Quick and Colourful Improvised Crochet Top

I am very impressed with how quickly I finished this super easy crochet top for my daughter: I started it on Saturday night, did a few hours on Sunday and Monday (not all day, as I was busy shopping, having to get my car's alternator fixed and cutting my lawn), and put it all together today.

This top was made for a child size 10 years and the colourful stripes (her choice) are each made of 2 rows of treble crochet (that's double crochet to US readers). I used some acrylic DK yarn: a bit less than half a 100g ball of each of the 3 colours so it was also cheap to make.

Being acrylic, it's not a top she'll be wearing on hot summer days, but we live in Ireland so that's fine. I would have used cotton yarn for a real summery top, but being broke, I did with what I had in the house.

I didn't waste time looking for a pattern. My daughter was wearing a cute top at the time with a simple shape: a front and a back piece with short sleeves as extensions of the top's shape, so I used that top as a template.

My daughter being the one who chose the colours and told me she wanted the same shape as the top she was wearing a the time, she also requested that I do 2 rows of treble crochet per stripe (first she asked me what was quicker and that was the quickest stitch I could use in making a crochet top so I think  she was just in a hurry to have it), and she demanded that I start with the pink stripe, then the white, then the yellow, I might as well say this top was designed by her (I'm just the maker).

I finished by adding a pink border made from 1 row of double crochet (Single crochet for our US friends) all around the neckline after sewing the top together). I was going to do the same for the sleeve edges, but it looked good enough without, and I was afraid this would make the sleeves too tight (not that my 9 year old has huge biceps, but I want her to have freedom of movement for those star jumps and cartwheels!)

With all the stripes, the yarn ends were a bit of a pain to sew in, but not a major issue.

And that's how you crochet a piece of clothing like a Boss!

***Follow me on Twitter and Like Sophie's Knit Stuff on Facebook for more updates***

Crochet Projects For The Family

This week I decided to use some of my yarn stash and practise my crochet skills to make myself a summer top: I am using some grey Sublime Tussah Silk DK for the bottom part and I have just finished the waist band in dark green Filati Da Collezione Star: it has got glittery silver in it, and I think it goes well with the shiny silk from the gray yarn:

I am also starting a top for my youngest daughter. The three of us were shopping for clothes on Wednesday and the eldest always gets more: I bought her little sister a cheap pair of jeans but most of her clothes get passed down to her from her big sister, so she can feel a bit left out sometimes.

So this afternoon I let her pick some of the DK acrylic yarn previously bought from Aldi, if I had had some bright cotton I would have used it but as we live in Ireland and summer never gets hot and doesn't last more than a fortnight (and that's if we're lucky!), acrylic will do. It will be also perfect in the autumn over a plain long sleeve T-shirt.

So she decided on fushia pink, white and yellow for her top. She may be only 9 but she knows what she wants and judging by some of the drawings she's been doing, she has an eye for fashion! She requested that I do it in treble crochet (that's double crochet if you're in the US): 2 rows of each colour between changes to be exact. It is going to have the same shape as the top she is currently wearing today, which I am going to have to steal tonight when she changes into her pyjamas in order to measure it properly (it's not easy to measure a slightly hyper happy child who likes to jump up and down all the time!).

I made the swatch as requested by her and measured the bottom part of her top just so I can make a start on it. It will be bright and wonderfully colourful, just like Emilie's happy personality:

I will now leave you with some crafty bits that Emilie wanted me to share on my blog: about 80 chain crochet bracelets, necklaces and rings made by herself using her own stash (yes I know!) and some of my leftover bits of yarn:

***Follow me on Twitter and Like Sophie's Knit Stuff on Facebook for more updates***