My happy crochet memory gave me an inspiration

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Ever since I was in Junior High School I have loved crochet. I had a few missteps with crochet. Such as the gold and avocado afghan that I could not plow my way through. But all in all, I had fun making granny squares, hot pads, hats, and bags with crochet. I have a fond memory from back then of making a long mesh hippie vest with the help of my greek neighbor, Mrs. Arvanitis. She helped her daughter Colette and me crochet the vest from a pattern, walking us through each step. I loved how the vest came out and made another one just like it. I wore those two vests to school every day.

Everything comes around again, and I thought crocheting a mesh tank top for layering would be fun. I bought a cotton/linen blend yarn in a lovely grayish color called Wallaby.

I found a free pattern online here on the Drops website. I would rate this as an easy pattern to crochet. Along with the tank top, the pattern comes with a cute mesh cardigan, too.

My gauge was a bit on the small size, so I crocheted the next size up. Even though the mesh is very stretchy I didn’t want the garment be too close-fitting.

The fit is everything, and consequently I did take the top part apart twice to shorten the armhole. I am glad I did as it did not take very long to redo it. I would rather fix it so I really like the fit than have it sit in the closet.

Crochet is fun. Mrs. Arvanitis knew that. If I knew how to find her I would love to wish her a Happy Mother’s day. What a nice person to spend time teaching a kid like me to crochet.

Happy Mother’s day to all my creative friends! ~ Karen

59 thoughts on “My happy crochet memory gave me an inspiration”

    • for the 2 smallest sizes it calls for 400m or 437 yards, or 4 balls of cot lin yarn. this yarn is dk weight. however, i ended up using up 2 1/2 balls. in order to convert to your yarn yardage, first find out how many yards per ball is in the yarn they are telling you to use. then multiply it by how many balls they call for. i had to figure meters into yards, which i converted with an online metric to yards converter (just google it to find one). hope this helps.

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  5. Karen, I have not crocheted since my venture into that gold and rust yarn afaghan. And have had no desire to pick those needles up again until I saw this wonderful vest of yours. Certainly in high style today. I love it. Thanks for sharing. Pam St Louis

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  6. I made and wore an orange crocheted vest when I was in high school. I also beaded flower headbands and wore them around my head like I was a wannabe hippie. I thought I was so cool! Ha..

    You should model the vest for us. It looks beautiful.

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  9. Dear Karen,

    Loving your blog! It’s been long overdue & so enjoyable! Today’s touching memory of your friend’s Mom is so endearing this Mother’s Day weekend. Indeed, Mrs. Avrinitis was most generous with her time & talent. Your vest is a treasure AND a nod to your friend.

    Keep the color lessons & life’s reflections coming. They are inspiring & bolstering to so many.

    Happy Mother’s Day!

    Cheers,
    Kathleen in Central NJ…sipping some wine on her porch this cool May evening in unison with some flickering votives on her Deck.

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  10. I learned to crochet from my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Way. She had a thyroid problem which made her eyes bug out and I was scared of her at first. She turned out to be one of my favorite teachers. The crochet project was also a vest, lavender. My Mom bought wool yarn by mistake and over Easter vacation she washed it and much to my dismay it shrunk to a quarter of it’s size. I cried my eyes out and then talked my Mom into some lime green acrylic yarn. I crocheted a new one before I went back to school. Mrs. Way was so proud. She was definitely an inspiration for my love of creativity.
    Your new vest is really classy looking. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. What a darling little top! I love how it seems to flare a bit at the bottom. I used to crochet all the time, but put the needles up when I started to rug hook and knit. I may read over the pattern and see if I can figure it out. I have a crocheted mod granny square vest with the matching skirt that my mom made for me when I was about 14. It’s out of that acrylic yarn, and I don’t think it’s faded one singe bit! I’ve kept it all these years, and it was on display at one of our local yarn shops for several months. I really treasure this little outfit, but wish I could figure out a way to either remake it into something useful (I would be terrified to take it apart or cut it), or an interesting way to display it. Happy Mother’s Day!

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  14. Your version of this top has inspired me to make one too! I am using a hemp and soy blend instead as I am curious what the texture and drape will be with this yarn. I realize that you made changes to the armhole, I wondered if you also made any changes to the bottom as it seems s=wider on the bottom on your picture than it does on the drops website. Thanks so much for you help, Silvia .
    PS
    I run a crochet club at lunch recess for the 3rd graders at the school I am a teacher at. I love how the girls get so into the crochet!

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  15. I LOVE this top and am giving it a go. Am I starting at the front bottom and crocheting up? I’m not sure how to end the second row with that “short loop” at the end of row 1. I’m lost already. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Marlene

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    • yes, you are starting at the bottom and working up. all i can say is to refer to the diagram to get the idea of how to work up the rows. it is very simple once you get going. you end the row in the middle of a hump, turn and chain 6, then go to the next hump. hope this helps!

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  17. I know I’m a little late to the party on this, but I saw this on Pinterest and I’ve been wanting to make something exactly like this for a swim cover up. I looked at the pattern and I have one question – when it says to sc in the next ch-loop do you sc in a ch stitch or the loop itself? (I’m relatively new to crochet so some terminology is still new to me). I hope you are still around to answer this question. Great pattern.

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  18. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will always bookmark
    your blog and will eventually come back someday. I want to encourage you
    to ultimately continue your great job, have a nice day!

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  26. Great Blog. I love how you have re worked this a bit to flare out at the bottom. I’m having a hard time understanding the binding off for arm hole. Do you remember do you sl st on the middle of each loop across the row to bind off (keeping the ch 5 in between)? I’ve read through the pattern and looked at the diagram, but it is not clear to me. Any help would be so very welcomed.

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    • amara, i wish i could help but it has been too long since i made this to give you any pattern support. whenever i am not sure what to do in a pattern i just make a stab at it. if that doesn’t look right i rip it back and try something else. i may do a lot of ripping back at times but in the end it is worth it to get it right. all the best to you in your efforts.

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  29. Help??? I want to make something for my daughter to wear at the shore this year and I love this pattern. However, I can’t seem to link to the instructions. Could you help me to find it. Thanks.

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  30. Karen. I have admired your rug hooking talent for a very long time. Now I am admiring your crochet talent. We creatives always dabble in more than one medium. Hook on.

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  32. Hi
    Thank you for sharing. Yours look gorgeous, much nicer than the Drops one! I was just wondering if you can advise me whether I could get away with making this with 4-ply or sport weight yarn please?

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