Tied and True Tee

In May I saw a new crochet design promoted by Two Brothers Blankets, the Tied and True Tee, and decided to give it a whirl, using Queensland Collection United Foursome yarn, which I purchased at my LYS, Serendipity Fibers. The yarn is a lovely size #2 lambswool/cotton blend, with an impressive 1531 yards/cake. They also sell the United as single color skeins, at a more modest 251 yards, which I figured was a nice safety net, in case I wanted to add more length. I didn't end up needing an extra skein for my tee, but it's a handy option for anyone making a larger project. The hardest part was choosing which colorway to choose, because there were three I really liked. I ended up choosing Bondi Beach, which has nice blue and green colors that I knew would be an easy addition to my wardrobe (I tend to wear a lot of blues, greens, and purples). I purchased the pattern via Ravelry, so I could send the PDF to my Kindle (and also kept a copy on my phone, so I'd always have it handy).

My gauge swatch matched at the first try, so I started from the center of the cake. The pattern uses raglan construction top down, so you start with a round neckline. This makes it easy to try it on as you go. I didn't make any adjustments to the pattern, aside from using a different yarn and leaving off the ruffles on the sleeves. I'm happy with how the top turned out and I've gotten compliments when I wear it. If I make another tee with this pattern I think I'll give myself a little more room where the sleeves separate from the body, and take a bit of the fullness out of the back - I definitely needed that extra fullness in the front, but as is, the pattern is symmetrical back to front, and my body is not.


I worked on a few other projects during the making of this tee, some spinning and some weaving projects, which will appear in other posts. So I didn't finish the tee until September, and I still need to get better photos taken in natural light. These photos were taken as soon as I finished weaving in the ends.

The pattern is very well-written for sizes child 2-10 and women's XS-2X, using only a few different stitches, and due to its clean lines and top down construction, I believe it would be a great choice for a first garment project. I was intimidated by the thought of crocheting sweaters and tops at first, but now they are among my favorite to stitch, because I love wearing them and telling people when they ask that I made it! Of course I still love making hats and other smaller projects too, because they're so quick to finish and wear or gift to friends & family.