This multicolor tunic is one of my first attempts at crocheting a sleeved garment. The springboard for this piece was the Japonais Tunic in “Sensual Crochet” by Amy Swenson.

It took quite a while getting this project finished because I couldn’t decide how much I should raise the collar and how low the neckline closing should be. Everything really depended on my own posture, which a little bit awkward. The sleeves also gave me a hard time because I made the increase/decrease of the stitches to shape the yoke in a rather random way. Only later did I realize that I should have stuck to a more rational and regular way of increasing and decreasing the stitches.

I also had a very hard time shaping the sleeves, starting from the wrists, I increased the stitches with an extra stitch at the start of each row, but somehow, I couldn’t decide exactly where over the previous row I should put the extra stitch… Nevertheless, what I ended up with is a collarless v-neckline tunic done almost entirely in the double-crochet eyelet pattern.

Construction Notes: I started this piece from the bottom front upwards and fastened off where the lower end of the arm holes start. Then I started working the sleeves in rounds from the wrist upwards with increasing stitches. The sleeves are then connected to the piece in two points at the edge of the underarm, with a small gap under the arm which is sewn together later.

With the sleeves attached to the body of the piece, the yoke is then crocheted together, decreasing the stitches towards the neck.

The Eyelet Pattern:

From the Japonais Tunic in “Sensual Crochet” by Amy Swenson -

(I improvised on this basic eyelet pattern with varying rows of single crochet, rows of double-crochet eyelets and rows of single-crochet eyelets. The use of color is of course very important).

Pattern is shown in rows but can be converted to rounds by simply joining the last stitch with a sl st to turning ch from the beginning of the row.

Ch a multiple of 2 sts.

Row 1. Ch 2, dc in each ch. Turn.

Row 2. Ch 1, sc in each dc. Turn.

Row 3. Ch 2, dc in each sc. Turn.

Row 4. Ch 1, sc in each dc. Turn.

Row 5. (Ch 3, sc in 2nd sc) to end. Turn.

Row 6. Ch 1, (2 sc in each ch-3 sp) repeat to end. Turn.

Row 7. Ch 2, dc in each sc. Turn.

Rows 8-10. Repeat rows 4-6.

Row 11. Ch 2, dc in each sc. Turn.

Repeat rows 2-11.

A note about color:

I noticed that when I started making the sleeves, a very pleasant pattern could be created by using a certain pattern of color with the eyelet pattern.

One color pattern is to border on both sides a wider saturated color with a much lighter and narrow color. This looks best with solid single or double crochet stitches rather than the mesh eyelet pattern.

Another color pattern that works best with the eyelet pattern is the reverse of the previous color pattern: use a light color thread for the eyelet and a darker more saturated thread for the borders. Thus,

Row 4. Ch 1, sc in each dc. Turn. (In dark color)

Row 5. (Ch 3, sc in 2nd sc) to end. Turn. (In light color)

Row 6. Ch 1, (2 sc in each ch-3 sp) repeat to end. Turn. (In same dark color)

The result is a very attractive color pattern that reminds me of woven textiles by indigenous peoples.

The scalloped borders (for the hem and sleeves):

I used this very simple scallop pattern for the borders:

Ch 3, dc in same st three times, sk 3 sts, sc in next st. Rep to end.

Seaming up the front:

Instead of sewing the front together, I used the eyelet pattern all along the front and neck of the tunic, with the lower section topped with sc and the rest left as ch-3 spaces creating small frills along the neckline. I then used a crocheted string to tie the lower front of the tunic through the eyelets.

Concluding notes:

Because of the eyelet pattern, the tunic is actually rather cool and breathes very well. But with the low neckline, it is to be worn with a shirt or tank top underneath. In a tropical country, this can be quite warm in the summer but perfect for the cooler season.

And when following a pattern, feel free to experiment – with color, with stitches, with materials, and with design! If you’ve tried making the Japonais Tunic from “Sensual Crochet”, and have made some improvisations, please let me know how your experiments went!