Crochet

Patterns, projects and techniques

Crochet A Customized Summer Top

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cro summer top 0714

Patrice Walker has created this simple Summer top using a very customized approach.  With the information on her blog, you can create one of your own, using your choice of size, yarn, and even stitch pattern.  I love when a designer creates a ‘recipe’ for success rather than a pattern that is more difficult to customize.

Patrice goes the extra distance to show in great detail how she created her top, inspired by a very open weave top that has a similar profile.  With her drawings and notes, anyone can make a top of any size, based on clearly explained measurements and the other useful information Patrice provides.

There are plenty of other useful, handy, and creative content on Patrice’s blog.  I plan to spend more time gleaning information there.  And, this top is on my To-Do List as it is exactly the shape of easy fitting top that I prefer in warm weather.  Use Patrice’s notes and instructions and you can make one for yourself too.

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Have you read?

Book Review: Granny Square Along by Lori Holt

If you love colourful granny squares, vintage-inspired crochet and anything designed by Lori Holt, the new Granny Square Along Crochet Book deserves a spot on your wish list.

This is Lori Holt’s first crochet book, inspired by the granny squares her grandmother taught her to make. Inside are 13 creative granny square crochet projects, all presented in Lori’s wonderfully cheerful, scrappy style. Expect plenty of colourful cushions, bags, blankets and useful accessories that make the most of those little squares we can never resist making.

The spiral-bound format is a practical touch because the book should sit flat beside you while you crochet. Partial crochet diagrams are also included alongside the written instructions.

This book is best for confident beginners and intermediate crocheters. You should already understand basic crochet stitches, including chains, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, treble crochet and slip stitches.

Most projects use Lori Holt’s #2-weight Chunky Thread with a 3.5 mm crochet hook, although some designs worked with two strands require a 4.5 mm hook.

What I love most is the book’s nostalgic, collected-over-time look. It is colourful without being garish and scrappy without looking as though every leftover yarn ball was thrown at it in a moment of desperation. The finished projects have that cozy handmade charm Lori Holt does so well.

The book is expected to ship in September 2026. The current reservation requires a $1.50 non-refundable fee, with the remaining preorder price charged when the book ships.

You can reserve the Granny Square Along Crochet Book by Lori Holt here.

If this book inspires you to keep experimenting, take a look at our 15 unusual granny square crochet patterns and these 20 other ways to use granny squares.