Cecilia Summer Top Crochet Pattern

It's been a while since I last designed a crochet sweater/top. A lot of dedication went towards designing, making, and completing this sweater. I never know if or when I will finish (I have a few work-in-progresses in my closet that are still waiting for me).

The very first sweater that I made was my Minnie Mouse Sweater because I wanted to twin with my toddler in her GAP sweater back then. Now she doesn't fit in it anymore.

Then I created the Cheshire Dreams Sweater that was inspired by Wreck-It-Ralph's comfy Princess Aurora look. But then the colors also reminded me of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat.

Both of these sweaters were crocheted using worsted-weight yarn. While I loved both of them very much, they could sometimes get a bit hot and heavy to wear. I really wanted to crochet a more lightweight top to wear in the spring/summer season.

Crocheting a sweater is different than knitting a sweater because crocheting typically leaves you with a denser and thicker fabric. If you are looking to crochet a fabric that provides coverage (i.e. not a lot of holes) and still have a nice drape to it, then the trick is to use a thinner yarn and a smaller hook.

I chose to work with Nurturing Fibres bamboo/cotton blend yarn (Eco-Lush) from Good Loops Yarn to create this sweater! The fingering weight yarn of bamboo/cotton makes it perfect for summer garments because it's so lightweight and breathable! 

I've worked with this yarn in the past (see my Blushberry Plaid Tartan Wrap) and knew that I would want to make something wearable with this yarn one day.

I ended up using a smaller crochet hook (3.5 mm) with a modified half double crochet V stitch so that the top would provide a good amount of coverage for everyday wear without looking lacey or see-through. The modified half double crochet V stitch looked like little rosettes or stars.

The top turned out so pretty with flowy batwing sleeves. It's meant to be somewhat oversized and fits loosely.

The magic of this top is the ribbed waistband! That is the only part of the garment that fits snugly to your hips. If you have difficulty figuring out your size, I would size it according to your hip size. Once you have the waistband made, the rest of the top is built off of that.

You end up with 2 pieces, a front and a back (both pieces are identical). Then, you assemble it by sewing the front and back pieces together. I actually didn't even sew it together. I end up single crocheting the two pieces together. The less sewing I need to do, the better!

I decided to name this elegant spring/summer crochet top after my beautiful mother. I hope you'll love this handmade summer garment as much as I do. Happy crocheting!

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This crochet pattern is available for FREE on this website. If you'd like an ad-free, printable PDF version, you can purchase it for a small fee from my Ravelry shop.

Crochet Summer Top Pattern

What You Need / Materials

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• 8 balls of Eco-Lush (for a small, I still need to estimate how much yarn is needed for the other sizes)
• 3.5 mm Crochet Hook
• Yarn Needle
• Stitch Markers
• Scissors

Stitches & Abbreviations

• ch - chain stitch
• sp - space
• st/sts - stitch/stitches
• sc - single crochet
• sc inc - single crochet increase
• hdc - half double crochet
• (modified) hdc-V - half double crochet V-stitch (hdc, ch, hdc) into the same ch st of the hdc-V stitch of the previous row rather than the ch space
• hdc-V inc - hdc-V into the first st of the hdc-V in the previous row, then hdc-V into the ch st of the same hdc-V st
• BLO - work the stitch in the back loop only

Notes

• This summer top is created as 2 pieces and then stitched together.
• Size it according to your hip size because that is the part that fits snugly. Once you have the waistband made, the rest of the top is built off of that.
• Do not count the turning chain as a stitch.
• MODIFIED hdc-V stitch: normally the V stitch is worked into the ch-space of the V stitch in the previous row, but in this pattern, instead of working the V stitch in the ch-space, we're going to work it into the ch-stitch.
• Bodice Gauge: 10 cm x 10 cm (4"x 4") = 9 hdc-V stitches x 16 rows
• Ribbing Gauge: 10 cm x 10 cm (4" x 4") = 24 sc stitches x 24 rows
• Please follow this Women Size Charts from Yarn Council for sizing information
• You can find the following sizes in the brackets of the pattern: XS, (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)
• This crochet pattern is available for FREE on this website. If you'd like an ad-free, printable PDF version, you can purchase it for a small fee from my Ravelry shop.

Crochet Instructions

Part A: Ribbing

Ch 31

Row 1a: Sc into the second ch from the hook, and in each st across (total: 30 sts)

Row 2a: Ch1, turn, sc BLO in each st across (total: 30 sts)

Size XS: Repeat row 2a for 79 more rows (total: 81 rows)

Size S: Repeat row 2a for 88 more rows (total: 90 rows)

Size M: Repeat row 2a for 97 more rows (total: 99 rows)

Size L: Repeat row 2a for 106 more rows (total: 108 rows)

Size XL: Repeat row 2a for 115 more rows (total: 117 rows)

Size 2XL: Repeat row 2a for 124 more rows (total: 126 rows)

Size 3XL: Repeat row 2a for 133 more rows (total: 135 rows)

Size 4XL: Repeat row 2a for 142 more rows (total: 144 rows)

Size 5XL: Repeat row 2a for 151 more rows (total: 153 rows)

Do not cut the yarn. Turn your piece and start working on the side of the ribbing to create the bodice of the top.

