Sunbeam Shine Top

Knitted top in DROPS Cotton Light. The piece is worked top down with halter-neck and English rib. Sizes XS - XXL.

DROPS 258-19
DROPS Design: Pattern cl-137
Yarn group B
-------------------------------------------------------

SIZES:
XS - S - M - L - XL - XXL

YARN:
DROPS COTTON LIGHT from Garnstudio (belongs to yarn group B)
300-350-350-400-400-450 g colour 55, lemon

NEEDLES:
DROPS CIRCULAR NEEDLE SIZE 4 MM: Length 80 cm.
DROPS CIRCULAR NEEDLE SIZE 3 MM: Length 40 cm and 80 cm.
The technique MAGIC LOOP can be used – you then only need 80 cm circular needle in each size.

KNITTING TENSION:
21 stitches in width and 42 rows in height, with garter stitch on needle size 4 mm = 10 x 10 cm.
17 stitches in width and 42 rows in height, with English rib on needle size 4 mm = 10 x 10 cm.
NOTE: Needle size is only a guide. If you get too many stitches on 10 cm, change to a larger needle size. If you get too few stitches on 10 cm, change to a smaller needle size.

-------------------------------------------------------

EXPLANATIONS FOR THE PATTERN:
-------------------------------------------------------

GARTER STITCH (worked back and forth):
Knit all rows, from both the right and wrong side.
1 ridge in height = knit 2 rows.

ENGLISH RIB:
Between the edge stitches in garter stitch, work English rib as follows:
ROW 1 (wrong side): * Make 1 yarn over, slip 1 stitch purl-wise, knit 1 *, work from *-* until there are 6 stitches left, finish with 1 yarn over, slip 1 stitch purl-wise.
ROW 2 (right side): * Knit together the yarn over and slipped stitch, make 1 yarn over, slip 1 stitch purl-wise *, work from *-* until there is 1 yarn over + 1 stitch left before the garter stitches, knit the yarn over and slipped stitch together.
ROW 3 (wrong side): * Make 1 yarn over, slip 1 stitch purl-wise, knit together the yarn over and slipped stitch *, work from *-* until there is 1 stitch left before the garter stitches, make 1 yarn over, slip 1 stitch purl-wise.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 onwards.

INCREASE TIP:
All increases are worked from the right side!
Increase 2 stitches in the knitted stitch + yarn over as follows: Knit together the stitch and yarn over but do not slip them off the left needle, make 1 yarn over the right needle, knit the same stitch and yarn over together 1 more time (= 2 increased stitches).
The new stitches are worked in English rib but be aware that the increased stitches do not have yarn overs on the next row, so are worked alone the first time.

MEASURING TIP:
All measurements are taken with the piece lying flat. The weight of the yarn makes the piece longer when worn. Try the garment on if necessary.

-------------------------------------------------------

START THE PIECE HERE:

-------------------------------------------------------

TOP - SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE PIECE:
The pattern uses both long and short needles; start with the length which fits the number of stitches and change when necessary.
The neck is worked in the round with circular needle, top down and from the right back shoulder.
The back piece is then worked back and forth, while the front piece waits, then the front piece is worked back and forth. The front and back pieces are sewn together to finish.

NECK:
Cast on 100-100-104-108-116-120 stitches with circular needle size 3 mm and DROPS Cotton Light. Work rib in the round (knit 1, purl 1) for 3½-3½-3½-4-4-4 cm.
The round begins on the right back shoulder. On the next round cast off across the shoulders as follows: Cast off the first 17-17-17-17-19-19 stitches, continue the rib across the next 33-33-35-37-39-41 stitches, then place these stitches on 1 thread (= front piece), cast off the next 17-17-17-17-19-19 stitches, continue the rib across the last 33-33-35-37-39-41 stitches (= back piece).

BACK PIECE:
Insert 1 marker in the middle of the last 33-33-35-37-39-41 stitches, the piece is now measured from here.
Change to circular needle size 4 mm. Work row 1 from the wrong side as follows:
Slip the first knitted stitch purl-wise, work 4 GARTER STITCHES – read description above, work ENGLISH RIB across the next 23-23-25-27-29-31 stitches – read description above, work 5 garter stitches.
Continue this pattern back and forth for 3 cm in all sizes – the first stitch is slipped purl-wise on all rows, from the right side and from the wrong side.
On the next row from the right side begin increasing in the outermost English rib stitch on each side (i.e., the 6th stitch from each edge) – read INCREASE TIP.
Increase 2 stitches each side every 4th row (every 2nd row from the right side) a total of 10-11-12-13-14-15 times on each side = 73-77-83-89-95-101 stitches.
Continue working without further increases until the piece measures 12-13-14-15-16-17 cm from the marker.

At the end of the next 2 rows cast on 2-4-4-6-7-9 stitches (= under each armhole) as follows:
ROW 1: Work 5 garter stitches (the first stitch is no longer slipped off the needle), continue the English rib until there are 5 stitches left, work 5 garter stitches, then cast on 2-4-4-6-7-9 stitches = 75-81-87-95-102-110 stitches.
ROW 2: Work 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches, continue the English rib until there are 5 stitches left, work 5 garter stitches and cast on 2-4-4-6-7-9 stitches = 77-85-91-101-109-119 stitches.

Continue the English rib back and forth but now with 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches on each side, until the piece measures 38-40-42-44-46-48 cm from the marker – read MEASURING TIP.
Change to circular needle size 3 mm and work the next row from the right side as follows:
7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches, * knit together the yarn over and knitted stitch, make 1 yarn over, purl the purled stitch *, work from *-* until there is 1 yarn over + 1 knitted English rib stitch + 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches left, knit the yarn over and knitted stitch together, finish with 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches.
On the next row from the wrong side, work rib (knit 2, purl 1), AT THE SAME TIME work the yarn overs twisted as follows: Work 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches, * purl 1, knit 1, knit 1 twisted *, work from *-* until there are 8-10-10-12-13-15 stitches left on the row, purl 1, work 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches = 108-118-127-140-151-164 stitches.

Continue the rib (knit 1, purl 2 seen from the right side), with 7-9-9-11-12-14 garter stitches on each side for 4 cm in all sizes. Cast off with knit over knit and purl over purl. The top measures approx. 42-44-46-48-50-52 cm after the neck mid-front and 46-48-50-52-55-57 cm from top of shoulder.

FRONT PIECE:
Place the 33-33-35-37-37-41 stitches on circular needle size 4 mm and work in the same way as the back piece.

ASSEMBLY:
Sew together the front and back pieces, starting from the cast-on stitches in each side (under the armhole) and working down to the rib, leaving a split of approx. 4 cm at the bottom. Sew in the outermost ridge on each side.

Diagram explanations

Have you finished this pattern?

Tag your pictures with #dropspattern #sunbeamshinetop or submit them to the #dropsfan gallery.

Do you need help with this pattern?

You'll find 21 tutorial videos, a Comments/Questions area and more by visiting the pattern on garnstudio.com.
Have you purchased DROPS yarn to make this pattern? Then you are entitled to receive help from the store that sold you the yarn.

© 1982-2026 DROPS Design A/S. We reserve all rights. This document, including all its sub-sections, has copyrights. Read more about what you can do with our patterns at the bottom of each pattern on our site.