Tops I’ve Crocheted This Month 💗
There is something deeply satisfying about finishing a wearable piece. Blankets and bags are wonderful, and I will never stop making them, but there is a particular kind of magic that happens when you hold up a finished garment, try it on, and realize that you actually made something you want to wear out into the world. This month has been entirely dedicated to tops, and I am honestly a little obsessed with where things have gone. Whether you are here because you are looking for inspiration, trying to decide what pattern to tackle next, or simply love seeing other people’s makes, I hope this post gives you all the cozy, creative energy you need.
Let me walk you through every top I finished this month, the yarns I used, the patterns I worked from, the challenges I ran into, and the little tips I picked up along the way. Grab your hook and settle in, because we have a lot to cover.
Why I Decided to Dedicate a Whole Month to Tops
It started, honestly, because my wardrobe was crying out for something handmade. I have sweaters and beanies and shawls, but tops specifically, the kind you throw on with jeans or layer under a blazer, had somehow never made it into my rotation. I kept pinning patterns and saving them to Ravelry and then… making another dishcloth. Classic.
This month I decided to actually commit. I set a loose goal of finishing at least four tops, told myself that frogging and starting over counts as part of the process and not as failure, and dove in headfirst. I ended up finishing five complete tops, with a sixth almost done that will appear in next month’s round-up.
If you have been intimidated by crocheted garments before, I want to say upfront that I completely understand. Garments require gauge swatching in a way that hats and bags simply do not, and the fear of making something that does not fit is real. But I also want to tell you that every single top in this post taught me something, and none of them turned out perfectly, and I am wearing all of them anyway because they are mine and I made them and that matters more than perfection.
Top One: The Linen Stitch Bralette
The first top I finished was a linen stitch bralette in a soft sage green cotton blend yarn. I had seen a similar style floating around Instagram for a few months and finally found a pattern on Etsy that matched the vibe I was going for. The finished piece is cropped, with adjustable ties at the back and a simple, clean texture that photographs beautifully.
The linen stitch is one of those stitches that looks incredibly complicated but is actually quite meditative once you get the rhythm. You are essentially alternating chain spaces and single crochets in a specific way that creates this woven, almost fabric-like texture. It is slightly slower than working regular rows of single crochet, but the result is so worth it.
For yarn, I used a fingering-weight mercerized cotton in sage green. Mercerized cotton has a slight sheen to it and holds its shape really well in wearables, which is why I tend to reach for it when I am making anything that needs structure. I worked at a 2.5mm hook, which felt tiny compared to what I usually use, but the tighter gauge was necessary for the fabric to drape correctly rather than gaping.
The bralette took about three evenings of focused work, so maybe twelve hours total. It is the quickest make in this round-up by a significant margin, and if you are looking for a starting point for crocheted tops, something small and structured like this is genuinely a great entry point.
One thing I adjusted from the pattern: the original called for a single-layer front panel, but I worked two panels and slip-stitched them together around the edges to give the top a little more coverage and sturdiness. If you are working a similar design, that is an easy modification that makes a big difference.
Top Two: The Mesh Beach Cover-Up
This one was pure summer energy. I used a buttery yellow DK-weight cotton and worked a simple mesh pattern, essentially rows of chain spaces and double crochets, to create an open, airy top that works beautifully as a beach cover-up over a swimsuit or as a top on its own with high-waisted shorts.
Mesh tops are a wonderful project for newer garment crocheters because the structure is relatively forgiving. Unlike a linen stitch or a dense single crochet fabric, mesh stretches easily in multiple directions, which means small gauge inconsistencies matter less. That said, I still swatched, because I have learned my lesson enough times to know that skipping the swatch only ever leads to tears.
The pattern I used was actually a free one, available on the designer’s website. I will not name it here since availability of free patterns can change, but searching “free crochet mesh top pattern DK weight” will turn up several options in a similar style. I worked the body in the round from the bottom hem up to the underarm, then split for the front and back and worked them flat, finishing with simple single crochet trim around the neckline and armholes.
The yellow I chose is one of those shades that photographs almost differently in every light, which I love. It is warm and cheerful and very much the color of being on vacation, even when you are just standing in your kitchen.
Total time on this one was probably eighteen hours across a week and a half, mostly because I ripped back the neckline twice. The first time I found the opening too wide, the second time I had overcorrected and made it too narrow. The third attempt landed in a good place, and I am glad I did not give up on it.
Top Three: The Classic Granny Square Tank
I could not do a tops month without at least one granny square project, because granny squares are my first crochet love and I refuse to outgrow them. I made a tank top from individually crocheted granny squares in a multicolored palette of dusty pink, terracotta, cream, and a deep burgundy that ties everything together.
The construction here is what I love most about this style: you crochet all your squares first, joining them as you go in a flat panel, and then you simply seam the panels together at the sides and shoulders. There is no shaping to speak of, which means no increases or decreases to track, just the pleasant repetition of making square after square and watching the color combinations emerge.
I used a worsted-weight cotton-acrylic blend for this one because I wanted the fabric to have a little softness and slight give without being too heavy. Pure cotton at worsted weight can feel stiff and dense in a granny square construction, and the acrylic content helps with drape.
