The perfect top to wear in the summer heat – due to both the breezy pattern and the cooling combination of linen and cotton, this shirt is perfect for the hottest days of summer. And it’s super easy to make! The only stitches you need to know are chains, single and double crochet, and slip stitches for closing the round. Could not get any more simple, right?
Materials
The yarn I used for this top is called Terra by Lana Grossa, and it’s made of 58% recycled linen and 42% cotton, which gives it great breathability and cooling effect during the summer. For a losely fitting size small/regular size medium, I used a little over six skeins in a soft lime green (colour 04).
All you need to get started apart from the yarn is
3.5 mm crochet hook
pair of scissors
tapestry needle
two stitch markers
Measuring tape (optional, if you want to make fit you more tightly)
It took me around 20 hours to finish the whole top, but given that it’s quite simple and just a five-row repeat, it’s the perfect project to work on while watching TV in the evening.
Construction
First of all, some general information on the construction.
The stitch pattern works by increasing or decreasing after a few stitches each. To illustrate this, the chart below shows how this stitch pattern is constructed.
To create the yoke, in addition to following the increases/decreases of the stitch pattern, additional increases are added in some rounds, forming an ever-increasing circular shape.
Once this is big enough to reach all the way around your upper arms and around your chest, part of the circle is separated to form the arm holes. The middle part (which is now connected in a narrower circumference) will be continued to form the body for however long you want the shirt to be.
This means that the stitch/row counts in the pattern as well as the schematic are just guidelines of what fits me (size S/36) with 15-20 cm of positive ease.
If you have different measurements or want a more narrow/wide fit, you can add rows before separating into three holes in order to create a wider fit, or subtract rows before separation to achieve a narrower fit. To adjust the length, just keep going for fewer or more rows on the body of the shirt – I’m sure it would even look great as a short dress to cover up at the beach!
Ready, hooks, go!
After all the explanations, onto working up the pattern…
Creating the yoke
To begin, chain 128 – and if you’re anything like me and get distracted easily, I recommend adding a stitch marker every 20 or 25 stitches to make sure you don’t need to count from the beginning if you lose track.
To turn this into the neckline, slip stitch into the first chain you made, chain one, and then single crochet around the entire round. Afterward, always using a slip stitch to connect the round, chain two (counting as your first DC) and double crochet the round. For the final round of the neckline, single crochet around again, but this time crocheting into the spaces between the double crochets rather than into the stitches themselves.
The next row will form the basis for the zig-zag pattern. Chain one and single crochet once into each stitch for eight stitches, then chain two, and again single crochet into the next stitch (not skipping any Vs) until you reach the end of the round where you’ll chain two and slip stitch to connect to the first stitch. This should give you a total of 16 repeats of sc8 and ch2.
For round five, chain two (counting as the first dc) and then dc two more. Afterwards, skip the next two stitches, and then dc another three stitches. Now the next “stitch” should be the chain two space – dc twice into it, then chain two and dc twice again into that initial chain two space. Afterwards repeat dc into each of the next 3 stitches, skip 2 stitches, dc into next three stitches, dc2 ch2 dc2 into chain space until the end of the round. (see also the chart from the beginning)
The next two rounds will form the filet pattern – this is created by replacing every other dc with a chain one space. So for round no. 6, start by chaining three (counts as dc and ch1), skip one stitch, and dc into the next stitch. For all the zigzag “valleys”, this is always where you skipped two stitches in the row below, you’ll chain one and skip two stitches instead of one. For the “peaks” of the zigzag, meaning wherever you added the chain two spaces, you’ll dc into the chain two space, chain three, and dc into the space again. So the repeat for this row is *dc, ch1* x3 sk1 stitch each time, *dc, ch1* sk2 st with the ch1, *dc, ch1* x3 with sk1 st, and then *dc, ch3, dc* into the chain two space.
In round 7 it continues in the same manner, just now into the chain one spaces created by the previous round. Start again with ch3 and dc into the following ch1 space; then ch1 and dc into each of the next ch1 spaces. With your next dc after that, skip one ch1 space (keeping up the “valley” of the zigzag), and then dc and ch1 two more times. For the zigzag peak, dc ch3 dc into the ch3 space of the previous row. The repeat for this row is *dc, ch1* x3 into each ch1 space, *dc, ch1* skipping one ch1 space, *dc, ch1* x3 into each ch1 space, *dc, ch3, dc* into the ch2 space.
