An Easy Aran Knit Top

The weather is cooling down here in Cape Town, not that you’d notice today as it’s about 24 degrees C.  But in general it is.  The mornings and evenings are colder.  So at long last the temperature is more conducive to wearing knits.  And today’s pattern is an easy Aran knit, using our beautifully squishy Aran Single yarn of course.  It’s a lovely balanced blend of 80% merino and 20% kid mohair.  In our climate this works well as a slightly looser knit.  And that’s what “Zelda” is.  I like sleeveless tops because it’s not always cold enough to wear a full jersey.  With this knit top you have a nice middle ground.  You get a bit of a drape sleeve effect by knitting it a little wide, without the hassle of sleeve shaping.  So it’s a pretty quick project.  You’ll be stylish and warm in no time!

MATERIALS
4 x Cowgirlblues Aran Single, I used Chilli Pepper
8mm and 6mm 100cm circular needles

SIZE
This loose fit top knits up ~ 60cm wide and ~50cm long. To make it wider cast on more stitches, or fewer to make it narrower. Knit more pattern repeats to make it longer or fewer if you prefer shorter. It’s knit in two pieces so whatever you do to the front make sure to repeat for the back!

GAUGE
11st and 18 rows to 10x10cm in stocking stitch

STITCH GLOSSARY
K: knit                                                                         P: purl
K2tog: Knit two stitches together                                P2tog: purl two stitches together
Sl: Slip                                                                        Tbl: through back of loop

KNITTING INSTRUCTIONS
Cast on 76 stitches
Throughout the project: slip the first stitch of every row knitwise and knit the last stitch of every row through the back of the loop.

Pattern repeat
R1: Slip 1 knitwise, P1, K1, Knit to last 3 stitches, K1, P1, K1tbl
R2: Slip 1 knitwise, P1, K1, Purl to last 3 stitches, K1, P1, K1tbl
R3&4: Repeat rows 1 and 2
R5: Slip 1 knitwise, P1, K1, (YO, P2tog) and repeat () to last 3 stitches, K1, P1, K1tbl

Repeat Rows 1-5 until work measures ~46 cm (8 Repeats)
Because this is a 5 row repeat your stocking stitch rows will alternate with right and wrong side facing, creating a stripe effect.
Finish with rows 1 to 4
Place stitches on a cable so that you can use them to knit the hem band.
Knit a second piece like the first.
Join the shoulders and leave a gap of ~25cm for the neck.
Join the side seams and leave ~27cm for each armhole.

Put all the stitches onto a 6mm circular needle and starting from one side seam edge knit in garter stitch as follows:
R1: (K3, k2tog), repeat to last 4st, K4
Turn and work 4 more knit rows to get the garter stitch pattern. Don’t K2tog on rows 2-4 unless you want a narrower waistband.
Cast off.
The tightness of your cast off row will determine the tightness of your bottom edge.
Make it tighter or looser depending on your fit preference.

FINISH
Join the waistband side seam, weave in all your ends, handwash gently and dry flat.
Head over to the online shop to buy your yarn here.

Happy knitting!

PS if you want to find more of our patterns visit the Cowgirlblues Ravelry page