I’ve made two garments this summer – a very restrained, sleek knit top in Pure Silk, followed by a very un-restrained crochet top in a little bit of everything. What can I say: the universe seeks balance.
I was inspired by the many colourful, improvisational crochet projects I’ve seen around this year; I love the playfulness of this kind of crochet, I love mixing colours, and I just couldn’t resist leaning right into the 70s hippie vibe with this. Yes, it’s a bit like wearing a blanket, but I love it! I chose my colours starting with a couple of variegated skeins, adding solid colours that complemented them and added a little contrasting texture. There was no plan: every single square involved new colour decisions, which I admit got annoying at times, but I love the result. The only fixed point was ending every square with a round in blue – that alone did a lot to make it feel coherent.
How to make your own chaotic crochet top
I’m not writing a pattern, but here’s what I did:
Each square comprises 6 treble rounds, plus 1 in double crochet (UK terms).
I worked 62 squares in total. Back and front are identically shaped: three rows of seven squares each form the yoke and short sleeves; two rows of five squares each form the waist. As boxy as it sounds, this actually creates quite a flattering shape on me. (I promise I’ll share photos when the weather is more suitable – I like it better on myself than as shown here, on Doreen!) I’m top-heavy, with a big bust and very rounded shoulders; I love the way boat neck styles seem to straighten out my shoulders and make me look sleek, rather than buxom. (You’ll notice the same thing in my Pure Silk top!) This top also allows room over the bust, without being too tent-like: it sits fairly closely around my waist (about 6cm of ease, I think) and makes the best of my shape.
To adapt for another size, I see two options. You can either change the number of squares per row, or change the size of the squares. Which you choose probably depends a lot on your own style preferences, as well as just how much size variance is needed, and where. I was thinking of working a column of half-size squares along the sides and under-arms, if the sizing hadn’t worked out so neatly for me.
To assemble, I first laid the squares out to determine the best colour placement. (I wanted the brightest yellowish squares furthest from my face, and aimed to keep them balanced. I also opted to put the darkest squares under the arms. Sharp eyes might notice that the layout shown doesn’t quite match the finished top; I did decide to put the yellows on the sleeves, rather than along the hem.) Then I stacked each side (front and back) carefully in order, from the bottom row to the top.
Taking care to keep those stacks strictly in order, I joined the squares using double crochet. Back and front were finished separately. I started with horizontal strips, so that everything would be securely in the right place, and then closed up the vertical seams and underarms. Then I joined the shoulder seams – I left three squares open for the neck, and also left the sleeves open at the top, so each shoulder seam is only one block wide. Finally, I worked two rounds of double crochet to finish the neckline.
Well, finally of course I had to weave in all the ends. But in fact, most of them had been enclosed within the crochet, so it wasn’t too bad!
Yarn for your chaotic crochet
This is what I used, but of course the beauty of this is that it’s entirely up to you, and would work very well with scraps. Mine is all in fingering weight, mostly merino. I wear a size 46/48 and used about 700g of yarn.
200g x Lazy Lion: 1 skein each of Britta’s Favourite (also mine!) and Bunch of Roses
50g x Highland Sock: 1 skein in Turf
300g x Knitting for Olive Merino:1 ball each in Blue Tit and Deep Petroleum Blue (they are very close in colour!), plus half a ball each in Umami Yellow and Raspberry Red
150g x Kremke Morning Salutation Fino: 1 ball each in Bronze, Pine and Berry