crochetguideKnow these stitches: half double crochet, single crochet, single crochet decrease, chain, slip stitch
Materials and yarn planning
Yarns we’ve reviewed that suit it: Lion Brand Basic Stitch Anti-Pilling yarn, Lion Brand Heartland yarn, Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted yarn. For the hook, choose by size and handle.
Yarn estimate for size Medium: the 12,744 half double crochets at about 6 cm of medium yarn each and the 508 single crochets at about 4 cm come to about 790 m. Add about a tenth for seams and tails and buy about 900 m, for example five balls of 180 m, all from one dye lot. Larger sizes take more: weigh your swatch and use the weighed-swatch calculator for your own figure.
For an exact figure in your own yarn, weigh a washed swatch in the pattern stitch: the weighed-swatch yarn calculator scales it to each flat panel or strip. Allow a little more for seams, edging and tails.
Finished size and gauge
Sized from the Craft Yarn Council’s women’s chest, upper arm and neck-to-wrist measurements. Each panel is half the chest plus about 20 cm of ease, the loose fit a drop-shoulder sweater needs, because its shoulder seam sits down the top of the arm. The counts below are size Medium (91.5–96.5 cm chest): panels 57 cm wide, which at 13 half double crochets and 10 rows per 10 cm is 74 stitches, and 58 rows, about 58 cm, reach the hip (the Council’s 43.5 cm from the back of the neck to the waist, plus about 15 cm). Each sleeve’s top edge is the upper arm, 28 cm, plus about 12 cm: 52 stitches, 40 cm, so each armhole is 20 cm deep, a little more than the chart’s 17.5–19 cm. The body already covers the top of the arm, so a sleeve is the Council’s neck-to-wrist length less half a panel. Sleeve length, shoulder seam to cuff edge: X-Small 44 cm, Small 43.5 cm, Medium 43.5 cm, Large 43.5 cm, X-Large 40.5 cm, 2X 41 cm, 3X 39.5 cm, 4X 39.5 cm, 5X 37 cm. For your size and swatch, read the panel, sleeve and shoulder-seam stitches from the size table below; the body length is yours to choose. These are calculations from the counts, not a measured sample.
Sizes from your swatch
Example: 13 half double crochets in 10 cm, the gauge the steps are written for. Type your own swatch over it to see your counts.
| Size | Front and back, each | Sleeve, top edge | Panel stitches | Sleeve stitches | Shoulder seam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Small (71–76 cm chest) | 46.8 cm (18.5 in) | 37 cm (14.5 in) | 61 (chain 63) | 48 | 10 |
| Small (81–86 cm chest) | 51.8 cm (20.5 in) | 38 cm (15 in) | 67 (chain 69) | 50 | 13 |
| Medium (91.5–96.5 cm chest) | 57 cm (22.5 in) | 40 cm (15.75 in) | 74 (chain 76) | 52 | 17 |
| Large (101.5–106.5 cm chest) | 62 cm (24.5 in) | 42.5 cm (16.75 in) | 81 (chain 83) | 56 | 20 |
| X-Large (111.5–117 cm chest) | 67.1 cm (26.5 in) | 46.5 cm (18.25 in) | 87 (chain 89) | 60 | 23 |
| 2X (122–127 cm chest) | 72.3 cm (28.5 in) | 51.5 cm (20.25 in) | 94 (chain 96) | 66 | 27 |
| 3X (132–137 cm chest) | 77.3 cm (30.5 in) | 55 cm (21.75 in) | 100 (chain 102) | 72 | 30 |
| 4X (142–147 cm chest) | 82.3 cm (32.5 in) | 59 cm (23.25 in) | 107 (chain 109) | 76 | 33 |
| 5X (152–158 cm chest) | 87.5 cm (34.5 in) | 61.5 cm (24.25 in) | 114 (chain 116) | 80 | 37 |
Counts are rounded to whole stitches and rows and to the pattern’s repeat. Check the first rows against your swatch.
The gauge calculator compares your swatch with the pattern. A stitch name you do not know is in the abbreviation chart; a UK pattern’s names are in the US/UK term reference.
The pattern
Count rows for this patternFront and back: make 2
- Chain 76. Row 1: half double crochet in the third chain from the hook and in each chain across: 74 half double crochets. The skipped chains do not count as a stitch.
- Rows 2–58: chain 2 and turn (it does not count), half double crochet in each stitch across: 74 stitches. The panel is about 58 cm long; stop sooner or go on to the length you chose. Fasten off.
- Make the second panel the same, with the same number of rows, so the side seams match.
Sleeves: make 2
- Chain 54. Row 1: half double crochet in the third chain from the hook and in each chain across: 52 stitches. This edge is the top of the sleeve.
- Rows 2–40: chain 2 and turn, half double crochet in each stitch across: 52 stitches, about 40 cm. For another size, stop about 3.5 cm short of its sleeve length above.
- Row 41, the cuff: chain 1 and turn, [single crochet in the next stitch, single crochet 2 together] 17 times, single crochet in the last stitch: 35 stitches. The cuff draws in a little.
- Rows 42–44: chain 1 and turn, single crochet in each stitch across: 35 stitches. Fasten off, leaving a tail about 60 cm long for the sleeve seam. Make the second sleeve the same.
Assemble
- Shoulders: lay the two panels together, right sides facing and top edges matching. Sew 17 stitches in from each outer edge through both layers (for another size or gauge, the shoulder seam in the size table), leaving the middle 40 stitches, about 30 cm, open for the neck. Try it over your head now: the opening must pass easily. If it is tight, unpick a few stitches of each shoulder seam.
- Sleeves: open the body out flat, right side up. Fold a sleeve in half along its top edge and mark the middle. Pin that mark to a shoulder seam and the ends of the top edge to the side edges of the front and back, about 20 cm down each. Sew the top edge in place. Repeat on the other side.
- Seams: fold the sweater right sides together. Sew each sleeve seam from the cuff to the underarm, then go straight on down the side seam to the hem. Turn right side out.
- Edges: join the yarn at a side seam. Chain 1, single crochet in the other side of each foundation chain around the hem and join with a slip stitch: 148 stitches. Work the neck the same, single crochet in each stitch around the opening: 80 stitches. Fasten off and weave in all the ends.
Check the work
Both panels have 74 stitches and the same number of rows, both sleeves 52 stitches and the same rows, so every seam matches row for row. The cuff row leaves 35 stitches: two for every three, plus the last one.
- If the neck slides off a shoulder, the opening is wider than you need: sew each shoulder seam 2 or 3 cm longer, as long as the neck still passes over your head.
- If a sleeve is too long, the dropped shoulder already covers part of the arm: unpick the cuff, take out rows and work the cuff again.
- If a panel slants or grows, a stitch is being added or lost at the row ends: put a marker in the first and last stitch of each row and count the row before turning.
Updated . Stitch counts checked row by row; we haven’t crocheted a sample of this one yet. How the patterns are checked. Keep your yarn label, hook and swatch on the printable project worksheet.