Your basket is empty.
Continue Shopping
Wrap Top
Wrap yourself in a light, earthy, and effortless garment. Knit in our expressive Sketchbook Cotton yarn, the Wrap Top pattern is full of quiet beauty and understated grace… And it’s a joy to knit, too!
This top has a clever construction that will keep you intrigued as the garment’s form emerges. Knit flat in one piece, you begin at the bottom edge of the back and knit up towards the shoulders. After shaping the armholes and back neck, you knit the left and right front panels separately from the top down.
You’ll finish the edges with an attached I-cord, which flows seamlessly into ties that let you shape the garment to your personal perfect fit each time you wear it. The final step is to seam the sides with mattress stitch, leaving a gap for the I-cord to pass through and a split hem for a relaxed silhouette.
We pared back this design in order to spotlight the grounded elegance of Sketchbook Cotton, an artistic yarn that’s the perfect canvas for your creativity. Made in Japan, this DK-weight yarn is as soft a pencil stroke, with a velvety touch and a subtle thick-and-thin texture that adds rustic character to every stitch.
Pick from a dozen beautiful colors, including tweed-y neutrals and a palette of rich solids, each with a lovely matte quality. We chose Moth Wing, a gentle marl with a warm and natural beauty.
Craft your own Wrap Top in Sketchbook Cotton… You’ll revel in the organic texture of every stitch and delight in having knit a perfect fit!
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 55 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho designer, Laura Ferguson.
Story written by Andrea Lotz for Purl Soho.
Materials
- 7 (8, 9, 9, 10) (11, 12, 13, 14) skeins of Purl Soho’s Sketchbook Cotton, 100% cotton yarn. Each ball of this light worsted/DK-weight yarn is 150 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 980 (1090, 1215, 1320, 1450) (1575, 1725, 1865, 2025) total yards required. We used the color Moth Wing.
- US 4 (3.5 mm), 24-inch circular knitting needles
- Two US 4 double pointed needles for I-cords
- A stitch holder or scrap yarn
- Removable stitch markers
- A Wrap Top Pattern PDF
GAUGE
22 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked
SIZES
NOTE: For help picking a size, please check out our Understanding Ease + Selecting Your Size Tutorial!
36½ (40½, 44½, 48½, 52½) (56½, 60½, 64½, 68½)
To fit actual chest circumference of 31–33 (35–37, 39–41, 43–45, 47–49) (51–53, 55–57, 59–61, 63–65) inches, with approximately 3½–5½ inches of ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 36½ (40½, 44½, 48½, 52½) (56½, 60½, 64½, 68½) inches
- Finished Length from High Shoulder to Bottom Edge: 24¾ (25¼, 25½, 25¾, 26) (26¼, 26¾, 27¼, 27¾) inches
- Finished Length from Underarm to Bottom Edge: 17¼ (17¼, 17, 17, 17) (17¼, 17½, 18, 18¼) inches
- Finished Length from Low Shoulder to Underarm: 6 (6½, 7, 7¼, 7½) (7½, 7¾, 7¾, 8) inches
Sample: The top shown here is size 40½, worn with 7½ inches of ease. This is a little more ease than recommended, but we still love it!
PATTERN
The Wrap Top Pattern is available as a PDF.
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!
LEARN ABOUT SKETCHBOOK COTTON + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
Earthy yet elegant, Sketchbook Cotton brings an incredibly soft hand and an appealing texture to this project! A cotton yarn made in Japan with a mix of Mexican-grown and American-grown Supima cotton, Sketchbook Cotton is full of quiet comfort, with a matte finish and a delightful, lived-in softness. This flexible light worsted/DK-weight yarn is conveniently machine-washable, too… Amazing for so many things you’ll want to knit!
More Free Knitting Patterns
- Be sure to explore our collection of Sketchbook Cotton knitting patterns and cast on!
More Light Worsted/DK-Weight Yarns
- Shop our entire collection of light worsted/DK-weight yarns (What does DK-weight yarn mean, really? Our guide to DK yarn will answer your questions and demystify.)
- If you want to use a different yarn, be sure to take the time to get the correct gauge. Need help? Check our All About Gauge Tutorial, our Yarn Substitution article, and our Complete Guide To Yarn for lots of helpful information.
More Yarns With Similar Fibers
- Shop cotton yarn (What helps cotton keep its cool? Learn all about this soft, natural fiber in our guide to cotton yarn!)
- Shop machine-washable yarn
- Shop plant-based yarn
Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our knitting patterns (including tons of free knitting patterns) and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!
OMG! I love this! My big question, however, is how difficult would it be to add sleeves? Please let me know so that I can figure out how much more yardage to add. Thanks!!
Hi Jessica,
We’re so happy you love this design and that’s a great question! While we haven’t released a version of this pattern featuring sleeves yet, I think that’s a lovely idea and have some suggestions for how you could add those.
