Elwood Top Knitting Pattern

Elwood Knitted Top by Quail Studio

What is Being Made

Elwood is an intermediate-level knitted top designed by Quail Studio and published by MODE at Rowan. This garment is available in nine sizes, ranging from chest measurements of 71-76cm (28-30 inches) through to 152-157cm (60-62 inches). The finished garment features actual chest measurements from 81.5cm to 161.5cm, offering a comfortable fit across a wide range of body sizes.

Knitting Techniques

The Elwood top employs fair isle colorwork as its primary decorative technique. Fair isle is a traditional method of working with two colors within a single row, creating intricate patterned designs across the fabric. The pattern uses a 16-row repeat chart that is worked throughout the body of the garment, allowing for consistent and repeating colorwork motifs.

The construction begins with ribbed edging at the lower edge, which provides elasticity and a neat finish. The garment is then worked in stockinette stitch (knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows) as the base fabric, with the fair isle pattern worked simultaneously. The pattern includes shaping at the neckline and shoulders, achieved through strategic decreases and cast-offs at specific intervals to create a fitted garment.

Stitches Used

• Ribbing: A 2x2 rib pattern (knit 2, purl 2) worked over 10cm at the garment's lower edge using smaller needles
• Stockinette Stitch: The primary stitch used throughout the body, creating a smooth, flat fabric ideal for fair isle colorwork
• Fair Isle Stitch: Two-color pattern work integrated into stockinette stitch, following a 16-row repeat chart
• Decreases: Single decreases worked at the neckline and shoulder areas to shape the garment
• Cast-offs: Used at the shoulders and neckline to finish edges and create garment shaping

Materials and Gauge

The Elwood top is knitted using Alpaca Cotton yarn from MODE at Rowan, a blend fiber that combines the softness of alpaca with the breathability of cotton. Two colors are used throughout the design: Snowflake (014) as the main color, requiring 5 to 8 balls of 25-gram yarn depending on size, and Sierra Melange (016) as the contrast color, requiring 1 to 4 balls.

The pattern requires two sets of needles: 3.75mm (US 5) needles for the ribbed edging and 4mm (US 6) needles for the main body. The working tension is 28 stitches and 28 rows to 10 centimeters measured over fair isle stockinette stitch using the 4mm needles after blocking. Achieving the correct gauge is essential for proper fit across all nine sizes.

Additional Notions

Beyond yarn and needles, the pattern requires stitch holders to temporarily hold stitches during neckline shaping and stitch markers to help track pattern repeats and shaping points throughout construction.