Corset Style Crochet Camisole

· by · in Crochet Original Pattern, Crochet Summer Apparel, Hairpin Lace. ·

I’ve been wanting to incorporate hairpin lace strips into more of my crochet projects. I came up with the design for this Corset Style Crochet Camisole after making a simple hairpin lace strip. 

If you follow my blog you know that I’m probably going to say – this is a super easy project that anyone can make. Well this one was a little bit trickier because of the hairpin lace strip. Still not extremely difficult though because the hairpin lace that I used was a very basic single stitch strip. If you leave the hairpin lace strip out this is a super easy tank top that anyone can make. If you have ever used back loop and front loop single stitches you can make this top!

corset style cami 7

Front of the Camisole

I would love to say that I made this corset style camisole for myself. I would love to be about 20 years younger so that I could model it in a fantastic photo shoot.

corset style cami 8

Back of the camisole laces up

Trust me – nobody wants to see that! My only regret in a lifetime of crocheting is that I didn’t learn how to make tops like this 20 years ago. This is a bit risque for a mature woman like myself (please note that by mature I’m talking about my figure and not my personality). This camisole was designed for a much younger version of me who, back in the day, would have totally rocked this top!!

I designed this top for a gorgeous, fun loving friend of mine along with a few other tank tops. I will be doing a photo shoot post featuring all four tops that I made for her in a few weeks.

I was inspired by the hairpin lace in the front of the top to make this corset style. By having this camisole lace up in the back it mirrors that burlesque vibe going on with the hairpin lace, plus it is now completely adjustable for the perfect fit.

Just like my other original designs there is no written pattern that I followed, but I will tell you the methods and techniques that I used.

I started with a basic hairpin lace strip, joining the loops right on the loom. Very basic single stitch hairpin lace and single stitch joining.

I worked the top in vertical rows with the hairpin lace as the center focal piece of the design. I made the strip the length that I wanted the top to be, then starting on one side I began alternating single stitch rows using front loop only on one row then back loop only on the next. This created a very soft, subtle ribbed like texture, that also allows for a bit of stretch in the stitch pattern.

To help me with sizing and strap placement I bought a very cheap (less than $2) spaghetti strap tank top to use as a template. I did an increase of one stitch at the top of each row to build up to the strap. When I came to the row for the strap in the front I did a chain 4 to create a loop where the strap would be attached. I then continued with a decrease for each row until it was equal to the number of increase rows. Using the template again, I continued with the alternating front/back loop only rows until I reached where the strap would be in the back. At this point I chained the strap and connected it to the loop that I created in the front with a slip stitch then single stitched back up the chain to finish off the strap and then continued with the front/back loop pattern. I crocheted a few more rows and then created a scalloped border for the back lacing. I cut the yarn and tied off then repeated the same steps for the other half of the top. Be careful to start your alternating rows the same side as you did the first half so that the ribbed texture will be facing front.

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I went over the top of the camisole with a row of regular single stitch to tidy up the rough edges of the rows and added the same scalloped edging on the bottom as I did for the sides that the lacing would go through.

I finished it off with a very, very long chain that I used to lace up the back. A few wooden beads for the final touch and then just wove in the ends!

There were a lot of steps for this top but it really looks more complicated than it actually was. If you leave the hairpin lace element out you could just start with a foundation chain in the middle as long as you want the top to be then work the alternating front/back loop rows for the entire top. To make it even easier you can leave out the lace up back and continue with the alternating rows (adding the increase/decrease for the straps) in one continuous pattern.

This is another top that even though I didn’t write up a pattern it is a very easy method to learn and use with stitches that you already know. If I can make this you can too!! 😀

Thanks for reading!!

