Sweetest Ever Crochet Baby Top

Good morning all, it’s Girl Who Cried Wolf here. I know I’ve mentioned many a ‘favorite’ crochet project in the past . . . Forrest’s baby blanket was my favorite, my sidewalk shawl was my favorite, my granny ripple sofa blanket was my favorite, my stripey ami giraffe was my favorite. I cannot be trusted when I call something a favorite—I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again, and no, I will never be able to actually select just one favorite.

But this little bit of crochet cuteness? This might be my new favorite.

!!!!!!!!!FAVORITE!!!!!!!

As much as I love crochet, I really have a hard time finding clothing patterns that I love. Knitting definitely takes the cake when it comes to clothing (such disloyalty to my craft!). But while I was searching for sweaters I could make for Darcy recently (because she is too small to refuse to wear the things I make her, unlike some other children who will not be named), I fell hard for this one. It’s the Drawstring Halter pattern from Holland Designs, and I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a girly little top to crochet. Really well-written and easy to follow with beautiful results, and there’s an option to add long sleeves for winter wear. (They don’t know me, by the way, and I paid for the pattern—this isn’t sponsored in any way. I really do 100% love the pattern and think it’s fantastic!)

I love everything about the finished top. The gorgeous stitch pattern, the contrasting ribbon woven through the neckline, the scalloped hem. Love love love.

Love. How many times can I use this word in one post?

One more, at least: love.

I used Lion Brand LB Collection Cotton Bamboo Yarn in Gardenia for this top and (you’ll never guess) love it so much, too. It’s dreamily soft and comfortable for the little peanut, has a nice drape, the stitches stand out wonderfully, the color is drool-worthy, and I think the cotton content will keep it cool and breathable through the spring and summer months. It was the perfect yarn for this project.

I cannot get over the beautiful yellow. As much fun as pink and purple are for Darcy, I also love having some items in her closet that aren’t the typical girly colors. (I think my favorite color on her, weirdly enough, is navy blue. She always looks so adorable in it!) I love that this top, with its delicate stitch pattern and scallops and ribbon tie, still looks so feminine and sweet, even in a non-traditional color for a girl like mustard with a brown tie.

New favorite crochet project. At least until my next favorite comes along.

Valentine’s Printable + Sweater Giveaway

Today is a happy day. Let me count the ways:

1. Darcy once again rocked it last night, clocking in at 8 consecutive hours of sleep. It hasn’t happened often enough for me to feel comfortable that this might be her new normal, and I know that publicly shouting her sleep success from the internet equivalent of my rooftop means she’ll sleep approximately 4 1/2 minutes tonight, but right now I feel gooooood.

2. I started re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time since high school, and dang I forgot how powerful and amazing this book is. It is perhaps not for the faint of heart, the easily offended, or readers who really just want a fun book (it is the absolute antithesis of fun), but I am floored by it and can’t stop thinking or talking about it, so look out if I know you and see you in the next week or so, because I’ll probably talk your ear off.

3. My sister Bekah, who did a giveaway here recently to celebrate opening her etsy shop, Ritzy Reba, made a gorgeous Valentine’s Day printable for you guys to enjoy for free! She’s the very best. She printed one out for me and it is even prettier in person.

Beautiful, right? I love it. Just right click the picture above to save/download and print.

4. I crocheted an adorable sweater for Darcy. My mom sewed a sweet little skirt for her, and I wanted to make a sweater to match it. It came out SO darling. I love the wood buttons and sweet little scalloped border along the bottom edge. It’s based on THIS free pattern, and I love it.

Aaaaaaaaand it doesn’t fit Darcy. I could barely stuff her arms into the sleeves, and the buttons were straining over her chest. That’ll teach me to crochet her a sweater while she naps, and not try it on or even grab an item from her closet that does fit her to use as a guide. DANGNABBIT.

But it’s so darn sweet, and I don’t want to just hoard it and never give a sweet baby the chance to wear it, so I’m going to give it away to one of you.

Some specs on the sweater: definitely newborn size, and would probably fit up to roughly 2 months. Laid flat, the chest measures 7 1/2 inches across. I made it with acrylic yarn, and it’s super soft and cozy, and can be washed and dried by machine. If you have a newborn, will have a newborn soon, or know a newborn, I hope you win! I’m keeping this giveaway limited to just US residents . . . sorry for the inconvenience! Enter below. I’ll cross my fingers for you. Have a happy weekend, folks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Crochet Dress, Sweater, and Blanket

Thank you so much for all your kind comments on Saturday’s post! I so appreciate your sweet well-wishes. I don’t know what it is about having ONE boy that makes me think I am only capable of producing boys, but it was quite a surprise to hear the doctor say there was a little girl brewing in there. And of course, a girl must mean girly projects!

I’ve worked on 2.5 projects for the little Miss so far, and they have been so fun to put together. First up, a little dress I crocheted . . . before we knew she was a girl. It was a bit of a gamble, but I couldn’t resist. (Pardon the cell phone pictures—these are all from my Instagram, and I’m too lazy to retake ‘real’ photos.)

I’ve had my eye on this pattern for a while—it’s called the Angel Wings Pinafore, and you can find it free HERE. I used worsted weight yarn, which really is too heavy for this dress, but it was a last-minute naptime project so I had to just work with what I had on hand. It came out very cute anyway.

I also worked up this little sweater recently:

And I love how it came out. The pattern is called Picot and Lace Sweater Set, and you can find it HERE.  I struggled a bit with this pattern—it’s definitely not the most crystal-clear, well-written pattern I’ve ever encountered, but if you’re fairly confident that you can piece together the things it leaves out or doesn’t spell out very clearly, it does make a cute little sweater with only a few swear words uttered in the process. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Pistachio for this one—overall, Simply Soft is far from being my favorite yarn, but the weight and feel of it are perfect for a baby item. It came out so sweet, and since it was another naptime project and I have NO patience for leaving a project unfinished when it’s thiiiis close to being done, I used a ribbon woven through the stitches to tie it shut instead of waiting to buy buttons for it. I think it’s kind of a cute touch.

My final project only counts halfway as being made for the girly-poo, because I didn’t start it with the intention of keeping it, and I’m still not 100% sure whether I’ll keep it for her or sell it.

I used the Bold Stripe Blanket pattern (another free one!) from Baby Love Brand to make this, and I love the gradient purples mixed with that silvery gray. The colors are a bit distorted in these pictures, but I used a very light lavender, a pinky-‘orchid’ purple, and a deep jewel-tone purple along with the gray. It was a fairly quick blanket to make, and works up so fast thanks to using two strands of yarn at a time, making for a super-thick, super-chunky, super-warm finished blanket with a lot of great texture in the stitches.

I made it more of a throw size than a typical baby blanket, inspired by my buddy Kim of Newly Woodwards’ baby blanket . . . when I worked on her little Henry’s blanket (which you can see in this post), she requested it be big enough for mom and baby to cuddle in at the same time, and I don’t know why I’ve never thought before that it would sure be nice to BOTH be warm while cuddling under a baby blankie, not to mention that it can eventually be upgraded to a toddler blanket or a throw blanket when baby outgrows it. So a big’un it is. 

Make sure to stop by again on Wednesday—I’ve got a great giveaway that you’re going to love!