The Hourglass Crochet Top
Elegant, intricate looking, yet deceptively simple.
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Detailed PDF pattern
Step-by-step instructions and tutorial photos.
Row tracker to help you keep track of your sleeve decreases.
Size-inclusive
Pattern written for 18 sizes (XS-5X) with instructions on customization.
Fits busts from 26″ to 70″.
What you'll need
🖤 Katia Air Lux yarn or any fingering weight yarn you can meet gauge with, in the amounts shown below.
🖤 Your 3 mm hook; I like to use my Clover Amours.
🖤 Tape measure, scissors, darning needle, 3 stitch markers, pins for blocking.
Pattern support
🖤 For pattern related questions, please join my Facebook support group or contact me at thecrochethighway [at] gmail.com.
Join my Facebook support Group
I proud myself with writing ultra-detailed patterns for you, so that your crocheting experience is as smooth and seamless as possible. But whenever you have a pattern related question, my Facebook support group is the place to ask. There you can also share your WIPs and brag about your FOs with the community!
The design
The Hourglass Crochet Top is an elegant, intricate looking yet deceptively simple design. The slow nature of working with fingering weight yarn is significantly offset by the tall stitches which work up quicker than you’d expect. The 4×4 cabled stitch looked like an hourglass to me, hence the name of the design.
Quick metrics from my testers:
- Difficulty rating: 2.7 / 5
- Average completion time: 38 hours
The pattern
The top is worked seamlessly from the top down and features a modified drop shoulder construction, with shaping at the underarm and the sleeves to minimize the bulkiness of the traditional drop shoulder sweater and provide a more flattering fit.
The pattern is written for 18 sizes, with finished busts ranging from 28″ to 70″ (fits actual busts of 26″ to 70″). This makes sure that everyone can wear the top with the recommended 0-2″ of positive ease. The top can be worn as a blouse with sleeves, or as a sleeveless vest/tee.
As usual, the pattern comes with loads of written instructions, tutorial pictures, and even a video tutorial with my tips on how to make the perfect tall stitches every time – you know how sometimes, the top loops of these stitches get very loose? I teach you how to avoid that!
Designer sample
My sample uses Katia Air Lux (WPI=14) in color Rose (Cinnamon). Click here to shop this colorway on Amazon.
I made my top as an elegant crochet blouse with long sleeves, but I couldn’t resist snapping some pics wearing it before adding the sleeves, which I included below!
Wear it with a cami or bralette underneath for a summery, breezy look, throw it on top of a long-sleeved shirt for the most unique and professional office outfit, or go for long sleeves and turn it into a blouse that you can wear year-round.
I’m wearing the top in size 5, showing 0 ease around the bust.
Tester highlights
Scroll down for the complete tester lookbook, where you can find photos, yarn & yardage info from all my testers, as well as certain modifications they made to their tops for the perfect, customized fit.
Yardage
Sleeveless top/vest:
(660, 720, 780, 840, 900, 1015) (1075, 1140, 1205, 1265, 1330, 1395) (1455, 1520, 1585, 1645, 1710, 1775) m, or
(720, 785, 855, 920, 985, 1110) (1175, 1245, 1320, 1385, 1455, 1525) (1590, 1660, 1735, 1800, 1870, 1940) yds.
Long-sleeved blouse:
(1255, 1315, 1375, 1435, 1495, 1720) (1805, 1870, 2000, 2060, 2125, 2325) (2385, 2515, 2580, 2640, 2705, 2770) m, or
(1370, 1440, 1505, 1570, 1635, 1880) (1975, 2045, 2185, 2255, 2325, 2545) (2610, 2750, 2820, 2885, 2960, 3030) yds.
Sizing
All my garment patterns are #sizeinclusive up to at least a 60” bust circumference.
Hourglass Crochet Top bust sizing:
Size 1: 27.5″ (70 cm)
Size 2: 30″ (76 cm)
Size 3: 32.5″ (83 cm)
Size 4: 35″ (89 cm)
Size 5: 37.5″ (95 cm)
Size 6: 40″ (102 cm)
Size 7: 42.5″ (108 cm)
Size 8: 45″ (114 cm)
Size 9: 47.5″ (121 cm)
Size 10: 50″ (127 cm)
Size 11: 52.5″ (133 cm)
Size 12: 55″ (140 cm)
Size 13: 57.5″ (146 cm)
Size 14: 60″ (152 cm)
Size 15: 62.5″ (159 cm)
Size 16: 65″ (165 cm)
Size 17: 67.5″ (171 cm)
Size 18: 70″ (178 cm)
The measurements above reflect finished bust measurements. This top is designed to be worn with 0-5 cm (0-2″) of positive ease around the bust. When choosing a size, find the bust measurement in this list that is closest to 0-5 cm (0-2″) larger than your actual bust measurement depending on your desired amount of positive ease and make this size.
Tried & tested substitution yarns
My testers used a variety of yarns for their sweaters, in a truly amazing variety of color combinations. Here’s a list of yarns recommended by them. The list is sorted alphabetically. If you’re looking for inspiration or a quick yarn substitution idea, this is the place to start!
