Constance

Constance is an intermediate to advanced, made-to-measure crochet top that can also be turned into a dress. The pattern is designed to be adjusted to your own measurements, so you will need to measure yourself regularly throughout the making process. Rather than giving you a fixed number of rows or decreases, I provide guidelines that allow you to decide how long to make each part, where to place decreases, how long to make the sleeves, and — if you choose to make the dress — how long to make the skirt.

The making process of the top is divided into three main parts: front, back and sleeves. There is also a small amount of sewing involved, but fortunately, it is very short.

The top is made using simple, basic stitches such as double crochet, half double crochet, single crochet, puff and popcorn stitches. The difficulty of Constance does not come from the stitches themselves, but from the way they are combined and used.

The logic of the stitch pattern may take some getting used to and can be a little discouraging at first, but many of my testers found that once it clicked, it became surprisingly addictive and fun.

To help you through the process, the pattern includes written instructions, charts, plenty of step-by-step photos and a video. If you still have any questions or run into problems, you can always contact me directly on Instagram @sharkotea.

Yarn

Constance works with a wide range of yarns. I recommend a yarn suitable for a 2,5–3.5 mm crochet hook, preferably with some drape and a little stretch. Viscose works particularly well, but the pattern has also been successfully tested with cotton, cotton/acrylic blends, mercerized cotton, viscose blends, silk and linen.

In general, the thinner the yarn, the easier the making process will be, especially when it comes to the decreases and adding the lace section. If you are using untwisted yarn from local producers, I recommend choosing a 3-ply yarn rather than a 4-ply one.

The amount of yarn you need will depend on your size, yarn thickness, hook size and your individual tension. For the top, you will need approximately 600–1500 m. My size S, made with thin viscose, used approximately 700–800 m.

If you would like to turn your Constance into a dress, the pattern includes an additional appendix for constructing the skirt section. The dress appendix contains charts and an explanation of the logic behind the construction rather than a fully written row-by-row pattern.

The skirt section requires approximately twice as much yarn as the top, so plan for roughly 1200–3000 m in total for the dress, depending on your size, yarn and tension.

I hope you enjoy the process — and I would love to see your finished Constance, whether you make it as a top or a dress!