Flower Child's Toddler Sweater

Little Miss Dolly recently celebrated her third birthday, and in honor of the occasion I wanted to make her a special handmade present. Dolly is quick on her feet and if you're not careful, you'll just see a streak as she runs past you (on to her next adventure)! With the intricate detailing on the back of this sweater, I thought this free crochet pattern would be perfect for our fleet-footed flower child!

I ended up completing the size 4T Flower Child's Sweater free crochet pattern with a size I hook using these stash yarns:

• Red Heart Super Saver Pale Plum
• Big Twist Blueberry
• I Love This Yarn! Ivory

Modifications to the Pattern

I completed the pattern as written for the back, sleeves, attaching both sleeves, and collar. The original pattern had multiple ties in the front, which I did not think was very practical for a young child, so I modified both front pieces and finishing as follows:

Front pieces:

Row 1: as written

Rows 2-8: Ch 2, dc in each dc across. Turn.

Rows 9-10: Ch 1 (counts as hdc), hdc in each stitch across. Turn.

Row 11: Change to color B. Ch 2, ch 1. DC, ch 1 across. Fasten off.

Finishing:

With right side facing, join A in the bottom right DC stitch. Ch 1. Work 2 hdc in corner stitch (this counts as 3 hdc in corner). Hdc in each stitch around lower edge of back to back point underneath flower. Work 3 hdc in this stitch and in each corner around. Work evenly around entire piece (rather than just back portion as described in original pattern). Fasten off.

This new method of finishing will give a final row of the main color over the decorative stitching at the front placket and at the front bottom of the piece.

I added a button to the top front of the sweater instead of the the ties that were with the original pattern and I varied the colors on the collar a bit from the pattern (but I completed the stitches in the same order):

Overall, this is not a very difficult pattern to complete. It does involve some finishing work, which might be new to some beginner crocheters. But the pattern only uses basic stitches, so it might be a fun one to try if you're new to the world of finishing.

You can add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here:

Flower Child's Sweater

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