Knitting a Ripple Crop Top

I'd seen the Ripple Crop Top an awful lot on my Instagram feed and I liked the relaxed look it has, so I purchased the pattern and was on the lookout for yarn to use. I'd previously decided I wanted to use the colourway 'Potion' by Spectrum Fibre for a project at some point and I realised this would be the perfect pattern for it. The size I knitted (2) requires 650-750 yards of yarn, but I knew I wanted to make mine less cropped so I purchased 3 skeins which were 400 yards each - to ensure I'd have plenty. I really liked the colourway so I knew if I had a skein spare I'd be able to use it for another project.

For this project I decided to knit a gauge swatch and luckily had the correct gauge when using the recommended 3.5mm needles, so I got started with knitting the top.

The top is knit from the bottom-up in the round, you then knit the front and back as flat pieces, join these together using a three needle bind off and pick up stitches to knit the sleeves. The only modification I made was during the first section I knit it to be 9 inches long rather than 6.5 inches, as I wanted it to be less cropped in order to better fit with my wardrobe.

Although I initially had the correct gauge, I found that I did have some gauge issues throughout this project. When I knit the front pieces to the row count given they were 5.8 inches long rather than 9 inches, so I had to knit quite a few additional rows. The back piece also needed an extra 20 rows to reach the required length. I think it's more likely that this was an issue with my gauge varying rather than the pattern.

Overall I'm happy with the finished look of the top and really like how 'Potion' looks when knit. I alternated skeins so I wouldn't have any issues with pooling and ended up with about 120 grams remaining, so could've managed with just two skeins. I'm thinking I'll probably use the leftover yarn as part of a shawl. One thing to bear in bind with a pattern like this which uses a lot of ribbing is that blocking will make a big difference. After I'd blocked the top the fit got a lot looser which was exactly what I was hoping for. I'm intending to wear my Ripple Crop Top layered over other tops rather than on its own.

In regards to the pattern itself I found it easy to follow and had no issues with it. I would say it's definitely suitable for an adventurous beginner, it includes some more complex techniques but nothing too difficult or obscure. This pattern was the first time I tried knitting German short rows, which are surprisingly easy! I recently tried wrap & turn short rows for the first time too whilst knitting my Soldotna Crop and found that I much prefer German short rows.

One thing I potentially disagree with is that the pattern description does state that the top is 'pretty much reversible', I personally wouldn't wear it inside-out as the seam where the three needle bind off is done creates a very visible ridge along the tops of the shoulders. I also think the ribbing around the neckline looks better on the right side. Although this is just my personal opinion rather than the description being incorrect.

If you were to ask me whether I'd knit another Ripple Crop Top, I'd say that I'm not sure I would. It's obviously a lot of ribbing and does use fingering weight yarn so can become a bit tiring, especially when modified to be longer. After a couple of weeks I was itching to get it done and move onto something else. There is a worsted weight version which I'm sure would be a much speedier knit, but I prefer the look of the thinner channels of ribbing. I think if I really wanted another in a specific colourway I would knit one, but I definitely prefer large amounts of garter or stockinette stitch to ribbing!