Finally, the small girl gets something!  My commuter crochet over the past few months has been this little bolero for Stella.

How could something so small take so long, I hear you ask? Mostly because I had to unpull it when it was only a few rows away from being finished because I realised that I’d made a mistake. Back in row 5. WAY back in row 5.

This pretty bolero is actually quite straightforward to crochet. The pattern is by Doris Chan, and she really spells everything out in her patterns. If you’ve crocheted any of her patterns before then you’ll find this one super easy. I made the smallest pattern size for Stella, size 24/S. The yarn is from Spotlight but from quite a few seasons ago. It’s called Gardenia, pretty much translates to an 8ply or DK weight, and is 75% acrylic and 25% viscose derived from bamboo. It’s a lovely soft yarn to work with and both my girls like the feel of it to wear. It’s a cable construction rather than a twist, and really very good quality for a predominantly synthetic yarn. I used a 4.5mm hook.

The pattern is a four row repeat. The whole bolero is worked in one piece from the neck down, a technique that I particularly like. Just make sure that you count as you go and use markers where suggested so that you don’t have to do what I did and unpull back to row 5!

Sizes from 24/S – Stella’s size – right up to 53/3XL adult are included in this pattern. I think that it would be quite easy to lengthen the body to make a longer cardigan, or to extend the cap sleeves to make them whatever length that you like. I considered putting a tie or button closure on the front of Stella’s bolero, but she wanted it left the way that it was.

Now I am about to start another in the next size up for Clare. Over the last year I haven’t been crocheting as much as I used to. Partly this has been because my work-related arm/neck/shoulder pain is also aggravated by the motion of the crochet hook. Partly it is because I am using commuting time to check on blogs and instagram. Partly it is because I am prioritising sewing. And partly it is because I am trying to read more novels. Whatever the reasons, it was very satisfying to finally complete another crochet project, even it was a fairly small one. I have a top for me that is almost finished, and there are still a whole lot of crochet squares that I hooked back in 2012 that need to be joined into a blanket. Plenty to do, as always!