This beautiful striped V-neck top is knit from the bottom up and features shaping designed to accommodate and flatter the tummy. I designed it as a maternity top but it would also be great for curvy women. The shaping at the bust draws the eye to the narrowest part of your figure during pregnancy. The stripes blend into each other to create a pretty, gradient effect.

Written in US sizing and terminology. Model (AKA me at 30 weeks pregnant) is wearing size large with 1” positive ease. Sample was a prototype so some features may have changed slightly.

Within the pattern, sizes are color coded and written like this: S (M, L, XL, XXL)

Size: Hip Waist Bust Length
S 34-36” 26-28” 31-33” 27”
M 37-39” 29-32” 34-36” 28”
L 41-42” 34-37” 37-40” 29”
XL 45-49” 39-42” 43-46” 30”
XXL 52-54” 44-46” 48-50” 31”

Whenever possible, work from the measurements of the person the garment is intended to fit. You can use these measurements to customize the garment by adding or subtracting decrease/increase rows at the waist or the bust. If you would like the garment to be longer than the measurements shown above, I suggest purchasing an extra ball or two of yarn - you could even add a 6th color!

Ease: The ribbed panel in the back adds about 2” of positive ease to the belly and 1” at the waist and bust. Finished garment measurements below are measured laid flat, without stretching the ribbing out.

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Worsted (Worsted; 60% pima cotton, 40% beech wood modal; 75 yards/50 grams): For sizes S-L, 2 skeins used in Willow (Color A), Cream (B), and White (E), 1 skein of Cosmopolitan (D). Knit Picks Shine Worsted (Worsted; 75% pima cotton, 25% acrylic; 109 yards/50 grams): 1 skein used in Peony (Color C). For XL and XXL, two balls of Color C and Color D should be used. For this project I recommend a cotton blend yarn - the cotton will help the shirt maintain its shape and not “grow” while blending it with another material helps make it softer and easier to work with.

Color choice advice: I specifically chose bright colors to go around my bust line in order to draw attention up towards my face and away from my stomach. I kept the rest of the colors neutral but still interesting. While the pinks contrast with the more neutral tan and brown tones, they are all warm colors that go well together. Try to pick colors that are either all within the same tonal family (multiple shades of blue, etc.) or colors that are next to each other on the rainbow (blue, indigo, and violet for example). You could also create a more traditional ombre of light to dark colors.

Gauge: 19 stitches/27 rows in stockinette stitch = 4” using 5mm/US 8 needles

Needles: 5mm / US 8 (or size to meet gauge) circular needles with a long cable, 30” or more. Interchangeable needles are handy for this as you will be dividing the front and back sections.

Other materials: stitch markers (About 10 markers. Several need to be removable. A marker in a different color is helpful to mark the start of the round), stitch holder (or use interchangeable cables or spare yarn), tapestry needle.

Difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced

Stitches and abbreviations:

Stitches - st./st.’s
Knit - K
Purl - P
Place Marker - PM
Slip Marker - SM
Slip 1 Knitwise, Knit 1, Pass Slip Stitch Over - SKP
Slip 1 Purlwise, Purl 1, Pass Slip Stitch Over - SPP
Knit 2 Together - K2Tog
Purl 2 Together - P2Tog
Kitchener stitch
Right Lifted Increase - RLI - Knit into the right shoulder of the stitch directly below the next stitch on your left needle.
Left Lifted Increase - LLI - Knit into the left shoulder of the stitch 2 stitches below the last stitch on your right needle.

If you are unfamiliar with any of the above stitches and techniques, YouTube is full of great video tutorials to help with them. My favorites include New Stitch A Day & Very Pink Knits, both of which have tutorials on the above stitches. For the right and left lifted increase stitches, I learned from the instructions provided on twistcollective.com

Cast On and Cast Off: A stretchy cast on such as long tail or Jeny’s stretchy cast on is recommended. A standard cast off will be fine for the stitches in the back of the shirt. The straps are cast off by grafting with kitchener stitch.

Construction: The top is worked from the bottom up, in rounds until the arm holes. Then the back is worked in rows with the front left on stitch holders, the front is worked in rows and divided to create the V-neck, and at last the straps are grafted together.

Stripes - The stripes are blended together by doing alternating rows of each color. To do 8 thin-striped rows as shown in most of the sample, you will need to reserve 7 yards at the end of each new colored ball of yarn. There are a few ways to do this - you can eyeball it (which is what I did in my sample, and it’s also why there are only 4 stripes between the hot pink and the white - I ran out of yarn!), or you can measure it out. One easy way to measure is to wrap yarn around a ruler (a yard is 3 feet, or 36”), or use your arms held out as a measurement - for example I know my “wingspan” is about a yard and a half. It’s best to do this before you start the new ball - you can use the center pull and reserve the extra yarn from the outer pull, or vice versa. Wrap the reserved yarn up into a loop and tie it with a hairband to keep it available for later (you could also cut it but then you’d have extra ends to weave in).

When asterisks appear in the pattern, repeat everything between the asterisks as many times as instructed.

If you are having trouble with the pattern please email me at carrievpray@gmail.com - I’ll be happy to help you!

You may feel free to sell tops made from this pattern but please attribute the pattern to me (Charissa Pray) and link to my website, www.charissapraydesigns.com . Do not take credit for the pattern, distribute copies of it, or use my photos as your own.