Explaining Drops Pattern

Hi everyone, Once again I’m struggling to understand some pattern instructions and hoping that someone from the forum can help me. I picked this pattern for my daughter- in-law as the Fair Isle look is having a moment and the pattern with only 3 colours didn’t look too onerous.

The pattern I’m attempting is DROPS 210-2 RIVER CHALLENGE JACKET.
At the end of the section titled YOLK it says ‘Complete A1 (main colour) in height’
According to the pattern 1 ridge in height = Knit 2 rows.
Does this mean that I knit 2 rows? and what is the ridge?
The instructions continue Work 47 … stitches in garter stitch and stockinette stitch (= front piece)

  • why both types as the garment is in Knit throughout?
    It continues - place the next 60… st on 1 thread for the sleeve, cast on 6… new stitches on the needle (= in side under the sleeve)
    What does ‘in side under the sleeve’ mean?
    I haven’t knitted a top down cardigan before and the yolk is a bit strange but I thought I’d give it a go! Thank you.


Very nice stranded knitting. Always good to be adventurous and try something new, too.

The main part of the sweater is indeed knit in stockinette (knit a row on the RS, purl a row on the WS) but the buttonbands are garter stitch (knit both RS and WS rows). When you knit in garter stitch a ridge or row of bumps forms every 2 rows. You can see it if you zoom in on the buttonbands in the second Ravelry photo, short rows of bumps or ridges.

“Complete A.1” means to finish the chart for your size up to the last row. The chart is worked completely in stockinette. At the same time the buttonbands and only the buttonbands continue in garter stitch.

Drops patterns are translations and sometimes that is awkward. The newly cast on sts will be at the underarm. Later they will be joined to the sleeve sts.

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Hello
I’ll just add that the garter stitch button band is set up right at the beginning of the pattern, in the section marked NECK. Stitches are cast on, one wrong side row is purled right across then a set up row of 5 garter stitch for the button band, 2 x2 rib across, then 5 garter stitch for the other button band.
If it was me I’d put markers in 5 stitches in from each end to remind me these first and last 5 are garter stitch.

This button band will continue throughout and one side will need the button holes added at the correct places too.

I mention this because if you have already worked some of the pattern and not included these garter bands right from the beginning you might want to consider restarting, or adapting the pattern not to include the band but instead add a button band at the end but if this is the case you’d need to rework the stitch count to eliminate these 5 on each side.
It depends where you are up to, or if you were just reading ahead to get the idea of the pattern before starting.

Hope this helps.

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Thank you so much Salmonmac and Creations , I hadn’t expected such quick responses to my plea for help!!
I had completely forgotten about the garter stitch at the beginning of the rows, even though I have
knitted, including the garter band, as far as the ‘height’ instruction, how dumb is that!!!
Thank you also for clarifying about the stitches under the arm, I had an idea that that was what was meant but needed reassurance before continuing.
Thank you once again for helping me through my attempts at knitting, I try to challenge myself with different patterns but sometimes the obvious is hidden from me !!

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You’re so right to be challenging yourself with new projects, different pattern and designers. It’s a great way to improve and gain experience. And it gets easier as you progress! Have fun working this pattern and please let us se a photo when you finish.

You’re welcome.
It’s good to hear you’re right on track. Enjoy the rest of the knit.

Nantyci, I’m so glad you posted this query.
I have just downloaded a Drops top down jumper pattern to knit for my grandson. I’ve knitted for around 60 years, but I’ve never done a top down pattern before; so first I read through the entire pattern. Then I looked at a LOT of YouTube tutorials on knitting the top down sleeves, because I’d read these always leave holes under the arm. Now I know how to eliminate those holes both when knitting and after finishing. I just need to figure out which one will work better for this little pattern. Salmonmac provided very interesting information. I wasn’t aware that Drops patterns are translations. That’s something I’ll need to keep in mind. Little bits of info like this can be so helpful.

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Hi Lihn, thank you for your message , I was interested in your comment about holes under the arms as I have been having difficulty with this, I’ve managed to increase the stitches but find that I have holes where I’ve stretched the stitches whilst increasing!

I’m interested in the methods that Lihn uses to close up holes. I use both these methods to avoid holes or to close up those that exist despite every effort.


Thankyou for the video ideas I shall certainly look at these to help eliminate the holes!!!
Thankyou all again.

Salmonmac, I haven’t used any method yet. I’ve researched them. The videos you posted are the very ones I’ve watched several times. Both Very Pink and Roxanne’s methods have their merits, but I’m gravitating towards Roxanne’s. After I knit a small sample, I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do. My grandson is very active, so I want something that will stretch and flow with him as he plays.
Just out of curiosity, which method would you use for a very active child? He loves to climb.

I’ve knit several sweaters for my grandchildren (climbing, sports and gymnastics are their middle names). I use the Very Pink method of tracing over a stitch or what looks like a stitch. As long as the sweater itself is loose it seems to work quite well.

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Thank you for your input. I’ll definitely take it under advisement.

Hi you have gotten a lot of good advice here. I have knitted many fair isle cardigans from Drops and they can be difficult at times. They have some tutorials at end of pattern. Also you can ask a questions that is also located at bottom of pattern. Sometimes I read thru questions and get a answer I need. That cardigan is beautiful its been on my wish list for awhile.

Here’s another great video

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Thankyou so much for the added advice, that’s what is wonderful about this forum , people are always happy to impart their own expertise to help others like me!!

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This is the finished Drops cardigan for my daughter- in- law she loves yellow. I’m not very happy with the button band and neckline but the overall end result I’m quite pleased with. I’m not showing the underarms !! , suffice it to say that I looked at the videos but as I had made a bit of a mess, they weren’t as tidy as they should be !!. I changed the design slightly and added part of the design at the cuffs.
Thank you again for all your help and advice.

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I’m so happy to see the finished sweater and in record time! It’s beautiful and so neatly worked. Perfect for your daughter-in-law. I’m glad she likes it too. Thanks very much for the photo.

Fabulous result, it looks great, and i like the added colour work at the cuffs too.