Wrap - Vest - Dress

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 Interesting inspiration in three variations...

My dear online crochet friend Renata Vunena Šikanjić was searching the net for ideas for a dress or a skirt. I dug into some of my files and found an interesting piece which has 2 variations - a symmetrical one that can be worn as a wrap-vest, and asymmetrical, in the shape of a dress. My "hooking" facebook friends and I made lots of comments about these crocheted works, shared our impressions and debated how it could be made and how many pieces they consisted of.

The photographs and ideas were taken from omakoppa website.


Renata made her first wrap in the speed of light, in different colours and using leftover yarn (mostly "Perlita" and Ice Yarns"), and only in a few days. She crocheted with hook No. 4.5 and did half double crochet stitches in rounds. This vest is for size S/M. The finished garment weighs about 700 gr.
The squares that make up this vest have 22 rounds each and were crocheted with 2 strands of yarn. The upper back piece is an irregular pentagon, with one angle facing downwards, made to fit her figure.

The effect is fantastic! A good selection of bright colours framed in black yarn resembles modern art.

Later on, another, plain wrap, in the beautiful nuance of orange, emerged from Renata's "hooked" hands, which will be given as a present to Marijana Maca Jovanović, the admin and founder of group
"PLETENJE,KUKIČANJE,ŠIVENJE i sve što nas čini srećnim ...",
which we all connected in, found each other and discussed many other garments, crocheting and knitting techniques.

The whole wrap is worked as the previous one, from big square pieces, except the back, which is a regular pentagon.
This long vest is made from 100% thin cotton, holding 3 strands of yarn, and with hook No. 1.9. The squares in this case have 38 rounds to fit size M.

Renata added some spectacular broaches to close each wrap, so they can also be worn as dresses.

As for me, it took a long time to finish this wrap, since the original form didn't fit me very well, I had doubts about colours and materials, and spent days and weeks fitting the square pieces and creating a different shape. In the end, I opted for symmetry, but in my own way :-)

While Maca and Renata's wraps have that perfect modern and extravagant look, I decided to make mine in romantic style and to wear it with long summer dresses.

My size is S/M, material is 100% cotton yarn "Tanja" in black colour (50 gr = 125 m). I worked double crochet stitches with hook No. 3.5. The finished piece weighs 500 gr.

My version is very different from the original, as it consists of various size squares - 2 big ones were worked in 17 rounds, 4 medium squares have 11 rnds, and 16 small ones 5 rnds, all worked in double crochet stitches. The regular pentagon at the top back was completed in 11 rnds. I assembled all the pieces by crocheting arches with ch5 (ch 7 in the corners).

I wanted my wrap-dress to have a pointed, zigzag end, so I attached the lower central square with the rest of the vest in that way.

Again, I must mention the broach - one little rose will be enough to decorate your wrap and to help close it.

Another interesting fact about this wrap is that you can wear it like a bolero if you lift up the bottom of the back to your neck and fold it in half or in 1/3, any way you like it. The front and side parts will set up as sleeves, which can be a very cosy addition to a sleeveless dress when the evening gets cool.

In conclusion, a certain garment can be refashioned in many different ways by varying colours, materials, sizes and shapes. We didn't stick to the original idea, but we let our imagination wander around and create in its own, most suitable manner. The most delightful part of creativity is that not even the author knows what his/her work will look like in the end, so we were both surprised by the final outcome on this wonderful journey into the world of yarn balls and hooks.