VIKARNA
3
I
just finished working on two diagonal (a.k.a vikarna) tops and here’s the
promised third diagonal top. I am pretty
sure I am going to work on several more diagonal tops – so yet again, do watch
this space.
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You
can use any yarn with a suitable hook to make this to any size. Just please
read through all my detailed instructions before you pick up your hook.
Come
along then and let’s work on this beautiful creation together.
Materials used : Today I’ve used ~ 250 gms of an
unbranded Indian knitting cotton with a 3.5 mm crochet hook
For
Indians :
The yarn I’ve used is similar in thickness to our Anchor knitting cotton. Our lovely Indian Red rose knitting cotton,
White rose knitting cotton , Pony cotton as well as Laura yarns are a good
substitute. I’d also suggest Alize
cotton yarn – and you can get all of this with a easy mouse click on the top
right hand side of this blog (read : Click here to buy yarns Online)
For
Non-Indians :
Among the other international yarns I’ve used of this thickness are Milford
Satin knitting cotton, DMC Petra knitting cotton & Aunt Lydia Bamboo
Viscose 10 knitting cottons.
You
can use any yarn with a suitable hook to make this project to any
size.
Size made : 34 - 36”
(M/L)
This
is only given to you to get a general idea of how much yarn you may need.
The yarn you require will depend on the size
you’re making it to as well as the tension of your work
Difficulty level : Advanced Skill
level.
Stitches used :
How to hold your yarn in crochet : https://youtu.be/FwOlCbGdbqY
Starting slip knot : https://youtu.be/lJcqsVcs8cw
Starting slip knot 1 or the Sloppy Slip knot : https://youtu.be/YfC7KmGpifs
What is a slip stitch : https://youtu.be/weB3QNbA8Iw
What is a chain stitch ? https://youtu.be/pXx5ukBjKkY
Single Crochet : Sc : yo, insert hk into st ; yo (2 lps on hk); yo, draw through both lps. One sc made. Check out the video at https://youtu.be/ghACqBpA-3k
First stitch for Single Crochet : This is how I like to start my row of sc. Check out the video at https://youtu.be/6pVYRfsf4_M
How to work a picot stitch : Traditionally for a ch-3 picot, you work (ch 3, sl-st in 3rd ch from hook). For a ch-5 picot, you will do (ch 5, sl-st in 5th ch from hook).
Here’s a great video https://youtu.be/8s3zVaBcn4s
Here is a sizing chart for general sizing. https://in.pinterest.com/pin/470063279837597366/
Whipstitch to join : https://youtu.be/wZ-9LNzftMA
Invisible join : https://youtu.be/a6XZQ6VzJFM
Single crochet to join : https://youtu.be/6FXoW_47_dI
Abbreviations used :
lp(s) : Loop(s) sc : Single crochet
dc : Double crochet sp : Space
sl-st : Slip stitch ch : Chain
st(s) : Stitch(es) hk : Hook
yo : Yarn Over rep : repeat
fsc : Foundation Single Crochet
trc : Triple / Treble crochet
Instructions
Please note that I start all my rows with a ch 1, turning chain for ease.
Please check the top of this blog for easy video tutorials on all stitches used in today's pattern. For your convenience there video tutorials through the blog too
Please read through all my notes before you pick up your hook, so you know just where we're heading in our pattern.
In my patterns I work with the principle of stitch count and body measurement.
This means that you need to work the stitch count in pattern, till you get the measurement (length and/or width) that you need for your project.
This is a slightly complicated pattern and I’ve got loads of notes – bear with me.. they’re all useful!
Before
we head off to the project, let’s get an idea of what we’re creating here
today. We’re working a C-2-C pattern
working our project from one corner to the other – using the simple granny
square pattern.
What do I mean by a granny square pattern ? It’s just set of 3 dc worked in a space – and then
we keep increasing by working the next set of 3-dc stitches in the next “space”
between 2 sets of stitches. As we are working diagonally, you get a
fantastic pattern– and though it is pretty easy, the end result looks
complicatedly fantastic !
If
you have worked on my first two Vikarna patterns, you know what we’re doing
here.