~ Tami

 

 

 

72 responses to “Corset Style Crochet Camisole”

    • Thanks Robin! I would have gotten into some trouble if I had worn a top like this 20 years ago!! A good kind of trouble LOL!! I hope the young lady I’m sending this to gets into some fun trouble with it! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Meghan!! This is the best comment! It’s exactly what I was going for – it really is so simple! It’s my favorite too – I like that it’s so different than the others. It was fun playing with a vertical design and being able to work the hairpin lace into it was a bonus!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Katie!! She is really cute and I can’t wait to see her modelling the tops I made!! I know what you mean about being tame in comparison – some of the outfits that people are wearing in public is a little shocking. But I probably would be wearing the same types of things if I was a little younger and a little thinner LOL!!! 😀

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    • Thank you Susan!! It’s tricky crocheting for someone that can’t try it on as you go. That’s part of the reason why I went with the lace up back so that she can get a custom fit. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Kate!! I was so happy that it came out the way that I had it in my head. And I was so glad that I was able to work the hairpin lace strip into the design. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  11. If it’s any consolation, I think this might not look quite right on me, unless I was at a drag party. I like this loose way of describing how to make something. I have done this on my blog, too. As I read your description of how to make this top I could imagine clearly how to go through the process of creating it. Sometimes a pattern isn’t (or shouldn’t be) necessary. Confident stitchers spread the word! Patterns aren’t always necessary!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hahaha – I bet if we wore it in side by side “Who wore it best” photos you would win!!
      I’m so happy that you ‘get’ my loose design process description. This is exactly what I’m trying to do. I alluded to finding my “crochet voice” in a previous post and this is the concept that I’m trying to promote. I’m still in the process of writing a post about my crochet philosophy with a few drafts still bouncing around in my head. I don’t want to alienate or offend anyone that relies strictly on patterns. It’s more to ignite that confidence in other people. I’m not the best crocheter in the world, but when I’m planning a design in my mind and it actually comes off of my hook the way I imagined – then I FEEL like I’m the best crocheter in the world. 😀

      Liked by 2 people

      • If you’ve read some of my blog, I’ve cited knitting book authors from the 1980s and 1960s who have said the same thing. Crochet is a much younger craft by hundreds of years, so we’re coming into our own with it as far as making up our own stuff and loosely describing how to reproduce it. Crochet is experiencing a rapid evolution that is fun for me to observe in the blogosphere. It’s taking on the same attitude that knitting took on 200 years ago and then got really radically pattern-free in the 1960s to 1980s. I don’t know if you’ve picked up a crochet magazine in the past 5 years or so, but Interweave Crochet even tried to master this trend by offering a pattern for “free-form crochet” and it’s like, really? If it’s called “free-form” I think that means it doesn’t follow a pattern. They tried, and failed, thanks to the fact that people aren’t dumb. Crochet has so many possibilities that are evolving originally in the 21st century for the very first time. More and more crocheters are seeing all the freedom they can exercise with a hook and yarn and are freeing themselves from set patterns and doing some amazing things, FINALLY. It’s a blip in the world history, but it’s cool, considering that crochet is the younger of the fiber arts that involve creating fabric.

        Liked by 2 people

      • The rapid evolution really is fascinating and I marvel at some of the things I’ve seen people crochet. Yet I still see so many of the same old, same old patterns time and again. Admittedly they are some lovely patterns.
        There is such a generation gap too. I’ve known how to crochet for longer than I can remember. In fact I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know how to crochet. I learned how from my mother and she from her mother and so forth and so on. I never even saw a written pattern until I was in my 20’s and it looked like hieroglyphics to me!
        I’m enjoying my “old school” crochet philosophy of deciding what I want to make then figuring out how to do it – without a pattern.
        There’s also so many people that are turning crochet into a home based business. Which is GREAT. I love seeing people actually make money with their hooks and yarn. Having said that, I think that it has spawned a trend of pattern writing and selling. This is where I fear I will offend people if I voice my “you don’t need a pattern” opinion. In my mind crochet patterns are like cooking recipes. We all have the same pantry of ingredients yet I see so many crochet cooks that throw chicken and rice into a pot and claim they have invented chicken soup. For this reason I am hesitant to write any patterns and claim them as my own. Okay to be fair – I also hate taking notes on my projects and am also not fond of the tedious transcribing of those nonexistent notes into a pattern language. I also am taken aback when I see the copyright language – this pattern belongs to Sally Crocheter and cannot be reproduced, or sold or looked at etc etc etc.
        Hmmm – I’m not sure where I was going with that but I would love to have a cup of coffee or a bottle of wine and talk about crocheting with you. I could listen to you talk about history, design and fiber art philosophy for hours!!! You have even made knitting sound interesting to me! I would buy tickets to your “Yarn Lecture Series” if you ever decide to take it on the road!! 😀

