Orion Top Knitting Pattern

Orion Top in Rowan Summerlite DK

What is Being Made

The Orion Top is a knitted garment designed as an intermediate-level project suitable for knitters with some experience. This top features a classic construction with a fitted bodice, set-in armholes, and a distinctive collar detail. The garment is available in nine size options ranging from 28-30 inches to 60-62 inches bust measurement, making it adaptable for various body types. The finished piece includes shaped armholes, coordinating armbands, and a reverse stockinette collar that adds visual interest to the neckline.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several fundamental and intermediate knitting techniques. The main body is constructed using stockinette stitch, which creates a smooth, classic fabric ideal for a versatile top. A signature decorative stitch pattern is featured prominently: the pattern uses a yarn over with a purl three together decrease technique that creates an openwork or textured effect across the garment. This stitch combination—where three stitches are purled together while remaining on the needle, a yarn over is worked, and then the same three stitches are purled together again—produces a distinctive lacy or dimensional texture.

Construction techniques include mattress stitch or back stitch for joining shoulder seams, ensuring neat and professional-looking seams. The collar is worked in reverse stockinette stitch, which creates a textured surface that contrasts with the smooth stockinette body. Picking up and knitting is used to create the armbands directly from the armhole edges, a technique that ensures proper fit and eliminates the need for separate pieces. The pattern incorporates stitch markers to denote armhole placement and stitch holders to preserve stitches during construction, particularly for the shoulder and neckline areas.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette Stitch (St St): The primary stitch used for the back, front, and initial rows of the armbands, created by alternating knit rows on the right side with purl rows on the wrong side
• Reverse Stockinette Stitch (Rev St St): Used for the collar detail, which reverses the appearance of stockinette to show the bumpy texture on the right side
• Purl Three Together with Yarn Over (P3tog, yrn): A decorative decrease combined with a yarn over that creates the signature pattern texture, worked across the garment in a repeating sequence with edge stitches maintained in garter stitch
• Garter Stitch: Used for edge stitches (K1 at each end of pattern rows) to create stable, finished edges
• Mattress Stitch or Back Stitch: Seaming techniques used to join shoulder seams invisibly or securely

Materials

The Orion Top is designed to be worked in Rowan Summerlite DK yarn, a lightweight double knit weight suitable for warm-weather garments. The pattern requires 8 to 11 balls of 50-gram yarn depending on the size being knitted, with the photographed sample shown in the colorway Giggle 479. The pattern is worked on 4mm (US 6) needles, which are paired needles used for the main fabric and collar construction. Additional materials include stitch markers for tracking armhole placement and stitch holders for preserving stitches during the assembly process. The tension is established at 24 stitches and 32 rows over 10 centimeters in pattern using the specified needle size, ensuring proper fit and drape of the finished garment.