I bought a large yarn cone sometime back and after making a killer button down crochet shirt with it, a significant amount of the yarn remained. I had my reservations about reusing the remaining yarn for another big project because I felt the yarn would finish along the way and I'd have to buy another cone in the same colour (and the cycle may repeat itself) so I dallied until I couldn't anymore.
I set out to make a crochet polo shirt and had it at the back of my mind to buy a new one if the current one finished. You may wonder why I needed an entire cone and not just a normal skein of yarn. This is simply because the strands are different. The strand from the cone is thinner in comparison to the regular yarns.
With this train of thought, I began this project and words can't express the relief I felt on the completion of this project. Without further ado, let me take you through the process.
Materials Needed
🤍: Yarn
🤍: 2.5mm hook
🤍: Measuring tape
🤍: A pair of scissors
🤍: Darning needle
🤍: Stitch markers.
Procedure
The majority of this project was done on “the-go”. I was either on campus waiting for my project supervisor or in a bus heading somewhere. I utilized every little opportunity I had because of how tight my schedule is this period. Also, crocheting outside is more fun than I imagined.
The first thing I did was to make a chain long enough to cover my shoulder to shoulder measurement without stretching. Once I got about 140 chains(for a size medium), I chained extra four chains, yarned over and into the fifth chain from the hook, I inserted my first double crochet stitch. I made a series of double crochet stitches till the end of the row.
To begin row two, I made a chain of four, skipped one space and into the next two spaces, I made two double crochet stitches. The pattern here is; chain one, skip one space and into the next two spaces make two double crochet stitches.
For the rest of the back panel of this shirt, I repeated rows two and three until I got my desired length. Then, it was time for the front panel.
For the front panel, I repeated the same pattern as the back panel until I got to the chest region, the sternum. Here, I divided the panel into two equal halves and placed a stitch marker in the middle. Next, I counted four chains from each side and also marked them.
Next, I worked on each divided side individually, making sure to stop at the point where I marked. Seven rows from the end of the panel, I began making decreases that would accommodate the collar of the shirt. I did this for both halves of the shirt.
Finally, I was done with both panels. I aligned the panels properly using stitch markers before coupling.
I started coupling the shoulders and then moved over to the body of the shirt, while paying attention to the space I kept for the arm hole.
Next, I made the overlapping placate and the collar of the shirt using single crochet stitches only.
The last part I made were the sleeves. The sleeves followed the same pattern as the body of the shirt.
Because I love a neat finish, I went ahead to make single crochet stitches round the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt. Finally, I sewed in my loose ends and that brought me to the end of the project.
The amazing part is that, despite my initial reservations, I still had some remaining yarn after this project. Not enough to make another shirt but enough for another small but beautiful craft. I'm open to any and all suggestions😊.
In total, I spent about 36 hours on this shirt from start to finish and it was certainly worth the long hours. I'm really pleased with how this unisex crochet shirt turned out and I look forward to making more of it for my clients in the nearest future.
Images used belong to me, except stated otherwise.