There are a long list of tops at the bottom of this blog, but these are the two I'm referring to presently
There
are just loads of ideas – so please read through before you start so you can
visualize what you want to create before you pick up your hook.
We
are going to make two large rectangles that will fit the length and width
requirements of your top. We will then
join the two shoulder bits, leaving a boat-necked opening for the neckline, and
then join sides, leaving an armhole opening.
After
that, optionally, we could work on a small sleeve around the armhole opening.
This
pattern works best if you use at least two colours of yarn.
It
will also work with self striping or variegated yarn.
If
you want to work this in just one colour, you will get the diagonal effect
which will also be spectacular.
So
with one pattern I am going to give you ideas that you can create into
different tops. Isn’t that such
fun? Come along then.. let’s start on
this one.
You
can make this to any size, just ensure that you get the length and breadth that
you wish for the person you are making this for.
1) Take measurements for length and breadth (ie round bust /waist) of your client. For breadth, please choose the larger measure between bust and waist.
2)
I strongly recommend that you either keep a well-fitting garment of the client,
or you make a rectangle paper draft for the length and breadth you have just
measured.
3)
Now all you need to do is work with the pattern from the link above.
When
you start the pattern, you will be starting from the left bottom corner
and you will be working from the left hand side of your project to the
shoulders and top right hand side of your project. As you increase with every row, you will be
increasing both the length and breadth/width of your project – all the way till
you reach the breadth (which is the right hand side bottom corner of your paper
draft) or the shoulder (which is the right hand side top corner of your
draft). At this point, you will stop
increases, and start decreasing – and this end will then become a straight end.
Your
breadth will be half your round bust or round waist measurement.
Your
length will be the full length you want for your top.
The
diagrams below are
for instruction only and not to scale.
Make
two rectangles which we will then join, along the shoulders and sides, to make our top.
Continue
increasing till you have reached either the length or breadth of your top, at
which point you will stop increases only at that end and work the
decrease as shown in the video link above.
You
will then continue increases for the length, and keep decreasing along the
breadth.
So
if we look at this in a different way – keeping the left bottom corner to
your left, once you have the breadth needed (measuring that bottom bit from
left to right till it is half the round measurement needed), you will be
decreasing on the right bottom corner of your work.
As
you are still increasing the length, the top left hand side of your work
continues increase in pattern as before.
Now
once you have the length needed, you will be working the decrease pattern on
both the top left hand side as well as the bottom right hand side of your work.
This will slowly give you the rectangle shape desired. Easy enough, right?
Magic circle : https://youtu.be/ISC39yOqWro
Double Crochet : dc : yo, insert hk into st ; yo (3 lps on hk);
[yo, draw through 2 lps] twice. One dc made.
Check out the video at https://youtu.be/xdnjB27zpYo
Chainless start for Double Crochet : I dislike the ch-2 / ch – 3 start, and this is what I do to start my row of dc.
Check out the video at https://youtu.be/wskv3iTjRx0
Start Row 1 : with a magic circle
and work (1 dc ; ch 1, 3 dc
; ch 1, dc) all in the magic circle.
Pull lightly to close. Do not
join. Turn.
(one
3-dc set)
Row 2 :
dc in the 1st dc ;
ch
1, 3 dc in the next ch-1 sp ;
ch 1, sk next 3 dc, 3 dc in the next ch-1 sp ;
ch
1, dc in the last dc. Turn.
(two
3-dc sets)
Row 3 :
dc in the 1st dc ;
ch
1, 3 dc in the next ch-1 sp ;
[ch 1, sk
next 3 dc, 3 dc in the next ch-1 sp] ;
rep
[to] till the last ch-1 sp ;
3
dc in that last ch-1 sp ;
ch
1, dc in the last dc. Turn.
(At the end of Row 3, you will have three
3-dc sets)
Take a look at the video that shows you , in brief, what we're working on.
In case video does not come on, please go to https://youtu.be/CJiBlXLeztk
With
every row, you will increase one 3-dc set.
Rep
Row 3 till you have the breadth you need for your top.
Remember, this is your half bust / waist
measurement.
When
you reach that point, you will work a decrease along this end (which as
I mentioned before is going to be your right hand side bottom edge)
The
decrease idea works for both the breadth and length.