The tank is slightly oversized and hits right at the hip, which I think works perfectly for this style. I added a single crochet border all around the neckline, arm openings, and hem to clean everything up and give the edges a finished look.
Something worth knowing about granny square tops: the seams where the squares join can create a slightly thicker line of fabric, and depending on your tension and yarn, this may or may not be visible under a light. I did not find it bothersome at all, but if you have sensitive skin or simply prefer very smooth seams, you might choose a construction method that avoids seaming altogether, like a planned joining method or a top worked in a continuous tile pattern.
This project took the longest of the month, about twenty-five hours across two weeks, but it also brought me the most joy in the process. There is something about a granny square that just feels like home.
Top Four: The Off-Shoulder Ruffle Top
This was the most ambitious top of the month, and also the one that taught me the most. I followed a paid pattern from a designer whose work I have admired for a long time, and the finished piece is an off-shoulder top with a wide, stretchy neckline and a ruffled hem that hits just above the waist.
The yarn I chose was a lightweight DK-weight bamboo blend in a warm rust orange. Bamboo yarns are incredible for wearables because they are naturally breathable, have a beautiful drape, and become softer with every wash. The downside is that bamboo can be slippery on metal hooks, so I switched to a wooden hook for this project and found it made a significant difference in my tension consistency.
The construction involved working the body in rows from the top down, starting with a wide ribbed neckband and then increasing out for the bust and waist. The ruffle at the hem is worked separately and then attached with a simple slip stitch join, which sounds fiddly but actually went quite smoothly. What did not go smoothly was the ribbing. Ribbing in crochet is typically done with slip stitch rib or post stitches, and I had to practice the front and back post double crochet combination several times before my tension became even enough to look tidy.
Once the ribbing clicked, though, the rest of the top worked up quickly. The pattern was clearly written and included a tutorial for the ruffle attachment that I appreciated enormously. I worked a size medium and found the fit to be very accurate to the measurements given, which is always a relief with garments.
I have already worn this top twice. It is the kind of piece that people notice, and I have had two conversations about it with strangers who did not believe it was handmade.
Top Five: The Simple Summer Tee
The final top of the month was intentionally simple, because by the end of four more complex projects I needed something that felt almost meditative. I made a classic, boxy tee silhouette using half double crochet in the round, worked from the bottom hem up, in a light oat-colored cotton yarn.
There is genuinely nothing fancy about this top, and that is exactly its charm. It has a slightly relaxed fit, short sleeves worked by picking up stitches at the armholes, and a clean single crochet neckline. That is it. No ruffle, no pattern stitch, no joining. Just rows of half double crochet and the quiet pleasure of watching a wearable take shape.
I used a medium-weight cotton because I wanted a slightly thicker fabric than the other tops this month, something that felt more like a traditional tee and less like a beach layer. The oat color is endlessly wearable and goes with essentially everything in my closet, which was deliberate. I needed a workhorse piece.
The tee took about fourteen hours across three days, and I wore it the day after I finished it. It is already one of my most-reached-for makes, and I think that simplicity is actually a feature rather than a limitation. Sometimes the best thing you can make is the thing you will actually wear consistently.
What I Learned This Month
Five tops in a month taught me more about garment crochet than years of occasional attempts had. A few things stand out as genuinely useful lessons.
Gauge really does matter for garments in a way it simply does not for other projects. I swatched every single project this month, washed and blocked the swatches before measuring them, and every single time I found that my gauge shifted after washing. Working from a washed swatch meant my finished pieces fit the way the patterns intended.
Yarn choice shapes the garment as much as the pattern does. The same stitch in a stiff cotton versus a drapey bamboo blend will produce a completely different fabric, and understanding how your yarn behaves before you commit to a whole top saves a lot of frogging time.
Seaming is a skill worth practicing separately. Many crocheters, myself included, find seaming to be the most intimidating part of garment construction. Spending twenty minutes just practicing mattress stitch or slip stitch joins on swatches before attempting it on a finished panel makes the process significantly less stressful.
Working from the top down is genuinely easier for fitting adjustments. Three of my five tops this month were top-down constructions, and being able to try the piece on as I worked and adjust length before the hem was an enormous advantage.
And finally: wear the things you make. It sounds obvious, but I have a history of finishing handmade garments and then treating them as too precious to actually put on. Every top in this post has been worn at least once, and wearing them is what makes the whole process meaningful.
What Is Coming Next Month
I have already cast on, or rather chained up, the beginnings of a crocheted cardigan that I am deeply excited about. I have also been eyeing a halter-neck pattern that uses a beautiful textured bobble stitch, and I have a cone of undyed linen-cotton blend just waiting to become something elegant and simple.
If you have been thinking about trying crocheted garments and have been holding back, I genuinely encourage you to start small, like a bralette or a mesh cover-up, and let yourself learn as you go. The finished pieces are worth every moment of figuring it out. And if you have a favorite top pattern that you think I absolutely need to try, drop it in the comments because my pattern wishlist is always open.
Happy hooking, and I hope your crafting this month brings you as much joy as mine has brought me. 💗
