty Level

Rated as an intermediate project, the Afternoon in Lisbon Top is suitable for knitters with some experience. While garter stitch itself is beginner-friendly, the combination of mosaic colourwork, two-colour stripes, and garment construction techniques requires intermediate skills and attention to pattern details. This difficulty level makes the project an excellent choice for knitters looking to expand their colourwork abilities while creating a practical, wearable garment.

Pattern Format

The Afternoon in Lisbon Top is available as a downloadable PDF pattern, allowing immediate access to complete instructions and charts for both the mosaic motif and striped sections. This format enables knitters to reference the pattern on digital devices or print it for convenient reference during the knitting process.