You could knit the garment as written and then you can pick up stitches around the arm holes for the sleeves, joining in the round and then knitting in the round to create the sleeve! Once the sleeve is your preferred length, you can then do the Attached I-Cord as the last step. You could work in some decreases as your sleeve gets a bit longer based on how fitted you would like it to be. I recommend trying the garment on incrementally to determine where you’d like those decreases to be. Then, you’ll just need to repeat the same for the other sleeve!
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
All the best,
Gavriella
For this wrap top there are some rows that give directions:
Row 1 (RS): sl3, k to end of row.
Row 2 (WS): sl3, p to end of row.
Are these sl3 kwise for RS rows and pwise for WS rows?
Thanks!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for writing in! On right-side rows: Slip stitches purlwise with yarn in back. On wrong-side rows: Slip stitches purlwise with yarn in front.
Happy knitting!
Gavriella
Hi! Do you think this top would knit well in a wool yarn? I want something a bit more structured with some memory/bounce back to it.
Thank you.
Hi Candice!
Thank you for writing in! Yes, this top would knit beautifully in a wool yarn. That’s a great choice if you’re looking for more structure and bounce. Wool will give you better elasticity and memory, so the fabric will hold its shape more than plant-based fibers. Some nice options to consider are Knitting Yarn DK, Good Wool, or Plein Air, depending on the weight and feel you’re after.
As always, we recommend knitting a quick swatch to make sure you like the fabric and are meeting gauge. It sounds like it will be a lovely version!
Happy Knitting!
Megan
Another question: I am planning to knit the third size with the Sketchbook cotton and I see that the pattern states that I need 8 skeins. Each skein is 150 yards which equates to 1200 total yards. The pattern states that I need approximately 1215 yards. Shouldn’t I purchase 9 skeins? Thank you!
Hi Candice!
Thank you for writing in with this question! I’m so happy to hear you’re interested in knitting the Wrap Top in Sketchbook Cotton!
I would suggest grabbing 9 balls of Sketchbook Cotton for size 3. However, if you already have 8 balls, you’d likely be able to make this work! We’re going to make an update to this page and the pattern to reflect that change to the materials. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention!
I hope this helps. Thanks again for letting us know, and please feel free to reach out with any other questions!
Happy knitting!
Hills
I’d love to know if Blackbird Linen would work well with this pattern. Thanks for your thoughts.
Hi Susan,
Thanks so much for reaching out with your question. I’m so glad you’re considering the Wrap Top next, and happy to help! This sounds like a really lovely project.
Blackbird Linen (5.5-5.75 sts/inch) could knit up to the same gauge as Sketchbook Cotton (5-6sts/inch). The pattern gauge is 22 sts/4inches (or 5.5 sts/inch).
I would always recommend knitting (and blocking) a gauge swatch (especially when substituting yarns) to ensure you meet the gauge listed in the pattern, and that you like the look and feel of the fabric. You’re likely to see more drape, as linen has less elasticity and stitch memory… It does, however, boast a lovely crisp and high drape fabric which softens upon washing and wearing. You’ll likely find a garment that is breezy with a lovely drape, but a little less structured.
I hope this helps, and please feel free to reach out with any other questions you might have.
Happy knitting!
Hills
I love this top but would like to make it a bit shorter and a higher v-neck wrap.
I think I can just shorten the body but not sure how to raise the neckline/wrap. I love the extra ease as well so plan to knit one size up from my usual.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Patti,
Thanks for reaching out about this pattern! You’re absolutely right that you can adjust the length by shortening the body… You’ll just want to make sure to do the same modifications on the fronts and back so that you’ll have even pieces to seam.
As for raising the neckline, the easiest way to do this is simply to tie the i-cord more tightly, which will cause the fronts to overlap more and raise the v-neck. Another option is to begin the neckline shaping sooner on both the left and right sides, but this would be a bit more complicated.
We hope this helps you get started! Please let us know if you have any other questions along the way.
Kindly,
Allison
Hello, I’m a novice knitter trying to make this. Are the German short rows necessary, I’m finding the instructions confusing.
Hi Diana,
Thanks so much for reaching out, and welcome to the craft! We’re so glad you’re here.
Short Rows, in general, provide shaping to the garment. Typically, its used to give your shoulders and chest room to move around, or for waist or sleeve shaping. German Short Rows (and short rows in general) can sometimes be a little tricky to get the hang of… you’re not alone!
I’d recommend trying out Wrap and Turn Short Rows and seeing if you prefer those. They’re pretty interchangeable and some folks prefer one over the other. If you’re still running into trouble, we offer 1-On-1 Help sessions, and we would love to work through this with you!
I hope this helps, and please feel free to reach out with any other questions you might have!
Happy knitting,
Hills