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Very, very cute! That lace-up back is perfect with the open lacework down the front. It sends out a little hippy vibe which I really like.
    I have got to make some of that hairpin lace… I know I have one of those looms somewhere around here, so I hate to buy a new one!
    I went to a summertime Sunday outdoor concert a “few” years ago and this would have been perfect to wear with my cut-offs.
    Jan

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Jan!! I like the lace up back too and am pretty proud of thinking to do that. It wasn’t part of the initial plan but I’m glad that the light bulb went off when I was working on it. I really wish that I had the confidence to crochet things like this a few years ago. I went to a few outdoor concerts myself where this would have been part of the perfect outfit. I hope you find your hairpin lace loom!! I would love to see what kinds of creative things you would work the strips into. 😀

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  13. I’m going to sound like everyone else when I say how pretty this top is. I love making things that look complicated but are actually easy to make. It’s all about how you put it together and this totally fits that concept. Simply gorgeous.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Yolanda!! Part of me wanted to be a little less informative so that I could trick everyone into thinking I had super crochet skills!! It always amazes me when I see something that seems so complex and I look at the pattern or reverse engineer it and think Oh I know how to do that!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • I would have to make it about 2x bigger than this one! I would also leave the hairpin lace out of the front so I could wear a bra with it. 😀 It’s Loops & Threads Color Wheel medium weight non-pilling acrylic. It feels really soft and is surprisingly light for a medium acrylic. I think you could use pretty much any yarn and just make more or less stitches to adjust for the yarn weight. I loved this because I really didn’t need to count anything. I just needed to be careful to not miss any of the stitches and to remember to do the increase/decrease rows.

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    • Thanks Kathy!!! I think you’re onto something here. I’ve been sitting outside on my deck every day to crochet and just sitting at my pretty table makes me feel really energized and focused. Don’t get me wrong, I love my skirt, but every time I look at my table cover I think “wow, I made that!” 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  17. This is my new favourite thing by you!! Love the lace, I’d totally wear this and prance aroundy bedroom pretending I’m a Victorian mistress. Only time I ever wore a corset was for burlesque dress up when I was abit skinnier 😂🤣 can’t wait to see this being worn, awesome job as per tami xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Rebecca!! I’m so happy with how this came out too. I really wasn’t sure if it was going to work. The lace up back wasn’t even part of the original design. I thought that up as I was making it. I’m glad too because it really gave the top some sexy personality! You could rock this top, you look like a Victorian mistress!!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      • Your really good at just winging it, I think that’s the best way to be sometimes especially when your making clothes 😀 I could of been king henry’s mistress but sadly I wasn’t even sperm yet lol

        Liked by 1 person

    • Really? That’s fantastic, I’m usually way behind in fashion trends LOL! I may need to design a few more of these and should probably try to write up a pattern too. The method I used was very easy and I honestly only went with the lace up back because I was worried about the sizing and wanted the person I made it for to be able to get the best fit. Thanks for the heads up and I will be checking out your link right now! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  24. How pretty and creative. =) i am always so envious of people who crochet well. Which you do. LOL I so can not. I Made my sister when she was pregnant with my niece a baby blanket lol 22 years ago =) that was my one and only crochet attempt =)

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Pingback: Like Au”gust” of wind the month was gone… | Tanglewood Knots·

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