So when you reach the width/ breadth for your top, you'll only decrease on the right end of your work to start with.
Once you get the length for your top. as well, you'll be decreasing on both the right and left ends of your work. At the end, you will get a square / rectangle that will then be fashioned into the top.
To decrease, we
will be working a dc 2-tog but we will be working it over 2 sts that are
not next to one another.
So
let’s look at the last few stitches.
You
have a dc, then a ch-1 and the 1st set of 3-dc. Right?
So you will work the 1st leg of your dc 2-tog on that 1st
dc, then skip the next 2 dc of your 3-dc set, and work the 2nd leg
of your dc 2-tog over the next dc.
So
your dc 2-tog will be over these four stitches, skipping 2 sts in between. Got it?
Double crochet 2-tog : dc 2-tog : [yo, insert hk in st or ch-sp, yo and pull up a lp ; yo and draw through 2 lps] 2 times (3 lps on hk) ;
{yo, draw through 2 lps on hk} 2 times. One dc 2-tog made.
This video tutorial at https://youtu.be/1_oPlUfN5eg shows you how to use the dc 2-tog to decrease.
Sometimes we work the dc 2-tog in the same stitch, to use as a decorative stitch. Visit this video tutorial at https://youtu.be/lLUXOJ1sY9w
Decrease Row (only right end of work) :
dc 2-tog
over the 1st dc and 4th dc, skipping 2 dc and the ch-1 sp
in between ;
ch
1, 3 dc in the space between the next 2 dc ;
[sk
next 3 dc, 3 dc in the space between the next 2 dc] ;
rep
[to] till the last ch-1 sp ;
3
dc in that last ch-1 sp ;
ch
1, dc in the last dc. Turn.
(you
have reduced one 3-dc set and have this edge flat)
Now
that dc 2-tog at the end becomes the 1st dc.
With
every row, you will continue increases along one edge (the left hand
side of your work) and decrease along the other edge (right hand side of
your work) to keep this edge flat and straight.
You
will continue this till you have the length needed for your top.
Once
you have the length needed, you need to decrease along both edges.
The
decrease along the right hand side of your work is as before – and it’s “a
mirror image” for the left hand side of your work.
So here’s how the mirror image will look.
Decrease Row (right & left end of work) :
dc 2-tog
over the 1st dc and 4th dc, skipping 2 dc and the ch-1 sp
in between ;
ch
1, 3 dc in the space between the next 2 dc ;
[sk
next 3 dc, 3 dc in the space between the next 2 dc] ;
rep
[to] till the last 3 dc set ;
ch
1, dc 2-tog over the next dc (of that last 3-dc set) and the last dc, skipping
2 dc and the ch-1 sp in between. Turn.
(you
have reduced two 3-dc sets and have this edge flat)
Now
the dc 2-tog at both ends is the 1st dc.
You
will continue reducing at both ends till you have just one 3-dc set ;
two ch-1
sps and 2 dc left.
We
will work a dc 3-tog but once again an ‘odd’ stitch, worked over these 3 sts
and 2 ch-sps, skipping 2 dc and two ch-sps in between.
For
the last triangular corner, work a dc 3-tog over the 1st dc, sk the
next ch-1 sp and dc of the 3-dc set ; dc in the next dc of the 3-dc set ;
sk the next dc of the 3-dc set and ch-1
sp and dc in the 3rd dc.
Fasten
off and weave in ends.
Make
a similar rectangle for the other side of your top.
Finishing ideas :
I
have three ideas for finishing.
1.
Option
1 : Join the shoulders and sides, leaving an opening for the neck and armhole.
You will get a lovely boat-like neckline and a gaping hole for the
armhole.
2.
Option
2 : you can decide to work a set of rows to show off the diagonals. I did this
with my earlier top (Vikarna 1)
If
you decide on this option, then re-attach your yarn at any one end of your
work, and run a row of sc or hdc all the way down. Remember when working along the vertical bar
of your hdc, you will work 1 sc / hdc in each hdc till end.
When
you finish that first row, check that it sits flat. There is no pattern or stitch count
needed here – but it must sit flat.
