Lion Brand Notebook ®
We’ve made it! It’s the final week of the crochet along and all we have left now are a few finishing touches. Adding a few buttons and some blocking will make our projects perfect.
Blocking is one of the final steps that should be used for almost every project. Blocking sets the stitches and gives you the chance to straighten edges and slightly reshape any areas that need it.
There are different methods for blocking but the one that I recommend for this project is wet blocking. To wet block take your garment and soak it in water for at least 30 minutes to make sure it is thoroughly wet all of the way through. If you think your sweater could use a cleaning add some wool wash to your soak.
Once soaked, carefully pull it out of the water and gently squeeze out the excess. Be careful not to agitate the sweater too much while it is wet to avoid felting. Lay it out on a blocking mat or stack of towels and pat it into shape. Pin down rolling edges if necessary. Allow a day or two for drying. Once dry your sweater will remember the shape it dried in.
Picking some special buttons is a great way to personalize your garment. One thing I like to do is to make my own crochet buttons. One of the advantages to doing this are that you already have all of the materials that you need, so no extra trips to the notions store before you can finish your project!
Also, if like me you have little ones who love to put anything in their mouths you don’t have to worry about them trying to eat the buttons.
Here is what I did for my buttons:
1. Make a slip knot and chain 3
2. Slip stitch into the first chain to make a loop
3. Do 10 single crochets into the loop
4. Embellish as you like
Before you sew the buttons try on your sweater and mark where you think the buttons will look best. Even though the pattern calls for 3 feel free to add as few or as many as you like.
That’s it! Five weeks and one sweater later we are ready for the cool fall weather. I hope that you all have had fun with this project and feel more confident tackling more challenging projects in the future. Post your projects in the Ravelry group so we all can see each other’s progress.
| About Grace: Grace DiLorenzo has been crocheting and knitting for the last 10 years. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a passion. Her favorite things to make are garments and lace. As a teacher at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in New York City she has been able to share her love of yarn crafting teaching beginning through advanced knitting, crochet, and yarn dyeing classes. She has lead the first four in studio knit alongs and is excited to lead her first crochet along! |  |
WEEK ONE: Top Down Crochet Jacket Crochet-Along: Swatching
WEEK TWO: Top Down Crochet Jacket Crochet-Along: Raglan
WEEK THREE: Top Down Crochet Jacket: Sleeve Construction
WEEK FOUR: Top Down Crochet Jacket: Edging
WEEK FIVE: Top Down Crochet Jacket: Finishing
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m theresa santos
love the above pattern, but do not crochet, how about the same pattern but knitting instructions?
Andrea Forbes
Does anyone know of a bottom up crochet raglan sleeve sweater pattern? I started a bottom up sweater that I love but the sleeves don’t fit well at all and, now that I have made the CAL sweater, I thought maybe a raglan sleeve would fit better but cannot find a pattern. Any help appreciated.