- Alize Diva Silky Effect, Alize Diva Stretch
- Blue Sky Woolstok Light
- Dapper Dreamer Cool Breeze
- DMC Cebelia 10
- Hobbii Azalea, Hobbii Metallico, Hobbii Rainbow Cotton, Hobbii Rainbow Deluxe, Hobbii Twister
- Jokamamo Textiles 4 ply Sparkly Inferno
- Loops & Threads Woolike
- Magic Needles Kotton
- Scheepjes Organicon, Scheepjes Whirl, Scheepjes Whirlette
- Sesia Sesia Jeans
- Tex Yarns Bellissimo Airlie
- The Yarn Collective Portland Lace Merino Wool
- Yarnart Flowers
- Yonkey Monkey Bamboo Cotton
Tester lookbook
My patterns would not be so smooth without the input of my team of talented testers. Swipe left & right for more photos of your favorite versions! We’ll start off with the neutral colors, then we’ll move into the blues and teals, following up with pinks, purples, reds and oranges. Scroll all the way to the end and you’ll see the multicolored and gradient versions!
Want to test my future patterns? Check out how you can become a pattern tester for CrochetHighway!
Size 2
Using 1003 yds of DMC Cebelia 10 & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I made short sleeves. Made the sleeve cap slightly smaller, ending with 92 ST on rnd 3.
Size 4
Using 1566 yds of Loops & Threads Woolike & a 3 mm hook
Mods: I added one repeat to the body and one repeat to both sleeves.
Size 8
Using 1604 yds of Fuzzy what Knots Cozy Cotton Socks & a 1.60 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 8
Using 1734 yds of Hobbii Metallico & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I made the sleeve shorter and blocked it longer to make it narrower.
Size 5
Using 1070 yds of Katia Yarn Air Lux & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I added 1 extra pattern repeat to the yoke to increase yoke depth.
Size 3
Using 490 yds of Modista Diana Moda & a 2 mm hook
Mods: I made the body shorter. When I was doing the body section, I felt like the SC rounds were spreading too much, so I switched down to a 1.75 mm for those rounds to keep the garment straight. I also used 1.75 mm for the edgings.
Size 9
Using 1246 yds of Dapper Dreamer Cool Breeze & a 3.25 mm hook
Mods: Due to the yarn stretching, I frogged one pattern repeat on each front & back panels. For the body I ended up only needing to do 4 pattern repeats instead of the recommended 8.
Size 9
Using 1294 yds of Sesia Sesia Jeans & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I added 1 pattern repeat to the body length, and possibly would have added another if I’d had enough yarn.
Size 11
Using 1499 yds of Loops and Threads Woolike & a 2.75 mm hook
Mods: I added 4 pattern repeats to the body.
Size 3
Using 1325 yds of Ashley’s Crochet Cozy Knots 4-ply Cotton & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 10
Using 1436 yds of Hobbii Rainbow Deluxe & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I took 2 pattern repeats off the body.
Size 3
Using 1165 yds of Yarnamour Caladium Pink Charm & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 5
Using 900 yds of Sewrella Classic Sock & a 2 mm hook
Mods: I added 1 extra pattern repeat to the yoke to increase yoke depth, and 2 extra pattern repeats to the body to increase the length.
Size 1
Using 564 yds of Sewrella Yarn Classic Sock (old 4ply version) & a 3.5 mm hook
Mods: I didn’t do as many repeats in the body round and made a slightly cropped version, instead of the 9 repeats for size 1 I did 5.
Size 5
Using 1600 yds of hand dyed yarn by Aquarius Make 80/20 SW Merino Stellina & a 2.75 mm hook
Mods: I was running out of yarn so I made 3/4 sleeves.
Size 5
Using 1093 yds of Tex Yarns Bellissimo Airlie & a 2 mm hook
Mods: I added 1 extra pattern repeat to the yoke to increase yoke depth, and 2 extra pattern repeats to the body to increase the length.
Size 1
Using 1000 yds of locally sourced yarn (100% cotton) & a 3 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 6
Using 1570 yds of The Yarn Collective Portland Lace Merino Wool & a 3.5 mm hook
Mods: I shortened the body length by one pattern repeat. I also started with a sleeve count of 101 stitches.
Size 9
Using 1208 yds of The Conifer Collective 75/25 Fingering weight & a 2.75 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 7
Using 1120 yds of Scheepjes Whirlette & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 12
Using 1386 yds of Hue-it hand-dyed Fibers Fingering weight (70% superwash merino, 20% silk, 10% cashmere) & a 2.75 mm hook
Mods: I added 2 pattern repeats. I went up to a 3.5 mm hook for the bottom hem (it was too tight with the 2.75 mm hook).
Size 10
Using 1900 yds of Yonkey Monkey Bamboo Cotton & a 2.75 mm hook
Mods: I added 1 pattern repeat to the yoke and 3 pattern repeats to the body.
Size 6
Using 1019 yds of Alize Diva Silky Effect & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I shortened my body length by 1 pattern repeat.
Size 5
Using 1562 yds of Jokamamo Textiles 4 ply Sparkly Inferno & a 2.75 mm hook
Mods: None.
Size 7
Using 1140 yds of Alize Diva Stretch & a 3 mm hook
Mods: I shortened the body length by one pattern repeat.
Size 8
Using 2231 yds of Hobbii Twister & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I added 2 pattern repeats to the yoke and body. I did extra decreases in sleeve to match the ST count for the arms due to additional yoke depth.
Size 11
Using 1364 yds of Hobbii Azalea & a 2.5 mm hook
Mods: I added 2 extra pattern repeats to the body before completing the hem.
Size 12
Using 2188 yds of Hobbii Twister & a 1.75 mm hook
Mods: I made shorter sleeves as I ran out of yarn.
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