This little crochet top uses lemon peel stitch (made by alternating basic double and treble crochet stitches) for the main body of the garment. This creates a simple yet elegant textured design that’s dense enough to be worn without another layer underneath.

It’s made up of a front and back panel, worked from the bottom up and then seamed loosely together down the sides. It is bordered along the bottom, and around the top edges and the neckline to create two straps.

Finally, two buttons are attached to the back panel to allow the garment to be worn either as a halterneck (tied behind the neck) or as a cross-backed top (straps are crossed and then looped over the buttons).

You can easily customise the length of the main body or straps and height of the neckline by adding / removing rows to suit your body shape or create more of a full / cropped look. You can also increase the thickness of the straps by simply adding another round to the border at the end.

This pattern makes use of negative ease for a closer fit and the appearance of shaping. It covers a range of sizes from XXS through to XXL to fit bust sizes 28-30 (32-34, 36-38, 40-42, 44-46, 48-50, 52-54).

You’ll need:

• light DK yarn
• 3.5mm crochet hook (or 3mm for heavier DK)
• two 1.5cm buttons
• two stitch markers
• a tapestry or sewing needle