Fountain Top Knitting Pattern

Fountain Top in Rowan Cotton Trio

What Is Being Made

The Fountain Top is a knitted garment designed by Lisa Richardson, available in ten sizes to fit chest measurements ranging from 71-76 cm (28-30 inches) up to 152-157 cm (60-62 inches). This is an advanced beginner level knitting project that features a distinctive lace panel at the center front, creating an elegant fountain-like visual effect. The finished garment chest measurements range from 80 cm (31½ inches) to 161.5 cm (63½ inches), offering options for close-fitting to generous silhouettes.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several intermediate knitting techniques that make it suitable for advanced beginners ready to expand their skills. The primary technique is lace knitting, which creates openwork patterns through strategic yarn-overs and decreases. The lace panel is worked between stitch markers placed at the center of the garment, allowing the knitter to focus on the decorative element while maintaining stockinette stitch on the surrounding fabric. Side seam shaping is incorporated through decreases worked at regular intervals, creating a fitted silhouette. The pattern uses slip stitch markers to track pattern repeats and shaping points, a helpful technique for managing complex stitch patterns. Additionally, the pattern demonstrates how to work decreases in various contexts—both as part of the lace design and for garment shaping—teaching the knitter to integrate structural shaping with decorative elements.

Stitches Used

The Fountain Top relies on a limited but effective stitch vocabulary. Stockinette stitch (knit on right-side rows, purl on wrong-side rows) forms the main fabric of the garment. The lace panel is created using yarn-forward increases (yfwd) paired with left-leaning decreases (slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over—abbreviated as sl 1, K1, psso) and right-leaning decreases (knit 2 together—K2tog). Reverse stockinette stitch (purl on right-side rows, knit on wrong-side rows) appears within the lace panel to create contrast and definition. The lace panel measures 17 stitches wide and spans 7.5 cm, with an 8-row repeat that forms the decorative center motif. Side seam shaping is accomplished through single decreases (sl 1, K1, psso and K2tog) worked at the edges on alternating rows.

Materials

The Fountain Top is designed to be knitted in Rowan Cotton Trio, a yarn that comes in 50-gram balls. Yarn quantities range from 3 balls for the smallest size to 8 balls for the largest size, depending on the finished garment dimensions. The pattern is photographed in two colorways: Tiger 736 and Polar 111. Knitting needles required include one pair of 3mm (US 2/3) needles, one pair of 3¼mm (US 3) needles, and two double-pointed 3mm (US 2/3) needles. The pattern specifies a tension of 24 stitches and 34 rows to 10 centimeters measured over stockinette stitch using the 3¼mm needles, with the lace panel measuring 7.5 centimeters across its 17-stitch width. Stitch markers are essential for tracking the lace panel placement and managing side seam shaping throughout the project.