On my first dose of vaccine, I was able to start a crochet purse. I was able to finish it before I got my second dose. That same purse was very useful to me on my second dose in holding all my tiny trinkets. The long wait time in the line on my second dose allowed me to start another project. It gave me ample time to think and rethink the design I will be using for this crochet top I will be gifting my sister with this Christmas.
It took 5 hours before I could get my shot on my first dose, I figured the second dose won't be that much different. And I wasn't wrong. At least, this time it wasn't drizzling, I was inside the mall, and there were chairs on every station. I had a bit of a rough start because the vaccination site I was supposed to go to suddenly changed and I only found out when I got to the site itself. I had to book another Grab Car ride just to get to the correct vax site. Oh well, I worked on my project while I was on my second ride for the day.
My sister, being my sister, gave me ideas on how she wants the crochet top to look like. I on the other hand, being me, added some ideas of my own slightly because I wanted to go around the difficult stitches, and also because I wanted to give it the touch of romeskie in the finished product. And I am satisfied with how it turned out in the end. I had to add some finishing touches during the final fitting, but all in all, it turned out beautifully in my eyes.
I was extra careful with the counting in this project. The entirety of its aesthetic relies so much on the balance of the components - from the bra, to the flared design, down to the straps. The first part was the cups. I have made several attempts at estimating the cup size and most of the time, I tend to underestimate. This time, I made a commitment to make sure everything will fit perfectly. While I finished the cup sizes, I had a contingency should they ever come short.
I then proceeded with the second part which is the flare. Originally, the design was just as plain as double crochets all over until the edge. When creating a design for someone, one would have to consider different factors like comfort, aesthetic, functionality, among other things. We live in a tropical country. And while it's the cold season, the weather is still humid so my sister would not feel too comfortable in this crochet top if I continued with the full double crocheted flare design.
I remembered the shell stitch. The finished product will look almost the same as the full double crochet, but it will feel a little bit lightweight and softer, and easier to handle both while making it and while my sister wears it. Sizing is one of the challenges when creating crochet wearables. To work around it, I made this crochet top an adjustable bust line. The string for the ribbon was added as an accent too, giving the overall aesthetic more pleasing to the eye. This way, the underbra would have enough support, and it would further emphasize the flared design.
While in the middle of the project, I put it down for a while to work on some side projects. I was starting to feel bored with the color so I worked on colorful crochet coin purses for a bit. I love crocheting but when I realize I've been at it for a long time, I start to feel a little burnt out. I felt like this project is taking too long to finish. And it is, partly because I had to put it down for weeks because we moved to a new apartment, and had to double the efforts in catching up with our homeschooling, still because of the move. I needed to have a sort of win at crocheting. So I went ahead and made some crochet coin purses.
After taking that much-needed break, I decided on adding blue edging on the lower layer, and blue straps. It was originally planned to be just crisscross straps but it felt a bit dull. I saw a friend of mine post one of her OOTDs on FB and I fell in love with that somewhat lace edging on the strap of her dress. I decided on adding laced crochet edging all over the side of the straps and extended it to one side of the bra part. I followed this pattern for the lace on the straps. Sometimes scrolling on FB is nothing but a waste of time but when you know where to look and how to look, you'll find something you don't expect finding. Or it might just be because my mind was subconsciously looking for something to give the crochet top some more subtle accents.
When my sister dropped off her daughters, she tried the top on. It fits perfectly, I'm so glad. Although, I needed to adjust the sides. Because if we went with the original open side design, I doubt her husband would even let the crochet top see the light of day. Since I just played this design by ear, I did not have any measurements for it. And so, I crocheted on some chains to stitch together the side of the bra to the back side of the straps. I love how fearless I was with this crochet top. LOL
I really would like to share the entire pattern here but for the love of me, I couldn't remember the entire thing. That's because I had to stop working on it a lot of time, and I did not write down the pattern. I guess that would make my sister's crochet top a one of a kind if I don't remember the pattern at all. Here's what I do remember though:
Materials used:
2 ply indophil yarn (off white and blue)
3 ply indophil yarn (for the bra part)
3.75 mm Susan Bates inline hook
Stitches used:
Double crochet
Shell stitch
Patterns used:
Lace accent on strap: Lace crochet edging pattern
bra part and flare part: Freehand
This is the first time I used the Susan Bates in line crochet hook. It is indeed perfect for yarns with multiple strands. I realized I have been working with 8 ply polycotton yarns for a while. When I read about Susan Bates inline crochet hook and I was not disappointed. I have always wanted to buy one but I just thought it was a tad too expensive for me. Before. When I haven't been too worked up with using tapered hooks for yarns with multiple strands. I bought the plastic set from Gantsilyo Guru just to test it out. I chose the plastic ones because they're much cheaper. Although, they look easily breakable. It became a training hook for my grip too. And I don't really need to use a tight grip because I don't get too stressed out with yarns not pulling together in the hook.
I still have a lot more yarns in my stash. Right now, my mind is on hyperdrive. As I am writing this, I am also working on another crochet top. This one I think I'm going to complete in just a few days' time should the circumstances allow it. I do hope there aren't any surprises and if there will be, I hope they're just good ones. I've just had about it with bad surprises these days. The second crochet top I'm working on will be for my mom this time. You'll see more about it on my next needlework post, so stick around. :)
