Scituate Harbor Top Knitting Pattern

Scituate Harbor Top in Berroco Chai

What Is Being Made

The Scituate Harbor Top is a seamless, top-down knit garment designed by Alison Green. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a fitted pullover with a sophisticated lace and rib construction. The garment is available in eight size options, ranging from 33¾ inches to 70 inches in bust circumference, with finished lengths between 21¾ and 25¼ inches. The piece shown in the pattern is knit in size 42 inches with positive ease of 2–4 inches recommended for comfortable wear.

Construction and Techniques

This top is constructed using the seamless, top-down method, which allows knitters to try on the garment as it progresses and adjust length as needed. The yoke—the upper portion of the garment from the neckline to the underarms—is shaped using short rows, a technique that creates gradual shaping without visible seams. Short rows involve working back and forth over a portion of stitches before completing a full round, building dimension and contour into the fabric.

The garment features a Lace Rib Panel pattern that alternates with stockinette stitch sections. This combination creates visual interest and texture variation throughout the piece. The lace panel is worked over 4 stitches and repeats across the garment in a structured pattern.

Stitches Used

The Scituate Harbor Top employs several fundamental and decorative knitting stitches:

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The primary fabric stitch, created by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows (or knitting all rounds when working in the round). This stitch produces a smooth, classic knit fabric.
• Lace Rib Panel: A four-stitch repeat pattern combining knit, purl, yarn overs (yo), and decreases. The panel includes knit 2 together (k2tog) and slip-slip-knit (SSK) decreases paired with yarn overs to create openwork details.
• Yarn overs (yo): These create the lace holes characteristic of the decorative panel and add airiness to the design.
• Decreases: Both k2tog (knit two together) and SSK (slip, slip, knit) are used to balance yarn overs and shape the garment.
• Increases: Right-leaning (RLI) and left-leaning (LLI) increases are used in the yoke shaping to expand the garment width gradually.
• Purl stitches: Used in the rib sections to create vertical texture and elasticity.

Materials and Gauge

The Scituate Harbor Top is designed to be knit with Berroco Chai yarn in the colorway #8637 Amethyst. Berroco Chai is a worsted-weight yarn with 50 grams per ball. Depending on the size being knit, the pattern requires between 6 and 11 balls of yarn.

Knitters will need two circular needles—one 16 inches long and one 32 inches long—in both size 5 (3.75 mm) and size 7 (4.5 mm), or sizes adjusted to match the required gauge. The smaller needles are typically used for ribbed cuffs and neckbands, while the larger needles are used for the main fabric.

The pattern calls for a gauge of 19 stitches and 27 rounds equal 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch using the larger needle. Achieving accurate gauge is essential for proper fit; the pattern instructions emphasize checking gauge before beginning to ensure the finished measurements match the intended size.

Additional notions required include stitch markers to denote pattern repeats and shaping points, and waste yarn to temporarily hold stitches during construction, allowing the knitter to work on different sections of the garment.