Stacy Charles Fine Yarns Union Square Top Knitting Pattern

Stacy Charles Fine Yarns Union Square Top

What Is Being Made

The Union Square Top is a seamless, bottom-up knitted sweater designed by Shaina Bilow. This pullover garment features horizontal stripes and is available in six sizes ranging from Small to 3X, with finished bust measurements from 36 inches (91.5 cm) to 56 inches (142 cm) and lengths from 21½ inches (54.5 cm) to 26½ inches (67.5 cm).

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several key knitting techniques to create a polished, professional finish:

• Seamless construction: The entire garment is worked in the round using circular needles, eliminating the need for seaming and creating a continuous fabric without side seams.
• Bottom-up construction: The sweater is knitted from the lower edge upward, allowing for easy length adjustments and straightforward shaping.
• Stripes: The design incorporates horizontal color stripes created by alternating between the main color and two contrasting accent colors throughout the body of the sweater.
• Worked in the round: Using circular needles in two sizes (16-inch and 32-inch lengths), the piece is knitted continuously in rounds rather than flat rows, which helps maintain consistent gauge and creates a seamless fabric.
• Decreasing: Strategic decreases using k2tog (knit 2 together) shaping are incorporated to fit the garment to the body, with size-specific decrease rounds provided to accommodate different finished dimensions.

Stitches Used

The Union Square Top utilizes two primary stitch patterns:

• Stockinette stitch: The main fabric is worked in stockinette stitch, created by knitting all stitches in every round. This produces a smooth, classic knit fabric with a V-shaped stitch pattern on the right side.
• K2, p2 rib: A knit 2, purl 2 ribbed pattern is used for finishing edges and cuffs. This reversible stitch pattern is worked over a multiple of 4 stitches, with knit stitches and purl stitches alternating to create vertical columns that provide elasticity and a neat, fitted edge.

Materials and Gauge

The Union Square Top is designed to be knitted with Stacy Charles Fine Yarns LENA, a luxury blend yarn composed of 48% baby alpaca, 32% extrafine merino wool, and 20% silk. Each ball weighs 1.75 ounces (50 grams) and contains 164 yards (150 meters) of yarn. The pattern requires 3 to 5 balls of the main color #01 silver (MC), depending on size, plus 1 ball each of colors #07 sapphire (A) and #06 topaz (B) for the stripe detail.

Knitting needles required include one pair each of size 6 (4mm) circular needles in both 16-inch (40 cm) and 32-inch (80 cm) lengths for the main fabric, and one pair each of size 5 (3.75mm) circular needles in the same lengths for ribbed edges. The recommended gauge is 18 stitches and 22 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch on the larger needles, and 18 stitches and 22 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in k2, p2 rib on the larger needles. Additional supplies include stitch markers to track pattern repeats and a yarn needle for weaving in ends.

Pattern Details

The pattern is worked with the wrong side (knit side) facing during construction, then reversed to show the right side when the piece is complete. This technique creates a distinctive fabric appearance. The ribbed cuffs and finishing edges are created using the smaller needles to provide a snug, elastic fit, while the main body is worked on the larger needles in stockinette stitch. Size-specific shaping instructions are provided throughout, ensuring proper fit across all six size options. The pattern concludes with a bind-off worked knitwise to secure all stitches.