Zebrina is a summer top inspired by vintage tea-dresses, made in fine linen yarn held double. The top is knitted top-down, starting with the contiguous method for the shoulders, then working the fronts and back flat separately to the underarms.

The body can be worked flat with a functional button opening, or in the round, with a faux button-band. Each design element is chosen with care to work with linen yarn, using folded hems throughout.

I hope you will enjoy this pattern, and if you need any help, please do not hesitate to contact me in my Ravelry group ‘Skeindeer Knits’. It’s the best place for swift support.

Yarn
Midwinter Yarns Lithuanian Linen (100% linen, 450 m / 492 yds, 100 g). Yarn is held double throughout.

Alternatives: Karin Oberg Kalinka, Växbo Lingarn 12/2, Katia Lino 100%, Wollen Berlin Lino Müka etc, or other light fingering weight linen yarn.

Amount held double (divide by 2 if you are using a single strand): (1081, 1188, 1323, 1401) (1514, 1600, 1747, 1869) / (1182, 1299, 1447, 1533) (1656, 1750, 1911, 2044) yds.

Needles
Circular gauge-size needles for body and sleeves, and 1/2 mm below gauge-size needles for folded hems and bands.

The sample was made using 5 mm (US 8) and 4.5 mm (US 7).

Gauge
16 sts x 26 rnds = 10 cm / 4” in stockinette.

Sizes
Garment bust: (82, 92, 102, 112) (122, 132, 142, 152) cm / (32, 36, 40, 44) (48, 52, 56, 60)”.
To be worn with 0-5cm / 0-2” ease.
The sample is knit in size 4.

Notions
6 stitch markers
4 buttons, 25 mm diameter
Contrast yarn for bind-off

Construction
Zebrina is worked top-down similar to the contiguous method, starting with shoulder shaping worked flat before shaping for the neckline. However, becasue this is a sleeveless shirt, the fronts and the back are worked separately flat, before being joined together at the underarm.

At the underarm you can choose whether to join all pices and work in the round, and finish with a faux button-band. Alternatively, you can work the pieces together flat and finish with two facing button-bands with a functional button-opening.

The garment features some shaping for the underarms so that the shoulders sit about equally on the shoulders across sizes. The armholes, neck-and-button bands and lower hem are all finished with folded hems.