Knit Your First Top with Leesi

I love a good skill-building top that is great for people who are new to knitting tops or sweaters but is interesting enough for people with more experience, too.

The Leesi Tee by Lanre Ojikutu is a simple raglan with cap sleeves. The design is straightforward but includes a panel a diamond-shaped lace eyelets running down the center front, which is a great way to learn the basics of lace knitting or just to break up the monotony of a stockinette stitch project. It also adds a bit of air flow if you are knitting and wearing this top in the summer.

The pattern is worked from the top down in worsted weight yarn (she used Lion Brand Pima Cotton but any smooth cotton would do nicely). It is offered in nine sizes, to fit from a 28-30 inch bust to a 60-62 inch bust. Because it is made with cotton, which has a tendency to stretch over time, the pattern is actually intended to be worked with 1-2 inches of negative ease.

I always like to know where the names of projects come from, and Lanre helpfully adds in her pattern notes that lessi is from the word for lace in Nigerian Yoruba. So fun! You can get this pattern on Ravelry.

The addition of lace or eyelets is actually one of my favorite style features for summer garments. If you’re looking for more lacy top knitting patterns, I’ve got a little collection here. (And don’t miss the Maya top, which has some eyelets, too, and is just so pretty!)

If you’re more of a tank top person, I’ve been sharing a lot of individual patterns for tank tops lately such as the Totally Tank Top and the Split Back Tank.

Not summer where you live? I’ve got you covered, too! Check out my recent roundup of hoodie knitting patterns to keep you warm and cozy (and if you’re my teen, you’re still wearing hoodies even if it’s warm outside. No judgement!)

[Photo: Lanre Ojikutu]

When I discovered Kate Atherley’s book Circular Knitting for Beginners and Beyond, I wasn’t sure there was enough to say about circular knitting to fill a book. It’s a pretty short book (144 pages) and includes 10 patterns to practice working in the round on small projects, and it provides a decent introduction to the various ways of working in the round.

The book covers using double pointed knitting needles, flexible double points and circular knitting needles with cables. It talks about working using the full circumference of a circular needle and various ways to work smaller circumference projects, such as using DPNs, magic loop and knitting with two circular knitting needles.

In addition there’s a discussion of preventing problems like twists and ladders, swatching in the round without actually swatching in the round, grafting, blocking and weaving in ends.

More specialized techniques likes knitting from the center out, stranded colorwork, helical knitting and jogless stripes are also explored, as well as working pieces like socks or mitts two at a time.

There’s also some information about seamless sweaters, including the different sweater designs that can be worked seamlessly (and why you might want seams in your sweaters) and how they are worked from the top down or the bottom up.

There are 10 patterns in the book, including a basic stockinette stitch cowl and one with a deliberate twist, wrist warmers, mitts and a pair of colorwork mittens, a hat worked in a solid color or in helical stripes, toe up and top down socks and a beret. It would have been nice to have a basic sweater pattern, too, since the book does talk about working larger garments with circular needles, but it’s still a nice collection of basic patterns worked in the round.

If you’re already comfortable working in the round in different ways, I’m not sure there’s much for you to learn in this book, but it is a good reference for people learning circular knitting or who maybe haven’t tried all the techniques yet or need skill building projects to try.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 10 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Have you read?