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Can you imagine a better project to celebrate a knitting milestone than using up all the leftover yarn from your past projects? The Flashback Top marks my 5th year as a self-published knitwear designer and includes bits of most of the yarns I’ve used in my designs over the years. Each strand has its story, connecting back to the original projects and creating a web of memories.

Working on it was a delightful trip down memory lane, all condensed into this quick and versatile top. It’s probably the most sentimental project I’ve ever completed, yet one of the simplest and timeless designs.The simplicity is intentional—I wanted to ensure that no stitch pattern or construction detail detracts from the yarn’s story.

A detailed pattern deep-dive video is available on our YouTube channel. This video covers the construction, techniques, and tips in greater detail.

What made it even more exciting was that I pre-wound the yarn before starting. This approach meant I didn’t have to worry about picking colours or their placement while knitting—I left it all to chance, adding an element of surprise. This unpredictability kept me engaged and eager to see where the next colour change would pop up and how it would look in the overall design.

For this top, I chose two contrasting fingering weight yarns and alternated them independently. One yarn was always a neutral light shade, providing a consistent background, while the other was a darker or brighter hue, but not too different from the previous shade to avoid stark contrasts. This careful selection ensured a harmonious blend of colours throughout the garment.

This top is worked seamlessly from the top down, making it easy to try on as you go and make it as short or long as you’d like. It also offers two sleeve options to suit different preferences

I hope you find as much joy in knitting this top as I did. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate past projects while creating something new and meaningful. Happy knitting!

And if you’d like to join a group of knitters who have already made this sweater, feel free to join our Slack community, then find and join the flashback channel.

Difficulty: Intermediate.

Sizes: 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

Finished bust circumference:

• 82 (92, 102, 112, 122, 132, 142, 152, 162) cm
• 32¾ (36¾, 40¾, 44¾, 48¾, 52¾, 56¾, 60¾, 64¾)”

Designed to be worn with 0-10 cm / 0-4” positive ease around the chest.
To choose the most appropriate size, measure the wearer’s chest and add the preferred ease. Or measure the circumference of an already-owned top that fits well. Then find the closest finished chest circumference.

Yarn: DK weight or fingering held double (double the provided yardage if choosing this option). Depending on the length of the top and whether you choose to add sleeves, allow approximately:

• 560 (650, 725, 795, 875, 955, 1035, 1135, 1235) m
• 615 (710, 795, 870, 955, 1045, 1135, 1240, 1350) yds

Yarn used in the sample (Size 2) is 300 g of fingering weight leftover yarn, approximately 360-400 m 394-438 yds /100 g held double and most are wool blends.

Gauge: 20 sts & 28 rows = 10 cm / 4” in Stockinette stitch on larger needles, blocked.

Suggested needles:

• 4 mm (US 6) circulars 60-100 cm / 24-40″ long and (optional) DPNs for small circumference knitting
• 3.75 mm (US 5) circulars 60-100 cm / 24-40″ long and (optional) DPNs for small circumference knitting

Notions: Stitch markers, row counter, scissors, tape measure, stitch holders or waste yarn, tapestry needle, (optionally) locking st markers or bobby pins if working Japanese short rows.

Techniques used: Backwards loop cast-on, cable cast-on, lifted increases, knitting in the round, tubular bind-off, short rows.

Construction notes: This top is worked seamlessly from the top down, beginning with a cast-on at the back neckline, followed by shoulder shaping using lifted increases. The back is worked down to the underarms, incorporating increases for armhole shaping.
Subsequently, stitches are picked up along the back shoulders to form the front shoulders. Each side is worked individually, using decreases to sculpt the front armhole, and continues down to the point where the fronts are joined by casting on additional stitches, completing the front neckline. The front is then continued down to the underarms, with increases for the armholes.
The back and front are joined, and stitches for the underarm are cast on using a cable cast-on. The body is knitted as one entity to the hem, finishing with a 1x1 rib on smaller needles.
The neckband is added by picking up stitches around the neckline, followed by a short 1x1 rib knitted in the round on smaller needles.
For the sleeves or armbands, stitches are picked up along the shoulder edges and the underarm cast-on edge.

• The sleeve caps are shaped using short rows, and then the sleeves continue round to the desired length, finishing with a 1x1 rib.

• The armbands are worked in 1x1 Twisted rib with sligh short-row shaping.