Seaside Tunic Top Knitting Pattern

Seaside Tunic in Juniper Moon Zooey Aran

What Is Being Made

The Seaside Tunic is a knitted pullover top designed by Tabetha Hedrick using Juniper Moon Farm Zooey Aran yarn. This garment is a versatile, everyday tunic available in seven sizes ranging from XS to 3X, with finished bust measurements from 33 inches to 57 inches and lengths from approximately 24¾ inches to 29½ inches. The tunic features a classic silhouette worked in a textured stitch pattern and includes shaping at the neckline for a refined fit.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Seaside Tunic employs fundamental flat knitting construction, meaning the garment pieces are worked flat on straight needles and then seamed together rather than being worked in the round. The pattern incorporates strategic decreasing techniques to shape the neckline, using k2tog (knit two stitches together) and ssk (slip, slip, knit) decreases to create a gradual neck opening. The back piece is worked with simultaneous two-sided shaping, requiring the knitter to work both shoulders at once using separate balls of yarn. This technique maintains pattern continuity while creating symmetrical neck shaping. The garment is designed with two selvedge stitches on each side to facilitate clean seaming.

Stitches Used

The primary stitch pattern throughout the Seaside Tunic is Seed Stitch, a fundamental textured stitch that creates a bumpy, reversible fabric. Seed Stitch is worked over a multiple of 2 stitches plus 2 edge stitches. On right-side rows, the pattern alternates knit and purl stitches, beginning and ending with a knit stitch. On wrong-side rows, the pattern reverses, with purl stitches appearing where knit stitches were worked on the previous row, and knit stitches appearing where purls were worked. This creates the characteristic textured appearance. The pattern also incorporates basic decrease stitches—k2tog and ssk—exclusively for neckline shaping, keeping the overall stitch vocabulary accessible to intermediate knitters.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Seaside Tunic is designed to be worked in Juniper Moon Farm Zooey Aran, an aran-weight yarn. The main color (MC) requires 3 to 5 skeins of 100 grams each, depending on size, in color #1010 Grape Ice—a cool-toned purple shade. A contrast color (CC) of 1 skein in #1002 White Pepper is also listed in the materials, though specific placement in the pattern excerpt is not detailed. The pattern calls for US 7 (4.5 mm) straight needles for the main fabric and US 7 (4.5 mm) double-pointed needles for any ribbed or fitted sections. Additional notions include a tapestry needle for seaming and four stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats and shaping points. The recommended gauge is 16 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in Seed Stitch, making this a moderately dense fabric suitable for a structured tunic silhouette.

Construction Summary

The Seaside Tunic begins with casting on stitches for the back piece and establishing the Seed Stitch pattern. After working the body to the appropriate length, the knitter decreases stitches at the neckline using paired decreases on both sides. The neck shaping is worked simultaneously on both shoulders, requiring careful attention to pattern maintenance. Once the back is complete, similar construction is used for the front piece, and all pieces are then seamed together using the selvedge stitches. This straightforward construction method makes the Seaside Tunic an excellent project for knitters seeking to practice fundamental shaping techniques while creating a wearable, textured garment.