On Your Hook, Ready, Set, Crochet ~ Happy Hippie Handkerchief Top

Hello my lovely friends 💕

Show and Tell Time! 😁 I just finished the last picot on this top, and have to share.

When I saw this lovely top on Pinterest, I knew I had to have one. Luckily the link lead somewhere…to the free pattern on Ravelry

I looked through my yarn stash, but the perfect yarn didn’t jump out at me. So I put it on the back burner.
But when I received a yarn order a few days later, the perfect yarn for the top was in it.
Honestly, that was a lucky coincidence…I had only put it in my cart to get free shipping. 😆

The picture on the website did not do it justice. It’s a beautiful, silky yarn in very vibrant colors. Simply gorgeous.

I pulled up the pattern, and realized real quick that it doesn’t really work with my choice of yarn.  It has some wool in it, so I was afraid that the rows of close crochet stitches would make the top too heavy and warm.

See…

Change of plans. I found this diagram at inspirations-tricot-crochet on Blogspot.
It’s an awesome blog with tons of crochet- and knitting patterns and tips.

That worked. The loose mesh is perfect for an airy, flowy summer top.

Take a look…

I did make a few more changes…

To make it fit better, I lengthened the seams joining the squares by 1″.

I shortened the shoulder straps. The suggested 8″ (plus they stretched quite a bit) simply didn’t work on me. The top looked like a high-waisted skirt with suspenders 😜
So I made them 4″ long. Plus I crocheted them separately (lengthwise, to avoid the stretch) and sewed them on.
I worked it in the linked double-crochet stitch. 2 rows were enough for the required width.

Then I wove in the ends…not too many, yay!…and thought I was done.
I really wanted to be done, because – truth be told – it seemed a bit of a chore at times.
Since I have the attention span of a gnat, working with the same yarn, the same color, on rows that get longer with every round…there was a lot of sighing and eye-rolling going on. 🙄

But – turns out I wasn’t done. 🙈 I looked at it, and looked at it, and looked at it some more…and finally decided it needs a picot edge. I worked the picot around all the edges – neck, arms, and bottom hem.
Now I really love it! 😍

I hope this inspired you to make one for yourself. 😃

Let me know what you think! I’m looking forward to your comments 💕