“Be kind and truthful, and life will be fruitful.”
-Unknown
After designing several patterns, I felt ready to take on my first garment design!
There was only going to be one problem with designing my first garment – I had never even crocheted a garment before!
At this point, I was ready to take on the world. I had grand ideas and monumental plans for my brand. However, I had zero experience in making crochet garments let alone designing them. I was determined not to let that deter me. I had a design in my head, and nothing would stop me from seeing it come to life. It was with this pattern, that I decided that all of my designs should reflect my aesthetic and my personality. What is The Plush Pineapple all about? I chose to narrow my brand down to modern crochet designs with a tropical flair truly handmade with love. I feel like this crochet pineapple top is the perfect springboard for introducing my brand to the world!
First things first…PINEAPPLES!
The first thing that I knew I wanted to incorporate into my design was tropical flair in the form of…you guessed it!…PINEAPPLES! I weighed several possibilities. At first, I pictured a pineapple front and center on the top. However, I knew that I wanted open stitching around the yoke and decided that the tilted pineapple off-center was the best way to compliment that for this crochet pineapple top.
Next up…BEGINNER FRIENDLY!
The next thing I decided was that I wanted this crochet pineapple top to be modern but very basic. Not only would this be easier for me to tackle from a design aspect, but it would also make it a beginner-friendly pattern for others who might be looking for their first garment to crochet. It is basically two rectangles seamed together at the shoulders and sides. The sleeves are made by simply joining yarn to the arm holes. It is the perfect beginner piece for someone new to garment making, but it also has a touch of reaching out of one’s comfort zone with the pineapple color work and the stitch detail in the yoke. If you can SC and HDC, then you can make this top!
The pattern is extremely comprehensive and covers all the bases. It includes:
- A beautiful picture tutorial on how to work color changes for the pineapple portion of the garment.
- A line-by-line pattern layout divided into the following sections: body, yoke, sleeves, and finishing.
- A numbered graph for the pineapple color work portion for those who work better visually.
- Picture assistance for working the sleeves and completing the finishing details.
- Sizes are color-coded in parentheses throughout the pattern and include sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL. However, you can find a formula below to make it according to your size specifications.
Most importantly…MADE WITH LOVE!
Last of all, I wanted this garment to truly exemplify the phrase “handmade with love.” In fact, my inspiration behind this post is my beautiful mother. My mom has been through quite an ordeal in her lifetime. Because of severe health problems including multiple kidney transplants, her body type is not typical, and she often has a hard time finding clothing to fit her. She has lost a good deal of her original height and her shoulders are stooped. So, I adjusted the pattern to have more ease in the hip but a narrow shoulder width to fit her.
It was designed to be more of a fitted garment, but can easily be adjusted to have more positive ease depending on the preference of the maker! In this post, you will find a formula that can be used to adjust the measurements to fit your size preferences! So without further ado, here’s the formula you can use to adjust it to your measurements!
Measurements
The finished measurements of each size are designed as follows:
- XS – 34” Hips, 23 ½” Length
- SM – 36” Hips, 24” Length
- M – 38” Hips, 24 ½” Length
- L – 40” Hips, 25” Length
- XL – 42” Hips, 25 ½” Length
- XXL – 44” Hips, 26” Length
How to Adjust the Sizing
Use the following steps when adjusting this pattern:
- FIRST of all, CHECK. YOUR. GAUGE! I know, I know…ain’t nobody got time for that, right? But in garment making, it’s crucial. In the original tester group for this pattern, those who made gauge had no problems getting the right fit. If your gauge swatch is off, you MUST make adjustments in hook size and/or your tension, or the differences will add up over the course of the garment, and the finished measurements will be a great deal off.
- When you are certain that your gauge swatch in on point, then you should see that 3 sc is equal to approx 1″. With this in mind, add to the beginning CH in multiples of three however many additional inches you would like to have in the hip.
- From here you have two options. You can leave the width the same all the way up the garment. This option will give you more overhang on the sleeve, so you can either continue with the sleeves as stated in the pattern or subtract rows from the sleeve if you don’t want them longer than a cap sleeve. The second option is to add decrease rows before you get to the sleeve. Calculate how many plain SC rows there are between the pineapple design and the yoke. Evenly disperse decrease rows in that section to get down to the shoulder measurement that you prefer. BE SURE TO END IN A MULTIPLE OF THREE!
Brand Representation
Modern crochet with a tropical flair handmade with love is truly what I want “The Plush Pineapple” to represent to the world. I feel that this design is truly an accurate representation of my heart and my creativity. I hope that through this pattern, you can incorporate one or all of these aspects into your crafting. While you may be more traditional than modern and you may not have all the tropical vibes, I feel that all of us have the desire to pour our hearts into every one of our projects in order to produce items that are truly…
…handmade with love!
For more crochet pineapple wear, check out The Poppin’ Pineapple Pullover!
If you make this Pineapple Tee, please share it! I would love to see your work! You can tag me on Instagram and Facebook @theplushpineapple. Use the tags #theplushpineapple and #plushpineappletee.
“Much love, sunshine, and pineapples”
Sarah
The photographs and pattern contained in this document are the property of A Plush Pineapple. Unauthorized reproduction, in whole or in part, or distribution of this pattern or content is prohibited. ALL FINISHED PRODUCTS created using this pattern may be sold locally or online. If selling finished products online, please give my blog credit for the pattern by posting a link to my website.