The next round is double crochets without creating a filet, and this will also be an increase round. Ch2 counting as dc, and dc once into the next ch1 space directly after. Then dc twice into the next two ch1 spaces. Skip the next “valley” ch1 space, then dc twice into the next three ch1 spaces. For the “peak” dc twice, chain two, dc twice again into the ch3 space of the previous row. The repeat for this row is *dc2* x3 into each ch1 space, sk one ch1 space, *dc2* x3 into the next ch1 spaces, *dc2, ch2, dc* into the ch3 space.
Round no. 9 is simply single crochets. Chain one and single crochet into the next six double crochet stitches, skip the next two stitches (as always in the zigzag “valley”), and single crochet in the following seven stitches. For the “peak” single crochet, chain 2, single crochet into the ch2 space. The repeat for this row is *sc* x7 into next dcs, sk2 stitches, *sc* x7 again, *sc, ch2, sc* into ch2 space.
In round 10, it’s again double crochets into each stitch, skipping the valleys and adding dc2 ch2 dc2 into the peaks to form an increase round. I’m sure by now you’ve got the general gist of the stitch pattern – the repeat here is *dc* x7, sk2 st, *dc* x7, *dc2 ch2 dc2* into ch2 spaces.
From here, continue the pattern in the same logic, repeating rounds 6 to 10 until you’ve reached the desired length/width of the yoke. In my case, this was after five repeats. As you increase by two stitches per stitch-repeat in two rounds of the row-repeat, you’ll also have per five-row repeat one more ch1 space in the filet between each valley and peak.
Splitting into sleeves and body
Once you are ready to split the round into three rounds (sleeves and body), I recommend you use two stitch markers for help. Regardless of how many stitches you ended up with, you should have 16 stitch-repeats (16 peaks and valleys). From where you just slip stitched to connect the round, count four repeats (that’s one quarter of the stitches) and connect it with the stitch marker to the chain two space you just created before closing the round. Then count four more repeats (peaks) and connect that with the chain two spaces another four repeats ahead. This way you should have split the round into four quarters – two separate smaller rounds on each side which for the sleeves and two flat-laying quarters that will form one larger round as the body.
Slip stitch into the other ch2 space that you just connected with the marker to where your working loop is, forming the first small round.
Simply single crochet into the spaces between the double crochets and, at the end of the sleeve round, just slip stitch again into the now connected ch2 spaces. Now move onto the first half of the body – for this, continue in the five-row repeat as usual – so here you should be creating the filet consisting of double crochets and chain one spaces. Once you reach the next stitch marker, repeat what you did for the first sleeve. Then finish the second half of round for the body in the same filet pattern.
Finishing the body
And that’s it for the yoke – from here it’s smooth sailing. All you need to do now is continue, now without increases, the same five row repeat until the body is as long as you want it to be. I was happy with the length of my top after adding eight repeats after the yoke. The only difference is not increasing in the double crochet rounds (as in round 8 and 10). For this, instead of doing *dc2 ch2 dc2* into each “peak” chain space, just do *dc1 ch2 dc1*. While this does increase by two stitches at the “peak”, we are also decreasing by skipping two stitches in each “valley”, therefore keeping the total number of stitches the same. (see also the schematic in the beginning)
Once your top has reached the desired length, single crochet into the spaces between the dcs in the same way as for the final round of the sleeves, and you’re done! To bind off, simply cut the yarn leaving a few centimeters of tail, chain one and pull the yarn through.
Note: whenever I have to add the next skein, I simply connect using a magic knot. If you do this, you’ll only have to weave in two ends after finishing the entire top.
As always, I do recommend blocking your finished piece. It is optional for this one, but will definitely make especially the edges look neater.
I know this probably sounds very complicated after reading the tutorial for the first time, but I promise after you’ve finished the first five-row-repeat, you’ll already understand the logic and will quite easily be able to keep going. And of course, if you are struggling with anything in this tutorial, you can always reach me through the contact form at the bottom of the page. If you are making this, I would love to see your progress or finished garment, so please tag me on Instagram as well! Looking forward to seeing your amazing new summer top!