You never know when the inspiration hits you.
I had some lovely summer yarn in my stash that I wanted to make into a top, but I had no idea what to do with it.
One day, on my way home, I saw a laurel alley. These evergreen trees, full of light green and dark brown fruit, suddenly made me think of a pattern!
Laurus is a comfortable, simple top with some colorful details on the yoke. The textured pattern and the colors I chose remind me of those laurel trees.

Laurus top is a circular yoke that is worked seamlessly from the top down. The neck is worked first, after that, several series of short rows are used for a comfortable and beautifully shaped finish.
The yoke is shaped with increases that are evenly distributed around the entire circumference of the upper body.
Sleeves are then placed on hold and the body is worked toward the hem.
The sleeve stitches are then placed on the needles again and the stitches are bound off using an i-cord cast-off technique (for the short-sleeve version). Or the sleeve stitches are worked toward the cuffs, making some decreases only in the last round, followed by an i-cord cast-off (for ¾ sleeve length).
Beginner-friendly as you only work with 2 colors at a time.
Please note that the stranded pattern is charted only.
As the top is knitted top-down lengths are easily adaptable.
The lower edge of the body and the sleeves are finished with an i-cord bind-off.

Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Bust circumference of the finished top: 86 (96, 108, 120, 130, 140, 152) cm / 33¾ (37¾ , 42½ , 47¼, 51¼, 55, 59¾ )’’. The top is designed to be worn with approximately 5-10 cm / 2-4’’ of positive ease.
Model has 85 cm / 33½’’ bust, stands 164 cm / 64½’’ and is wearing size 2.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
A = Bust circumference
B = Yoke depth
C = Length from armhole to lower edge
D = Armhole circumference
E = Sleeves length (from underarm)
F = Arm circumference (for ¾ sleeve)

Yarn
Belle, by Garn Studio
53% cotton, 33% viscosa, 14% linen — 50g/120m
Sample shown in shade 23 — (MC), shade 25 — (CC1), shade 10 — (CC2)
MC: 661 (724, 792, 854, 915, 986, 1048) m / 722 (792, 876, 934, 802, 1001, 1078, 1146) yds
¾ sleeve version:
MC: 901 (974, 1032, 1134, 1205, 1286, 1358) m / 985 (1065, 1128, 1240, 1317, 1406, 1485) yds
CC: 40 (50, 72, 85, 96, 110, 120) m / 43 (55, 72, 93, 104, 120, 130) yds
Note: use one or more CC. The yardage here is overall for both colors, shown here.

Alternative yarn: Line, by Sandnes Garn

Needles
3,5 mm / US 4 circular needle 24”/60 cm or 32”/80 cm and 4 mm / 6 US circular needle 24”/60 cm or 32”/80 cm

Notions
1 stitch marker) • waste yarn for holding the sleeve stitches • tapestry needle to weave in the yarn ends • 4 mm crochet hook for provisional cast-on

Gauge
20 sts and 30 rows - 10x10 cm / 4x4’’ in stockinette stitch in the round and in colorwork pattern with 4 mm / US 6 needles, washed and blocked.
You may want to go up in needle size if your colorwork swatch is tight.