#68 – ILEX Crop Top

Technically it’s spring, and that means it’s (sort of) acceptable for me to start daydreaming about crop tops again! For this one, I wanted to take “sweetheart” neckline in a very literal sense and play around with heart shapes. I was lucky enough to meet Holly, a local maker who also happens to dye yarn, and she was interested in doing a collaboration, so without further ado, here is the final result!

Pattern by tick-tock hobbies

(abbreviations: HHDC = herringbone half-double crochet; SC = single crochet; DC = double crochet; INC = two herringbone half-double crochets into a single stitch; DEC = one herringbone half-double crochet over two stitches)

HEART PANEL (size XS)

  1. Using Colour A, chain seven stitches. Starting in the third stitch from the hook, HDDC in each stitch across the row. (6  stitches – the skipped stitches at the beginning also counts as a stitch)
  2. Chain two and turn. Starting in the third stitch from the hook, HHDC in each stitch across the row and do an INC in the last stitch. Remember that the “last stitch” is the skipped stitches from the previous row, so you will be doing your increase into the top of that chain. (8 stitches – the chain at the beginning also counts as a stitch)
  3. Repeat step 2 twelve more times. (10 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 20 / 22 / 24 / 26 / 28 / 30 / 32 stitches)
  4. Using Colour B, chain two and turn. repeat step 2 five more times. (34 / 36 / 38 / 40 / 42 stitches)
  5. Chain two and turn. Starting in the fourth stitch from the hook, HDDC in each stitch across the row. Do not do an increase in the last stitch. (42 stitches)
  6. Repeat step 2. (44 stitches)
  7. Repeat step 5 two more times. (44 / 44 stitches)
  8. Repeat step 2. (46 stitches)
  9. Repeat step 5 three more times. (46 / 46 / 46 stitches)
  10. Using Colour C, chain two and turn. repeat step 2. (48 stitches)
  11. Repeat step 5 four more times. (48 / 48 / 48 / 48 stitches)
  12. Chain two and turn. Starting in the fourth stitch from the hook, HHDC twenty-four times. This is the beginning of the “sweetheart” neckline! (24 stitches)
  13. Chain two and turn. You should now be working away from the center of the heart / triangle. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC nineteen times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (22 stitches)
  14. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC seventeen times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (20 stitches)
  15. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC fifteen times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (18 stitches).
  16. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC thirteen times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (16 stitches)
  17. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC eleven times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (14 stitches)
  18. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC nine times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (12 stitches)
  19. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC seven times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. (10 stitches)
  20. Chain two and turn. Over the fourth and fifth stitches from the hook, DEC. HHDC five times. DEC over the next two stitches. HHDC in the last stitch. Do a series of SC down the side of the curve, working back towards the center of the heart / triangle. (8 stitches + a series of SC)
  21. Repeat steps 12 to 20, with two changes: Do not turn at the beginning of step 12 and work toward the center of the heart for step 13.
  22. Make sure to leave long ends for weaving in with the side panels!

SIDE PANEL (size XS)

  1. Using Colour A, chain fifty stitches. In the second stitch from the hook, do a SC. *Skip two stitches. Do a set of [1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC] into the next stitch. Skip two stitches. Do a SC and chain 3, then do a SC into the very next stitch.* Repeat from * to *  six more times. Skip two stitches. Do a set of [1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC] into the next stitch. Skip two stitches. Do a SC into the last stitch in the row.
  2. Chain seven stitches and turn. Skip three stitches and start working in the middle DC of the first set from the previous row. Do a picot of (1 SC, 3 chain, 1 SC) all in one stitch. *Chain three and do a DC in the middle chain-stitch of the picot from the previous row. Chain three, and in the middle DC of the next set from the previous row, do a picot (1 SC, 3 chain, 1 SC).*  Repeat from * to * six more times. Chain three and do a DC into the last SC from the previous row.
  3. Chain one and turn. Do a SC into the into the second stitch from the hook. *Skip five stitches so that you working in the middle chain of the picot from the previous row, do a set of [1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC]. Skip five stitches so that you are working in the DC from the previous row. Do a picot (1 SC, 3 chain, 1 SC).* Repeat from * to * six more times. Skip five stitches so that you are working in the middle chain of the picot from the previous row and do a set of [1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC, 1 chain, 1 DC]. Skip five stitches and do a SC.
  4. Chain seven stitches and turn. Skip twelve stitches and start working in the middle DC of the second set from the previous row. Do a picot of (1 SC, 3 chain, 1 SC) all in one stitch. *Chain three and do a DC in the middle chain-stitch of the picot from the previous row. Chain three, and in the middle DC of the next set from the previous row, do a picot (1 SC, 3 chain, 1 SC).*  Repeat from * to * five more times. Chain three and do a DC into the last SC from the previous row.
  5. Repeat step 3, but only carry out from * to * a total of six times.
  6. Repeat step 4, but only carry out from * to * a total of five times.
  7. Repeat step 3, but only carry out from * to * a total of five times.
  8. Using Colour B, repeat step 4, but only carry out from * to * a total of four times.
  9. Repeat step 3, but only carry from * to * a total of four times
  10. Repeat step 2, but only carry out from * to * a total of four times.
  11. Repeat step 3, but only carry out from * to * a total of four times.
  12. Repeat steps 10 and 11.
  13. Using Colour C, repeat step 12 three times.
  14. Do steps 1 – 13 again for the other side! Make sure to leave long ends for weaving into the heart panel.

When adding the buttons, remember that yarn often stretches out over time! Try to work with the crop top before attaching the buttons so that the yarn has a chance to relax and breathe. This way, you won’t have to move the buttons after only one wear!

I promise I will be posting an adapted version for different sizes soon, so please bear with me as I get that sorted out. If it’s urgent, please e-mail me at ticktockhobbies@gmail.com, and I’ll try to work it out for you.

As you may be able to tell, I have a thing for the herringbone half-double crochet. It’s honestly my favourite stitch, and it was so fun to get to work with it again. The side panels are an adapted version of the Open Shell and Picot stitch, and it came out so beautifully that it might edge its way on to my favourites list too!

All in all, I loved this project. It pushed me to get creative, and I hope that I managed to come up with something that did Holly’s yarn justice. The yarn from Holly was an absolute dream to work with, and I will be posting more about it in a separate post!

Until next time, happy crafting!

EDIT (04/13/2017) – This item is now listed on my Etsy shop!

This pattern is an original pattern by June Cheung at Tick-Tock Hobbies – please do not claim this pattern as your own or reprint it on another site or any other format. If you want to share this pattern (and I’d love it if you do!), just link to this pattern and give me the proper credit. You may keep a copy of the pattern for your own personal use but please DO NOT sell this pattern. Permission is NOT granted for any finished products to be sold for profit, or for mass production or for factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you so much for your respect and understanding!

6 thoughts on “#68 – ILEX Crop Top

    1. Thanks so much! Life has gotten kind of crazy haha so I haven’t had as much time to work on the sizing, but was there a specific size you were interested in? I can try to tackle that one first!

      1. My daughter’s shirt size is between a Medium and Large depending on what it is. Bra size 34 C. So whatever that would turn out! I’d appreciate it very much. Thank you kindly.

      2. It has been a few weeks and I’ve seen several new listings from you, but I haven’t seen a response to my reply about size adjustment (for my daughter who wears a M-L shirt with 34 C cup bra) for this adorable crop top.
        Did I misunderstand that you were planning to have an updated version with adjustments for size?

        1. Thank you so much for your patience! I have sent you an e-mail with my best attempts to make a size adjustment 🙂

          June

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