I have an interesting wardrobe because I don’t buy clothing very frequently, and I keep what I do have for ages. There have been a few additions here and there, but for the last couple of years, I’ve devoted most of my shopping to expanding my dress collection. Earlier this year I suddenly realized that my selection of separates was pretty sad. As a California native, I pretty much live in tank tops. It’s hot out? They’re perfect. It’s cold out? Well, that’s what cardigans are for! The end result was I had very few interesting summer tops. Being a crafty lady, instead of just going out and buying a few tops, I decided to make some. That’s how this top came to be.
The shape is very simple. It’s just a trapezoid with a rectangle of ribbing. You can see the basic shape here. It’s based on a dress that I’m fond of, but it’s also just a common shape for sweaters from the 40s and 50s.
I used 3.25 mm needles for the ribbing and a 3.5 mm hook for the body. My gauge worked out to be two rib stitches per double crochet which was perfect. I knew the ribbing would go over my hips, and I wanted plenty of ease. I ended up buying six skeins of Spud and Chloe Fine in order to finish this, two skeins of each color. I used up all but scraps of the white, but I have the majority of my second green and yellow skeins leftover. I need to figure out what to do with that.
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