Crocheted tops (although some may claim are cheugy) are all the rage for summer and fall fashion. Handmade crocheted tops cost up to hundreds of dollars, which is ridiculous when crocheting is so accessible and easy to learn. I first learned how to crochet in middle school after my mom signed me up for a crochet class at a local learning annex (shout out to my mom. Thanks Mom!). A sweet little elderly woman taught me my first project, and since then, talented YouTube crafters have taught me all the stitches, knots and patterns I’ve ever needed.
One of my first crochet projects was an ill-fated blanket that turned out crooked beyond belief and had gaping holes where I dropped stitches but didn’t fix them. Although it is surely an ugly little blanket, I still have it because it reminds me of how far I’ve come. The beauty of the art known as crochet (and yes, it’s an art) is that it’s completely undoable. If you make a mistake – which is completely okay, encouraged even – it’s fixable. Like life, nothing is permanent, and trying is the most important thing.
I dropped the hobby for a while, but once the pandemic started, and I found myself stuck inside all summer, I started to crochet again. I made mittens and winter hats for my family as gifts, but cold-weather gear isn’t very useful in Florida. I started making little trinkets for my friends, coasters for my apartment (my roommate is tired of my decorating skills) and even a market bag for my trips to the farmers market. With the right pattern and enough hand strength, I can crochet anything. I started making clothes after my house started looking like a yarn store. I realized I could make things I needed and wanted an endless supply of. What girl doesn’t want more clothes?
It’s easy to get started, but there are a few things you’ll need:
- Something to measure with: tape measure, ruler, etc.
- Crochet hooks: 4 millimeters is a good size to start with. It fits medium weight yarn, which works for most projects and isn’t too fine— preventing sore knuckles.
- Tapestry needle: These are inexpensive but important. When you finish a section and tie it off, you’ll want to weave in those ends to connect the two sections together. Your project will look cleaner. Weaving those ends is much easier with a tapestry needle too.
- Yarn: Don’t buy yarn until you know your project’s end goal! The weight and material of your yarn will depend on what you’re making. If you want a chunky sweater then you’ll want a heavier, thicker weight yarn. But if you’re making a tank top, and you want a tighter knit so your nipples don’t show, you’ll want a lighter weight yarn. For clothes, I always suggest a cotton blend or wool blend yarn. Clothes sit against your skin — you don’t want something scratchy or unnatural, like an acrylic blend, against that beautiful skin of yours. All materials are usually the same price.
- Safety pins or stitch markers: The hardest part about making clothes is keeping straight edges, but stitch markers can help. Stitch markers are handy little pins put in the first stitch of each row to let you know when to start the next. I don’t bother to buy stitch markers because safety pins work just the same.
This is the first top I ever made. This pattern is from brittanyalicecrohet.com, which is a lovely blog filled with patterns for whimsical and stunning tops. So, if you liked how this yellow top turned out, check out some of her other patterns. It’s a two-toned, yellow and white checkered wrap crop top with cap sleeves. It can be worn two ways: either tied in the back or tied in the front. It’s not the easiest pattern, but the yellow-ness of it all excited me. I originally found the pattern on Pinterest, but I frequent YouTube, my other favorite place to look for patterns. I find it incredibly difficult to follow a written pattern because each blogger uses a different stitch abbreviation, so a video is much easier to follow. This pattern is checkered which appears to be more complicated than it really is, but it’s rather simple. This technique does use more yarn though. If you don’t like the checkered pattern, the pattern does include instructions for a single-color top.
This top didn’t turn out perfect, but that’s okay. The tie is too wide and long. The sleeve holes are too big, and the cap sleeves are too long. Maybe I’m too harsh, but it is too oddly shaped to wear. It took me a few weeks to finish, and I needed to go back to the yarn store a few times, but it was totally worth it. I learned a lot from my first project. Mainly, that the person who created the design provides measurements designed for themselves, not for you. Usually, the blogger gives a guide on how to adjust your project, and sometimes the guides are accurate, but I recommend trying it on as you crochet and adjust it to fit your shape.
After a personal reflection and some refinement of my skills, I made my second crocheted top. This beauty is a low-cut crop tank top with a ripped support band making it suitable to wear with or without a bra is made with a tight-enough knit. This pattern is from crochetwithcarrie.com, a blog. The blog features numerous crop top, cozy sweater and slouchy cardigan patterns. This pattern takes less time to make and needs less yarn. Altogether, it is an easier top to make. I used Yarn Bee medium-weight yarn in sage from Hobby Lobby.
My second top turned out much better than my first one. I know because I wear this one. My biggest qualm and I warn against it if you choose to crochet clothes, is that the straps are too long. Shortening them was simple enough, but if you look closely at the picture, you’ll notice that one of the straps is twisted because when I reattached the strap, I stitched it twisted. It is far from perfect, but I like it and wear it often.
Taking up a new hobby, like making your own clothes, is intimidating. I hate to fail and trying something new opens me up to fail. But crocheting your own clothes is a sustainable, cheap, and creative way to express yourself and to go shopping all at the same time. Hopefully, you learned something from my experience, and you’re stuck on anything, there is always someone on YouTube willing to explain it to you.