My third successful crochet garment is finished! I made the Summertime Tee by Toni Lipsey and I love it.
This is my fourth attempt at a crochet garment. I made a Water Clover from Pom Pom Magazine No. 28 and that was mostly a success. I had issues with the shoulder shaping but I made it work in the end. Also, I attempted to crochet Davallia from that same issue but ran into extreme gauge issues and haven’t ripped back yet.
I seem to be at odds with crochet gauge. The only project I’ve made that didn’t have gauge issues was the Hexi-Granny Cardigan (it’s in the same blog post as my Water Clover). But I’ve crocheted four garments and that’s in the last 15 months. I like having goals to work toward, and crochet gauge is now one of those goals.
Crocheting the Summertime Tee
I fell in love with the Summertime Tee the moment I saw it. That happens with a lot of Toni’s patterns. This is the first one I’ve made and it definitely won’t be the last. The pattern is cleanly laid out and easy to follow. Toni uses American English crochet terms throughout, and included clear photographs for one part of the pattern that required a little extra help.
Because of my known gauge issues in knitting, and using a yarn that is a bit thinner than the recommended yarn, I went down one hook size. I worked the bottom band to the length indicated by the pattern. Once I started working in the pattern stitch, I noticed the fabric was pulling in. I liked the gauge that I had, so I went back to the beginning and made the bottom band a little longer.
In the end it all worked out, but I had to block this extremely aggressively. And the length of the back didn’t end up being long enough. I left a side vent when sewing the sides up, so it still has that split hem effect. All of the issues I encountered are operator error, not problems with the pattern.
Crocheting with Berroco Indigo
I used Berroco Indigo (discontinued) to crochet my Summertime Tee. This worsted weight yarn was made from recycled fibers and is mostly cotton with a bit of “other”. The pairing of this cotton yarn with an openwork crochet pattern is pretty perfect. I find cotton to be really dense in knitted projects, even though many prefer it for summer projects.
The Details
Pattern: Summertime Tee by Toni Lipsey
Size made: 54″
Hook size: I and J hooks
Start date: June 21, 2020
Finish date: August 22, 2020
Yarn used: Berroco Indigo (discontinued
Amount of yarn used (estimate): 753 yds (this is based on the weight of the finished garment, which was 344 grams)
Suuuper cute!