A bolero is a short jacket, often without a fastener, which is worn over a blouse, turtleneck, and even a T-shirt. Such clothes make the image feminine, decorate, and warm. If you crochet a bolero, you will get an original thing that will complement the wardrobe of a modern girl. This jacket can be made with or without sleeves, to the waist or just covering the chest. To work, you will need a little personal time, yarn of your favorite shade, a hook, and a correctly selected pattern.
Selecting yarn and pattern
At first, the bolero was an element of the men's wardrobe - in Spain, bullfighters wore short vests without fasteners. Over time, this clothing was adopted by the fair sex, making it more feminine. Bolero can be made of knitwear, fur or leather. But the best looking product is crocheted. The openwork pattern makes this piece of clothing delicate and unusual, and the simplicity of execution - accessible to novice craftswomen.
Various patterns are used to crochet such items. The advantage of a bolero is that it can be knitted in one piece. But most craftswomen create such capes from individual motifs, then connecting them according to a pattern or in a square. A beautiful bolero is obtained with an openwork pattern in the form of pineapples, flowers, waves, using the Irish lace technique.
It is important to choose the right yarn. Depending on the pattern, model of the product and purpose, it can be thin or thick. Warm sweaters for cool weather are knitted from mohair, cashmere, angora, merino wool. Acrylic retains heat and any patterns look good on it.
To knit a summer bolero, thinner threads are used:
- bamboo;
- viscose;
- mercerized cotton;
- flax;
- cotton with synthetics;
- stretch yarn;
- thread with lurex.
The thickness of the yarn should be selected depending on the pattern. The openwork pattern is best made from acrylic or thin cotton thread. To make the pattern large and dense, you need to take a thick thread. It is better to crochet a bolero for a girl from thin, soft yarn.
The hook is selected depending on the thickness of the thread. For thin threads, a tool from 0.6 to 1.75 mm is needed. Hooks No. 2-4 are suitable for medium-thick threads. A thicker tool is needed for knitting items from fluffy yarn in two threads.
Measurements and drawing
After choosing the yarn, the required hook and pattern, it is recommended to knit a sample. This is necessary to determine the knitting density. To do this, create a 10 x 10 cm sample according to the selected pattern, wash, dry and iron. Then apply the sample to a 10 x 10 cm square of paper. If the knitted element is smaller, it is better to take a thicker hook, and if it is larger, then a thin one.
When making a blouse from a circle or square, you only need to measure the width of the product. This is done along the back from shoulder to shoulder. Add 10-15 cm to the resulting value. Then connect the corners - this will be the armhole. Such a bolero has no shelves, and the collar is wide.
If the product is knitted according to a standard pattern with a back, front and sleeves, the following measurements must be taken:
- ШП – shoulder width;
- ШС – back width;
- OG – chest circumference;
- OT – waist circumference;
- BWL – back to waist length;
- GPR – armhole depth;
- CH – chest height;
- DTP - front length.
Depending on the chosen model, not all of these changes may be necessary. If after constructing the pattern it turns out that the finished scheme is not suitable, it can be adapted - remove 1-2 rapports (repeating elements of the pattern).
Master class on knitting popular models
For convenience, you should use ready-made knitting patterns with detailed step-by-step instructions. When creating complex models, a full-size pattern is constructed. The product is applied to it during the knitting process to adjust the decrease and increase of loops.
Children's openwork
To crochet a bolero for a girl, you need 50 g yarn and a 2.5 mm hook. It is best to make a children's product from natural threads with a small percentage of synthetics, so that the blouse does not quickly lose its shape. The bolero is crocheted with fans of double crochet (DCN), alternating with air loops (AL). In order not to get lost, you need to use diagrams and step-by-step instructions.
Crochet openwork bolero for a girl:
- For the back, cast on 58 stitches and knit two rows according to pattern 2.
- Knit exactly 4 cm according to pattern No. 3.
- Then decrease 2 loops at the edges, decrease 1 loop for the next 46 rows. These are the armholes.
- The shelf is half of the back, so you need to decrease 1 loop on one side.
- On the other side, 8 cm from the start of knitting, make a neck: in every 2nd row, decrease 1 loop.
- The back and front pieces need to be knitted to a height of 16 cm.
- For the sleeve, cast on 32 stitches.
- After 5 cm, start adding 1 loop every 5 rows.
- After 16 cm, start decreasing: first 2 loops on each side, then 1.
- Connect the parts and tie them with fans.
This crocheted bolero for a girl can be decorated with an openwork rose, beads, or a beautiful button.
Feminine from motives
A beautiful openwork bolero for girls can be knitted from separate elements. Large floral motifs connected by a mesh are suitable for a summer model. You will need 300 g of thick cotton yarn and a #5 hook. The knitting process is simple, accessible even to an inexperienced craftswoman:
- We knit round motifs according to the pattern of VP and double crochets.
- We connect them together in the last row with single crochets (SC).
- We arrange it according to the pattern; for size 40, 4 motifs are enough for the width of the back.
- For the sleeves and front of the shelf, knit half a circle according to the pattern.
- On the sides, in order to avoid making seams, we knit the motifs completely.
- We tie the finished product with sc and VP arches.
Before sewing the sleeves and tying the bolero around the perimeter, you need to moisten the product, stretch it according to the pattern and leave it to dry.
How to decorate
After finishing the work, the finished bolero can be knitted along the edges with a simple pattern "cray step", more experienced knitters can choose a beautiful border. On top, it will serve as an elegant and unusual turn-down collar. The border is knitted from openwork motifs, fans, arches of air loops. You can make fringe, tassels.
To decorate openwork boleros, you can use a crocheted flower. Beautiful compositions of different flowers and leaves are placed on the back or one shelf. One large rose looks good in the front. It can be used instead of a button.
In addition, ready-made boleros are often decorated with embroidery. This is especially true for products created for children. Embroidery can be done with the same threads, beads, beads or ribbons. A beautiful braid is sewn along the edge.
Crocheting a bolero is not difficult; some models will take only two or three days to make. Such an unusual blouse, made with your own hands, will be a great addition to your look and will transform any woman.
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