Create-a-holic Writer

I discovered the loveliest crocheted square design called Victorian Lattice Square, designed by Destany Wymor and offered free on her Ravelry page at: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/victorian-lattice-square

The minute I saw it, I decided that I wanted to use it to make myself a lightweight poncho (see the finished poncho in my March 14th post).

After making several squares, it struck me that the first four rounds of the pattern would sure make a cute little motif to put together into a baby sweater. With that thought percolating in my mind, I set aside my poncho project (no, I’m not ADD, but you would think so, the way I jump from project to project!), sketched a rough layout of a baby sweater created from squares, dug some Baby Luv yarn from my stash, and proceeded to make a pile of these motifs. Because they’re so small, they’re quick to make. It only took me a week to make the sweater from start to finish.

In case you’d like to try it, here’s how I made my Little Luv Baby Sweater:

3½” x 3½” Lace Square Motifs
Materials:
1. Any super-fine baby yarn in variegated pastel colors (I used Baby Luv, which you can pick up at Walmart)
2. 6.0 mm hook
3. Yarn needle for weaving in loose ends

How to dc2tog: yo, insert hook in space and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook), yo, pull through 2 loops, yo, insert hook in same space, pull up a loop (4 loops on hook), yo, pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yo, pull through last 3 loops.

Abbreviations: chain: ch / slip stitch: sl st / double crochet: dc / single crochet: sc / double crochet 2 together: dc2tog / space: sp / repeat: rep / yarn over: yo

Motif Pattern: (Make 33 motifs)
Round 1: Ch 4, sl st into first ch to make a ring.
Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch 1); *dc, ch 1; rep from * 10 more times; sl st in 3rd ch of ch-4 to close. [12 dc & 12 ch-1 sps]

Round 2: Sc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1 (counts as first dc); dc in same sp, ch 2; *dc2tog in next ch-1 sp, ch 2; rep from * 10 more times; sl st in first sc to close. [12 dc2tog]

Round 3: Sc in next ch-2 sp; *ch 7, sc in next ch-2 sp, ch 3, sc in next ch-2 sp, ch 3, sc in next ch-2 sp; rep from *, sl st in first sc to close.

Round 4: (Sc, ch 1, 4 dc, ch 2, 5 dc) in ch-7 loop; *sc in next ch-3 loop, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 loop; (5 dc, ch 2, 5 dc) in ch-7 loop; rep from * two more times; sc in next ch-3 loop, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 loop; sl st in first sc to close. Fasten off and weave in loose yarn end.

It’s really easy to connect the motifs into rows as you go, instead of having to sew them together at the end. Here’s how:

To connect motifs as you go (see the numbered photos below): Once you’ve completed your first motif, set it aside and begin working the second motif up to the beginning of Round 4. Work Round 4 like this: (Sc, ch 1, 4 dc, ch 2, 5 dc) in ch-7 loop; sc in next ch-3 loop, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 loop; (5 dc, ch 2, 5 dc) in ch-7 loop; sc in next ch-3 loop, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 loop; *then in next ch-7 loop (1 & 2): 5 dc, ch 1, get the first motif you finished and, with the loop from the ch-1 of your unfinished motif still on the hook, insert the hook into any ch-2 sp (between the 2 sets of 5 dc in a ch-7 loop) of the finished motif, yo pull your yarn through the loop on hook to secure, then ch 1 again, then continue with the second set of 5 dc in the same ch-7 loop of your unfinished motif; (3) sc into next ch-3 loop, then insert hook into ch-3 loop of other motif too and sc again to connect the ch-3 of both motifs, ch 1, then repeat again from * in the next ch-7 loop of your unfinished motif; sc in next ch-3 loop, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 loop; and sl st into the beginning sc to join. Fasten off and weave in loose yarn end.
(1) These 6 pictures demonstrate attaching motifs corner to corner.
(2) Attaching a new motif to a row. First, attach the corners.
(3) Then, attach the two ch-3 loops.
Then proceed with finishing off the last round of the motif.
Make 2 front panels: Connect a row of 3 motifs, then connect another row of 3 beside them to make the left front panel. Repeat for the right front panel.

Make 1 back panel: For the back panel, connect 3 rows of 3.
Connect each front panel to the back panel at the shoulders. Seam together on the wrong sides by slip stitching with your crochet hook. (If you’d prefer, you can also sew the seam using your yarn needle.)
Make 2 sleeves: Connect 3 rows of 2 motifs for each sleeve.

Then, as shown above, find the mid-point of sleeve and line it up with the shoulder seam of sweater. Use markers or safety pins to attach the sleeve to the sweater body. Turning to the wrong side, seam the sleeve to the body (where the markers are shown) using slip stitching.
Then do the same on the other side of the sweater with your second sleeve.
Below is a shot of the wrong side with everything seamed together.
Next, with right sides still together, fold in half at the shoulder seems and bring the sleeves together. You are now going to sew the sweater together to close the sleeves and sides. Again, I used slip stitching, but you can also sew everything together with your yarn needle, if you prefer.
After everything was seamed, I used plain pink Baby Luv yarn to crochet a border around the sleeve edges, as well as the entire sweater, using two rows of single crochet on the sleeves, and three rows of single crochet around the bottom, front and collar.
Next, I dampened the sweater and blocked it overnight so it would be nice and straight.
Since the style of it is double-breasted, I chose six ¾” buttons and sewed them on as shown below.
I also made a little matching hat embellished with a butterfly!