Part B: Side of Ribbing

Row 1b: Ch 1, turn, sc into the sides of the ribbing (total: 81, (90, 99, 108, 117, 126, 135, 144, 153) sts)

Row 2b: [Sc inc, sc, sc inc] x repeat until the end of the row (total: 135, (150, 165, 180, 195, 210, 225, 240, 255) sts)

Do not cut the yarn. Continue to work on the bodice of the top.

Part C: Bodice

Row 1c: Ch 2, turn, sk1, [hdc-V into the next st, sk 2] x 44, (49, 54, 59, 64, 69, 74, 79, 84), hdc-V into the next st, hdc into the last st (total: 45, (50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85) hdc-V sts + 1 hdc)

Row 2c: Ch 2, turn, [hdc-V into the 3rd st (aka, the ch that's part of the hdc-V of the previous row), skip 2] x 44, (49, 54, 59, 64, 69, 74, 79, 84), hdc-V into the next ch, hdc into the turning ch (total: 45, (50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85) hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Sizes XS: Repeat row 2c for 8 more rows (total of 10 rows)

Sizes S: Repeat row 2c for 8 more rows (total of 10 rows)

Sizes M: Repeat row 2c for 8 more rows (total of 10 rows)

Sizes L: Repeat row 2c for 10 more rows (total of 12 rows)

Sizes XL: Repeat row 2c for 10 more rows (total of 12 rows)

Sizes 2XL: Repeat row 2c for 10 more rows (total of 12 rows)

Sizes 3XL: Repeat row 2c for 12 more rows (total of 14 rows)

Sizes 4XL: Repeat row 2c for 12 more rows (total of 14 rows)

Sizes 5XL: Repeat row 2c for 12 more rows (total of 14 rows)

The next part of the pattern will use this Increase Row (please note that this is not a row itself):

Increase Row: Ch 2, turn, hdc-V inc, skip 2, [hdc-V into the ch st, skip 2] x repeat until the end of the row, hdc-V inc, hdc into the turning ch

Size XS: Repeat the Increase Row x 9 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 63 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size S: Repeat the Increase Row x 9 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size M: Repeat the Increase Row x 9 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size L: Repeat the Increase Row x 7 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size XL: Repeat the Increase Row x 7 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size 2XL: Repeat the Increase Row x 7 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size 3XL: Repeat the Increase Row x 5 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 77, 79, 81, 83, 85 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size 4XL: Repeat the Increase Row x 5 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 82, 84, 86, 88, 90 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size 5XL: Repeat the Increase Row x 5 rows (until you get to row 19)

(total after each row: 87, 89, 91, 93, 95 hdc-V + 1 hdc)

*** Every size should have 19 rows at this point.

Sleeves

Row 20: Ch 2, turn, [hdc-V into the 3rd st (aka, the ch that's part of the hdc-V of the previous row), skip 2] x 62, (67, 72, 73, 78, 83, 84, 89, 94), hdc-V into the next ch, hdc into the turning ch (total: 63, (68, 73, 74, 79, 84, 85, 90, 95) hdc-V + 1 hdc)

Size XS: Repeat Row 20 for 49 more rows (until you get to row 69)

Size S: Repeat Row 20 for 50 more rows (until you get to row 70)

Size M: Repeat Row 20 for 52 more rows (until you get to row 72)

Size L: Repeat Row 20 for 53 more rows (until you get to row 73)

Size XL: Repeat Row 20 for 54 more rows (until you get to row 74)

Size 2XL: Repeat Row 20 for 54 more rows (until you get to row 74)

Size 3XL: Repeat Row 20 for 54 more rows (until you get to row 74)

Size 4XL: Repeat Row 20 for 57 more rows (until you get to row 77)

Size 5XL: Repeat Row 20 for 57 more rows (until you get to row 77)

Neckline

Row 70 (71, 73, 74, 75, 75, 75, 78, 78): Ch 2, turn, hdc-V into the 3rd st, [hdc-V into the ch st, skip 2] x 22, (23, 25, 25, 27, 29, 29, 31, 34) + 1 hdc into the next ch (total: 23, (24, 26, 26, 28, 30, 30, 32, 35) hdc-V + 1 hdc)

All sizes: Repeat the previous row 2 more times.

Assembly

• Make 2 pieces, front, and back.
• Match up the shoulders and single crochet along the shoulders.

• Single crochet on the wrong side of the top along the ribbing up to row 19 of the bodice just before you get to the sleeves (Part C)
• Repeat on the other side of the top
• Single crochet around the opening of the sleeves

• Cut and fasten off. Weave in your ends. Enjoy your new spring/summer top!

Did you make your own summer top? I'd love to see it! Please share it with me on Instagram and/or use the #onceuponacheerio hashtag.

This is an original crochet pattern written by Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio. Please do not claim this crochet pattern as your own. If you wish to share this crochet pattern, you may link to this blog post but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for personal use but please DO NOT sell or distribute the crochet pattern.

You may sell products made from this crochet pattern, but please clearly credit the design to me, Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio and provide a link to my blog www.OnceUponaCheerio.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for understanding!