This is a crochet pattern review of the Sunset Boulevard Top designed by Michelle for Tales of Knots. Review done by Kami Jones for Cre8tion Crochet.
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Summer weather is here! Or maybe just spring weather depending on where you live. Either way it’s time to break out those lighter weight clothes. This Sunset Boulevard Top is definitely giving off those warm weather vibes. Perfect for those summer outings, perhaps at the beach.
What’s not to love about this top? It is open and lacy, perfect for layering. Lacy stitches are quicker to make using less yarn than a solid top. Plus it’s worked from side to side rather than top to bottom. This allows finishing with only two small seams. Furthermore it makes the stretch more sideways making a more flattering fit. Finally, those fluttery sleeves add some serious femininity.
Michelle recently added this pattern to her website. It is free with a sign in on your Grow account (same one you use here on Cre8tion Crochet to access the free PDF). however the customization information and the stitch chart are only available in the paid version.
What Materials Do You Need to Crochet a Summer Top?
- For the Medium size: 630 yards Lion Brand Cotton Bamboo Linen in Denim
- Size 7/4.5 mm hook
- Scissors
- Tapestry Needle
- Stitch Markers
- Sunset Boulevard Top Crochet Pattern from Tales of Knots – Paid Version on Etsy | Free Version on her website
Material Notes:
Although this top was designed using fingering weight wool, which I’m sure would be absolutely amazing. I decided to use a cotton blend because of the hotter weather here. Lion Brand Cotton Bamboo Linen is a beautiful sport weight blend with 40% Cotton 35% Bamboo and 25% Linen. This was my first time using this yarn and I really like it a lot. It has good drape but remains very lightweight. [Not to be confused with Lion Brand Cotton Bamboo, which I wouldn’t recommend for this pattern just because it’s so splitty, as I mentioned when I shared my Dragonfly Parade Scarf Review.]
Some other great Summer blends would be WeCrochet’s Comfy Fingering, which is a lovely Pima Cotton and Acrylic blend, and WeCrochet’s Lindy Chain, which is an amazing Linen and Pima Cotton blend.
How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Summer Top?
I worked on this top over a period of 3 weeks. It probably took around 15 hours to complete. I spent a lot of extra time measuring since I made some changes to the sleeves. And additionally because of my vastly different yarn choice.
Measurements:
I made the medium size with changes to the sleeve length. Using the customization information in the pattern I removed six rows from the sleeves. My sleeves are about 5.5″ in length. Bust is 38″. Full length is 23″
Gauge:
Although my gauge was fairly close to the designers it was a little different. I chose to use a 4.5 mm hook because I liked the resulting fabric better. 3.75 triangles and 10 rows = 4″ (triangle is sc, ch2, dc, ch2). Measurements are after blocking.
Pattern Notes:
This was a pretty simple top to make but be aware it is an intermediate pattern. I would definitely read through the pattern before starting. Then you should have a good understanding of how the parts of the pattern work together. It is important that you count your rows and start and end the different sections as laid out in the pattern. Michelle has really done a great job to lay out exactly what you need to do to keep everything lined up correctly. If you don’t follow exactly as the pattern is laid out you could potentially end up with the stitching running backwards.
When making customizations to one part of the pattern other parts may also be affected by the change. For example my change to the sleeve length also takes length from the front and back. Unless you want the overall length to be shorter you will also have to add length to the front and back sections.
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