Striped Top in Schachenmayr Catania Fine - S7363 - Downloadable PDF

Striped Top in Schachenmayr Catania Fine – S7363 Pattern Summary

This free downloadable knitting pattern (S7363) from Schachenmayr guides knitters through creating a charming children's striped top, known in the original German as the Ringeltop. The design is worked in three sizes — 116/122, 128/134, and 140/146 — making it suitable for children roughly aged 6 to 11, depending on fit. The finished garment features a classic striped colourwork design, a neat roll hem at the lower edge, and a shaped neckline, giving it a polished, wearable look ideal for everyday wear.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a short-sleeved or sleeveless striped top for children, knitted in two separate pieces — a back piece (Rückenteil) and a front piece (Vorderteil). Both pieces are worked flat from the bottom upward. The back and front differ slightly in their armhole and neckline shaping, with the front featuring a deeper neckline than the back. The total finished height ranges from 44 cm to 54 cm depending on the size chosen. The stripe pattern runs throughout the body, creating the signature Ringel (ring or stripe) effect that gives the top its name.

Construction and Techniques

• Flat knitting: Both the back and front are worked flat on straight needles, with right-side and wrong-side rows alternating throughout.
• Roll hem: The lower edge begins with approximately 1.5 cm (5 rows) of reverse stocking stitch to create a naturally rolling hem — a tidy, self-finishing detail that requires no additional edging.
• Stripe pattern: The body is worked in a repeating stripe sequence using two colours — Koralle (coral, shade 01003) and Pink (shade 01011) — alternated throughout to create the striped effect.
• Armhole shaping: On the back piece, armhole shaping begins at approximately 28.5–35 cm from the roll hem, with stitches cast off in a stepped sequence on both sides. Increases are then worked back in to shape the sleeve cap area, with stitches picked up from the cross-thread (Querfaden) and knitted through the back loop to avoid holes — a classic lifted increase technique.
• Neckline shaping: The back neckline is shaped by casting off the central stitches and working each shoulder section separately, with gradual decreases on alternate rows to create smooth, rounded curves. The front neckline is deeper, beginning earlier in the row count and using a similar stepped cast-off method.
• Separate shoulder finishing: Each shoulder is completed individually after the neckline split, with the remaining stitches cast off to finish the shoulder seam.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch (glatt rechts): The main fabric of both pieces is worked in stocking stitch, creating a smooth, flat surface that showcases the stripe colours clearly.
• Reverse stocking stitch (glatt links): Used for the roll hem section at the lower edge, worked by beginning with a wrong-side row and knitting all stitches on right-side rows for the specified rows.
• Lifted increases (verschränkte Maschen aus dem Querfaden): Used during the armhole re-shaping phase, where stitches are created by picking up the horizontal bar between stitches and knitting into the back of it to prevent a hole — a neat, almost invisible increase method widely used in garment knitting.
• Cast-off decreases: Multiple stepped cast-offs are used at armholes and necklines to create smooth, gradual curves rather than abrupt edges.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Schachenmayr Catania Fine, a 4-ply weight yarn. The pattern calls for 100 g of shade 01003 Koralle (coral) and 100 g (or 100/150 g depending on