Lately I’ve been dreaming of traveling the world. Wishing for an escape to far off places filled with lots of adventures. Since I can’t get away, the best way to solve my wanderlust is to crochet! Introducing, the Adventure Tee, my latest crochet top pattern. Yes, it is crochet! Inspired by vintage maps and adventures, this crochet top pattern was designed to wow. Featuring a gorgeous crochet world map, a compass rose yoke, and stunning color combinations, this crochet clothes pattern will quickly become a favorite of yours.
Inspiration
A year ago, amidst the pandemic, I was dreaming of traveling but like the rest of the world, I was stuck at home. I kept having this design idea pop into my head of a crochet top pattern that had an entire world map on it. For months I put it off as I wondered how would I possibly create something like that. Then, when I was just a few weeks out from giving birth to my son, I finally figured out the solution and brought this tapestry crochet top pattern to life! It perfectly captures the vintage map inspiration I was drawing from along with highlighting all of the amazing things you can do with colorwork.
Want to save this pattern for later? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board!
Construction
As I was designing this pattern, I underwent a lot of debate on how to create it. Should I do a circular yoke sweater? Well, then how would I factor in all the sizes? What solution could there possibly be? Then it hit me: make it into panels! This way each size grouping could use the same chart, which would be a lot less math and work for me. I had no idea if it would work as I crocheted it, but low and behold, it did! I definitely breathed a big sigh of relief.
This pattern is made up of two panels that are sewn together with the sleeves worked off of them. If you can crochet a square, then you can crochet this! The pattern starts out with ribbing, and then moves up to simple tapestry crochet waves to help introduce you to colorwork. Then you move up into the map portion, followed by switching to intarsia crochet for the yoke. It’s a great project to do when you’ve had some experience with colorwork and want to jump into something more challenging.
Sizing
Like all of my crochet clothes patterns, the Adventure Tee is a size inclusive crochet garment coming in sizes XS-5XL. Now, it may have labels for standard sizing, but the pattern’s sizes are based off of the bust measurements. You can choose one of the bust measurements listed that you are closest to, or you can even adapt the panel width to be closer to what you want! Here are the different sizing measurements to help get you started:
Finished Bust Measurements: 33 (35, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61)”
Finished Length Measurements: 20 (20, 21, 21, 22, 22, 23, 23, 23)”
The Yarn
When it came to this design, a lot of it was inspired by the yarn that I used. Last summer, Sewrella Yarn put together an incredible collection inspired by travel. As soon as I saw the colors, I knew it was perfect for this design. I used their DK weight super wash merino wool from the Bon Voyage collection. The collection has a beautiful array of golds, reds, blues, creams, and pinks. It really tied this design together and made it into one of the most beautiful designs I’ve ever made!
Since that collection is no longer available, you can use any DK weight yarn for this pattern. Whether it’s hand dyed or store bought, you can use whatever DK yarn you would like! Here are some of the yarns my testers used:
- We Crochet Cotlin
- Lion Brand Coboo
- Cascade 220 superwash
My testers
While designing this pattern, I had the most amazing group of pattern testers! With each garment I design, I get a group of volunteer crocheters to crochet the pattern in order to make sure that it has the proper fit, reads well, and is the best pattern it can be. This group of testers I had was such an amazing group of ladies, and they created an incredible array of Adventure Tees!
Pattern features:
The Adventure Tee pattern includes so many awesome features to it! Here are some of them:
- Comes in sizes XS-5XL (see bust measurements below to choose your size)
- Multiple charts: the front and back panels, waves, and shoulders to help provide as much detail as possible.
- Includes two versions of the pattern for each size grouping: a version that mainly uses the chart and then another version that has each colorwork stitch written out.
- Customization to adjust the width of each panel, the length of the sweater, and multiple sleeve options.
Adventure Tee Video
Learn more about the pattern and check out my pattern vlog in my latest Youtube video below!
Pattern Info:
Gauge: 4” x 4” square = 16 sc x 20 rows
Hook: 4.5mm (or hook needed to meet gauge requirements. I do my stitches on the tighter side, so you might have to size down or up depending on your tension.)
Finished Bust Measurements: 33 (35, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61)”
Finished Length Measurements: 20 (20, 21, 21, 22, 22, 23, 23, 23)”
Yarn: Sewrella Yarn DK weight (218 yds) or any other DK weight yarn in 6 colors
Approximate Yarn Yardage (estimated total amount): 660 (777, 700, 861, 990, 1078, 1219, 1311, 1403) yds
Approximate Yarn Yardage By Color:
This number ends up being slightly different then the above estimated amounts because some carry the yarn, which requires more yarn. If you do intarsia crochet where you use bobbins, your yardage will be closer to the amount below.
Color A (bottom/top edging color, variegated yarn in sample): 170 (180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250) yds
Color B (light pink, background of waves/part of compass): 110 (120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190) yds
Color C (blue, map/bottom waves): 79 (79, 79, 79, 137, 137, 137, 137, 137) yds
Color D (white/map background): 336 (360, 370, 380, 390, 400, 410, 420, 430) yds
Color E (yellow/compass edge and points): 38 (38, 38, 38, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50) yds
Color F (dark pink, compass points): 28 (28, 28, 28, 52, 52, 52, 52, 52) yds
Adventure Tee Pattern:
The Adventure Tee pattern is now available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops!
