Crochet Project: Sea Breeze Top

I have wanted to make this Sea Breeze Top for quite a while, but had difficulty finding nice cotton yarn in a good color anywhere even remotely local to me with which to make it. Earlier this month, I finally decided to take a chance on a brand and color, and order some yarn online, so I could get the shirt finished in time to possibly wear during my upcoming trip to Southern California.

My Sea Breeze Top is made from Lion Brand Lion Cotton yarn in "Orchid". This yarn is 100% cotton instead of cotton+acrylic called for in the pattern, so my shirt is probably a little heavier, but it still feels nice and cool to me. Cotton yarn is a bit more coarse to work with than the soft animal fiber based yarns I am accustomed to using, but this particular yarn didn't seem as rough on my hands or as splitty as many of the other brands I investigated for this project.

I worked the smallest size on the directions - using a size F hook for the band and straps, and a size I hook for the bodice - but I made a few slight changes to the pattern:

Band:

• I wish the pattern had included a picture of the back of this top. I originally made the extra overlapping part on the back of the band that you’re supposed to put buttons on, and then I ended up going back and removing it, after realizing it wasn’t necessary.
• Instead I just stitched the two ends of the band together at the back.

Bodice:

• To avoid a messy seam line on the back of bodice half of the shirt, instead of chaining 2 to start the new row, I just kept going around as if there was no new row. I just marked where the row should start on each round so I knew where to stop when it was long enough.
• I am currently contemplating sewing in a few darts (or gathers or something?) in the upper-front of the bodice to help give the shirt a closer fit/better drape on me from my ribs through my waist area (so it looks less like I'm wearing a potato sack). I guess I should have started out with less stitches at the top of the bodice than the pattern called for since my waist is smaller than my chest.
• I worked a few increases in the lower half of the bodice section (gradually adding 10 stitches) to make the shirt flare a little more in the hip area to fit my lower-body shape better.
• I also made the bodice just a tiny bit (1 inch) shorter than the length specified in the pattern (and I could have quit about another inch or two sooner and still had plenty of length to wear it comfortably).
• To finish, I put a scalloped (shell) edging around the bottom of the bodice, to make it look a little more “fancy” - (2dc, ch 2, sc) in same st, slst in next two st, repeat around.

Straps:

• I made much shorter straps: 12.5 inches instead of the pattern's 18 inches.
• I maybe should have made the straps a little narrower, but they’re not too bad on me at the pattern’s 3 inch width.
• I did not add buttons on the backs of the straps; I just stitched the strap end to the band, which seems more secure to me.
• I attached the straps to the front in the position the pattern specifies (2 inches in from the edge), but I attached them closer together on the back (3 inches in from the edge) to help them stay up on my narrow shoulders better.
• I worked a round of sc around the arm and neck hole edges of the straps (and band) to give them a more finished look.

Even though, as noted above, there are a couple more things I would change if I made this pattern again, overall I really like how the top turned out. It was a quick, easy garment to make, and it is very comfortable to wear.


Edited to Add: A few days after I originally posted this, I did decide to go back in and sew 3 “gathers” into the upper-front of the bodice of this project to help give the shirt a closer fit (it’s about 1.5 - 2 inches narrower now) and a better drape on me from my ribs through my waist area. Now, I love it!


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Crochet Project: Sea Breeze Top (Again)