As a lifelong member of the itty bitty bitty committee, I am blessed that serious support isn’t something I have to worry about. I am totally obsessed with these little bra tops. I wear them in place of a regular bra pretty much everyday (even in the summertime!). They are great for wearing under other knits or blouses. They’re super cute worn on their own or layered up together. Something magical happens with that wool and small amount of sweat each day, so that the more you wear (and don’t wash :D) these, the more they will shape to fit your individual curves. While we often think of wool as keeping us warm, it does actually breath really well so these take a lot before they are worn enough to justify a wash.

I was first inspired by Girly Knits bra top pattern, which is written much better than this one, and is available free. Go check it out!! I like her pattern, but I wanted something top down and with thinner yarn.

So– soft, breathable comfort with minimal washing. LOVE.

When choosing a yarn, I recommend a 100% wool or a wool/nylon sock yarn. You want something light and stretchy. I do not recommend cotton or acrylic for this top. The wool is critical.

One of my favorite things about this pattern is that it allows you to use up an entire 100 g skein of yarn, such as some pretty MadelineTosh or Hedgehog Fibres. Because it’s worked top down, you can essentially just knit until you run out of yarn. If you’re trying to use up an entire skein, I recommend breaking the yarn after completing the waist shaping (and before you begin waist ribbing), then working the straps and edging, and finally rejoining the yarn to the waist. From here knit until you’ve got maybe 5 yards or so left, and bind off.

There are a ton of ways to modify this pattern and I’ve made quite a few versions.

This pattern is available for free on my linked blog, or you can purchase a PDF from my Ravelry shop.