From a Crochet-Along initiated by Jinky, I completed a mini bolero worked in Lotus Yarns Sunset.

Finished mini bolero

The CAL was of a Japanese mini bolero done in (what I think was) thread weight yarn and in shell stitches, with a crochet lace trim along the armholes and neckline. I was interested in the simple construction of the bolero which I illustrate below.

I made my bolero in exactly the way the Japanese bolero was constructed, from the lower back and up to the shoulders and the right front section, the fasten off and re-join to make the left front. Then seams are sewn at the sides leaving gaps for armholes. Finally, a simple trim is crocheted around the armholes and all along the neck and lower edge.

There is no shaping for neckline or armholes but it fits well with the crochet fabric having lots of give.

I’ve also seen some boleros done sideways in one piece, from cuff to cuff which also look very interesting. However, these look slightly boxy so I’m interested in working up easy shaping through simple sewing in addition to shaping the edges with crocheted trimmings.

The bolero before sewing the side seams.

The over-all pattern I used for this bolero was the lacy chevron. Using the chevron pattern, however, was a bit tricky, because the ends of that kind of pattern don’t match. However, that was rectified by a simple crochet trim all around the neckline and bottom edge.

The back section of the mini bolero.

Other overall patterns can be used for making a bolero in this simple manner of garment construction.