The Versitop is designed to be a top, tunic or dress! Versatile in size and style and a practical, fun piece for a girl’s wardrobe (or mum’s!).

It has very generous ease, so if knitting for a little one, start off at dress length and over the years it will become a tunic and then a top. If knitting for an older girl (or yourself), choose a more fitted size with little or no ease and knit to desired length.

Choose a plain yarn, a gradient, variegated or striped yarn and then make it a totally unique piece with your choice of shoulder fastening and embellishment. Or leave it plain if the yarn is doing all the talking.

You can use 10ply/worst yarn (wool and alpaca and their blends work well) for a thicker, heavier garment - great for layering with leggings, jeans and long-sleeved tops. You can also use 8ply/DK yarn (cotton works well) for a lighter, drapier piece - great in summer over shorts and skirts or by itself as a dress.

Construction: It is knit from the top down starting with a simple but versatile edging and then knit flat until the armholes. The front and back pieces are then joined and the remainder of the top/tunic/dress is knit in the round with gentle A-line increases. The piece is finished with a simple rolled hem, with some alternative hems suggested in the pattern. This is meant to be easy “tv knitting”.

This pattern is suitable for an advanced beginner keen on gaining new skills and/or experience or for an expert who needs something in their hands that’s relatively mindless.

Skills Needed:

• cast on
• cast off
• knitting
• purling
• decreasing (k2tog)
• increasing (yo, m1L, m1R)
• knitting flat
• knitting in the round
• stockinette
• crochet (optional)
• i-cord (optional, explained in pattern)
• embroidery (optional, explained in pattern)

The top is sized with a finished chest from 54.5 to 93 cm / 21.5 to 36.5”, roughly corresponding to 1-16 years, and is meant to be worn with 3-4 inches of ease for children and 0-2 inches of ease for teenagers and slim adults. For best results, choose a size based on measurements rather than age.

Yardage:
It is difficult to specify the yardage because it depends on how long you want the Versitop to be. Below, I have specified approximate yardage for the tunic length. A top will obviously take less yarn and a dress more.

Size (finished chest): m / yd

Size 1 (52 cm / 20.5”): 255 m / 275 yd
Size 1.5 (56 cm / 22”): 290 m / 315 yd
Size 2 (60 cm / 23.5”): 325 m / 355 yd
Size 4 (65 cm / 25.5”): 420 m / 455 yd
Size 6 (68.5 cm / 27”): 510 m / 555 yd
Size 8 (72.5 cm / 28.5”): 620 m / 675 yd
Size 10 (76 cm / 30”): 675 m / 735 yd
Size 12 (81 cm / 32”): 730 m / 800 yd
Size 14 (85 cm / 33.5”): 790 m / 865 yd
Size 16 (89 cm / 35”): 855 m / 930 yd

Note: the larger sizes overlap with small adult sizes.

File Size: Approximately 670 kb.

Acknowledgments: Many thanks to my testers Abelo, hexlein, Walkthedog, Bing27, knitaddicted and Telse.

For pattern support and general interest please visit the SparrowPlay group here on Ravelry.

Copyright Statement: Please respect my copyright and do not duplicate this pattern other than for personal use. Do not steal this pattern by selling it for your own profit or giving copies of it away. I am an independent designer and it took a lot of work to create and write up this pattern.
If you have purchased this pattern, I regard any items you make from it as your own creative work and thus you may dispose of them as you wish – gifts, fundraising, charity knitting, even cottage-selling. I reserve the right to negotiate a different arrangement for any larger scale commercial enterprises.
By purchasing this pattern, you agree to these terms and conditions.