Cuckoo Top in Rowan Four Seasons - Downloadable PDF

Cuckoo Top in Rowan Four Seasons – Knitting Pattern Summary

The Cuckoo Top is a beautifully textured knitted top published by Quail Studio and worked in Rowan Four Seasons yarn. Photographed in the colourway Twilight 008, this design is classified as advanced beginner level and is available as a downloadable PDF. It is a versatile, fitted top shaped at the armholes and neck, making it a satisfying project for knitters who are ready to move beyond basic construction and explore more expressive stitch patterns.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a knitted top worked in two main pieces — a back and a front — which are shaped at the armholes and neckline. The garment is designed to fit a wide range of chest sizes, from 71–76 cm (28–30 in) up to 152–157 cm (60–62 in), with actual garment chest measurements ranging from approximately 83 cm to 163 cm. This generous size range makes the Cuckoo Top accessible to a broad spectrum of knitters and body types.

Yarn and Materials

The specified yarn is Rowan Four Seasons, a worsted weight yarn sold in 50 g balls. The pattern calls for between 7 and 16 balls depending on the size being knitted. Rowan Four Seasons is a contemporary yarn well suited to textured stitch patterns, offering good stitch definition that allows the brioche rib to show at its best.

In addition to yarn, the following materials are required:

• 1 pair of 5 mm (UK no. 6 / US 8) knitting needles
• Stitch markers
• Stitch holders

Tension

Achieving the correct tension is especially important in this pattern because brioche rib has a very different row and stitch gauge from standard stocking stitch. The stated tension is 13 stitches and 30 rows (equivalent to 15 visible rows) to 10 cm, measured over the brioche rib pattern using 5 mm needles. Knitters should swatch carefully before casting on, as brioche fabric is notably more elastic and compressible than other knitted fabrics.

Stitches and Techniques Used

The defining stitch of the Cuckoo Top is brioche rib, a deeply textured, reversible knitted fabric created through a combination of yarn-overs and slip stitches worked in sequence. Brioche knitting produces a squishy, ribbed fabric with excellent drape and stretch, making it both visually striking and comfortable to wear.

The pattern makes use of several special abbreviations specific to brioche knitting:

• BRK (Brioche Knit) – knitting the next stitch together with its corresponding yarn-over from the previous row, creating the characteristic raised column of the brioche rib.
• BRK 2 tog – a brioche decrease worked by knitting two stitches together along with their associated yarn-overs, used for shaping.
• BRK 2 tog tbl – a mirrored brioche decrease worked through the back loop, providing symmetrical shaping on the opposite side of a piece.
• Yf, sl 1, yo – the standard brioche setup move, bringing the yarn forward, slipping a stitch purlwise, and wrapping the yarn over the needle to create the paired yarn-over for the following row.

Beyond the core brioche pattern, the construction involves:

• Armhole shaping worked through decreases on alternate and sixth rows, depending on size
• Back neck shaping using a combination of neck-edge and armhole-edge decreases worked simultaneously
• Front neck shaping mirroring the back, with stitches placed on stitch holders for the centre neck
• Casting off in K1, P1 rib at the shoulders for a neat, flexible finish
• Working each side of