Granny Stitch Sleeve/Bolero/Cropped Sweater

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Plum Perfect - Hook: 6mm (6.5mm for cuff)

  When I was trying to figure it out how many clusters I needed I kept confusing myself on the math.  I did a gauge swatch and figured out about how many clusters I would need for the bottom.  I then figured out how many rounds I would need to do to get it as tall as I would like.  I then tried to apply knitting raglan increase logic to my math and ended up with a totally wrong number.  For a granny square you add one to each side per round, not one per side as you would in knitting that gives a similar increase effect.

  I then was trying to troubleshoot the neck area.  To get the fit I wanted for both the body and the sleeves I would need to start with a wide and shallow opening.  Most of these seem to have that.  I didn't want that look, so I then tried adding some extra stitches when separating the body and the sleeves to keep the sleeve from becoming too big.  I also found out that my gauge swatch lied and I needed to work the math again.

  To work out the pattern I figured out how big I wanted the body and the sleeves to be.  I then figured out how many rows I had to do that in.  I wanted mine to be 13 rows tall to where the arm-pit area would be.  I played around with having the diving row have a chain so that the body could get one more cluster than the sleeve.  I had row 13 have a chain three when joining so that I could add two clusters on row 14 and one between those two on the first row of the sleeves.  I kept ending up with too many on the body that way or having the neck opening be too small.  I took the chain 1 spaces out of the body until I got to the clusters, but left the chain and skip in there for the sleeves.  I may also start the sleeve section of the neck opening a bit larger next time, but I don't want to risk the sleeves becoming way too big.

  If I make another I might have the row start be on the front or corner so I could work some short rows.  I would keep the row start near the center and start and end the row with one stitch in a space, working back and forth instead of all the way around.  I would keep doing that while still working the granny square corners.  That way I could make the back longer while keeping the front shorter.

  I have never worked a crochet ribbed edge before.  I tried a single crochet rib at first, but it didn't sinch it in enough for how I wanted it to.  I then worked a slip stitch rib and it was exactly what I was looking for.  I found marking the front loop of the first stitch of each row was really helpful.  By the time you get back to it, they seem to always have tightened up and you can use the marker to pull the needed loop up some.

    21-13= 8 x3 = 24 (no spaces)

    19-13= 6 x4 =24 -1= 23 (with spaces, the last one doesn't get a ch1 on both sides)

Granny Stitch Bolero

Gauge: 3.2 clusters x 8 rows = 4"

• Foundation single crochet for 94 stitches, join
• Single crochet one row
• 12 dc, (3 dc, ch1, skip 1)x5, 3 dc, ch 2, 24 dc, (3 dc, ch1, skip 1)x5, 3 dc, ch 2, 12 dc
• For the body add a cluster between each 3 dc, and add a granny cluster in every ch1 space on the sleeves, and a corner in the ch 2 spaces
• Continue as you would for a normal granny square for 10 more rows
• On last row separate the body and sleeves by working on cluster in the corner, chain 1, then add a cluster in the next corner
• One additional round for the body before working three rounds of single crochet 
• Join the yarn in one of the ch2 spaces for the sleeve
• Turning every row work a total of 31 rounds
• Work one more round without the chains between the clusters to start to pull the sleeves in
• Ch 8 and work  slip stitch ribbing cuff to finish sleeve, repeat for the other side

  I mostly followed the How To Add Crochet Ribbing To A Project by The Snugglery on how to join the cuff once done.  I joined the rib and then slipped into one more stitch before turning my work because I wanted it to really pull in dramatically.

  The back was gaping a bit more than I wanted, so when I added the short rows I did not work a ch1 between the clusters.  That brought it in enough so that it was still loose fitting, but not wavey.

  When working the three rows of single crochet around the bottom of the body I worked two stitches in the double crochets and one in the top of each double crochet.

  If I were to make another one, I think I would make the cuff 10 or 12 stitches wide/long.  I would also consider starting the short rows before the division of the sleeves from the body.