Now
have fun, and change colours as desired to get a flat-line pattern for the
shoulder bit. Work as many rows as you
want in your two chosen colours per side.
Then join the ‘shoulder blades’ of the front and back, leaving a scooped
boat-like neckline for your awesome top.
3.
Option
3 : Make a small yoke for the front like I did for my Vikarna 2 top. In case you decide on this option, then you
will need to make the front diagonal bit only till the armhole. Of course this depends on how wide you want
your yoke. So decide on how wide you
want your yoke, deduct that measurement from the full length of top (or the
length of the back you have already made), and then work only that much in the granny
square pattern.
Re-attach
your yarn at any one end, and work a row of dc all the way down to the end. Remember you will work 1 dc in each dc and 2
dc in each horizontal bar of dc. There
is no stitch count for this section – just ensure that when you finish
this row, it sits flat.
Now
change colours as desired to get an interesting pattern. You can work this pattern all the way to the
shoulders, and then just join the shoulders and allow the opening in the centre
to be your scooped out boat-like neckline or you can work in a small decrease
to get a proper neckline.
Neckline decrease ideas :
1.
Fold
your work in half and find the centre front stitch. Place a marker
2.
Decide
how wide you want the neckline, and then place markers to mark the two sides of
your neckline. Remove centre marker.
3.
Work
a dc in each dc all the way till the 2nd last dc before marker. Work a dc 2-tog over the last 2 dc. Remove marker this end.
4. In the
following row, start with a dc 2-tog over the 1st 2 sts and then
work a dc all the way to the end.
5.
For
the last decrease, work a dc all the way till 2nd last sts before
end. Work a dc 2-tog over the last 2sts.
6. This should
give you a nice shaping, and I’d suggest you work a dc in each dc all the way
to the end. This will complete one side
of your neck.
7.
Re-attach
your yarn at the 2nd marker.
Start with a dc 2-tog over the 1st 2 sts and then work a dc
all the way to the end.
8.
Work
a dc in each dc all the way till the 2nd last dc before end. Work a dc 2-tog over the last 2 sts.
9. For the last
decrease, work a dc 2-tog over the 1st 2 sts and then work a dc all
the way to the end.
10. Work a dc in
each dc all the way to the end. This
will complete the 2nd side of
your neck.
11. Join the two
shoulder blades first.
12. Join the
sides all the way till the armhole.
Sleeves :
If
you are happy with it being just slightly off-the-shoulder and sleeveless, then
run a round of sc or hdc all around the armhole and you’re done.
In
case you want a small sleeve, then first you need to run a round of sc or hdc
all around the armhole and then work a ‘similar’ pattern to whatever you have
worked for the shoulder. So in my case,
I once again alternated my two chosen colours for two rounds each.
For
a slight shaping under the arm (arm pit), I started and ended with a hdc 2-tog
over the first two and last two stitches from Rounds 2 – 4. For the rest of the rounds, I just worked a
hdc in each hdc all around. As you can see, I worked a total of 10 rounds per
sleeve.
For that hole in the sleeve, I just didn't work a few stitches and worked in a chain instead for the1st round of the sleeve. I then worked the pattern stitch all around, including the chain, and voila! I had a hole in my sleeve 😁
More ideas
1.
With
this beautiful creation, if you make it short then you get a neat off the
shoulder cropped top as well.
2.
Divide
the front into two halves and make yourself a snazzy jacket too. This will mean that you will make two
rectangular halves for the front and one larger rectangle for the back. Then
I’d suggest that you work a continuous border all around the two fronts and
base of jacket using the sc or hdc all around.
3.
For
a snazzy finished look, I’d add in a few picot all around ;)
Have
fun and do remember to share my blog post when you show off your creation.
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many think of giving credit when you post your projects on social media.
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is a lot of work that goes into writing one of these patterns, so do pay it
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Here are some of my other top creations. Have fun with these free patterns too
and a doll’s top..
and some bolero/jacket/vests that will look grand on a top..
I have a few girls dresses, and just in case you want a dekho at those free patterns … here you go
For cute hair embellishments and motifs check the links below.
..and some belts..
and here are a few skirt patterns that you can use your belt for..
