Easter Saturday's New Project......

I decided to go for a new project this weekend, as I can easily pick up on the Granny Square Blanket

And the Vintage stripy blanket, as and when I feel like I need a change!

So I have started on the Free Pattern that I received from Lion Brand Yarn via email, the SEA BREEZE TOP

As you can see, I have chosen to do this in Pampas, which is a soft olive green colour and I have used the same wool as I use for the Granny Square Blanket as the pattern required 50% cotton and 50% acrylic.  It's a lovely wool to work with and I managed to get 6 balls of this colour very cheaply (£3.20) on ebay recently.  It's normally £1.99 per ball!

I am really pleased with my neat edging.  I think I may have got it after all.  I have been making the turning chain, in this case 2 chains, as the rest of the row is working in half treble crochets ( the pattern says half double crochet, which is US stitching, so I converted it to UK), looser than I have been doing recently, and this has helped me to keep the constant 26 chains across at all times.

I read that for my size I had to continue to work until the piece (this is the band across the bust that I am working on here by the way) measured 37 inches, so I had one of those lightbulb moments, ran upstairs - well ok I hobbled quickly - and got my tape measure out from my sewing box - I measured around my bust and soon realised that an extra few inches wouldn't go amiss!Wow this is going to be a made to measure top!!

When you got to your required length you have to:

Overlap the short ends of Band by 1 in. (2.5 cm) and pin to form center back. Sew along one long edge of the overlapped section to secure the 2 layers together along that edge only. Bodice sts will be worked along this joined edge. Overlapped section is center back.

I think I did it right!!

Then you have to:

Ch 2, work 122 (138, 154, 170, 186) hdc evenly spaced around lower edge of Band; join with sl st in first hdc.

This did take a little while to work out, but then it clicked - I had to start the bodice off from the Band and not as a separate item!!  So I joined the yarn at one edge (neat edge hehehehe) chained two, and added about 136 half treble crochets.  I did loose count a little after 120 but I had a good idea that I was on the right amount or thereabouts.

So this is the first row being added....

And this is the result at the end of row 4.  I now have to change to the bigger needle size and work until the bodice measures about 14 to 15 inches - so a job for a rainy wet Easter Sunday then!!

Link to the Free Pattern - Lion Brand Sea Breeze Top