hey there it's crystal everdeen and today i'm going to share with you how to crochet a halter top now this video is beginner friendly but you do have to have some knowledge of crochet but if you are a complete beginner to crochet i do have a crochet for beginners video that will be linked in the description box below that video covers how to make a slip knot how to crochet basic stitches and introduce you to certain terminology so again if you are a complete beginner to crochet please check out that video first and then come back to this one so for today's project i'm using a size 4 yarn that is 100 acrylic but of course you can use whatever yarn that you would like i am also using a size 5 millimeter hook but just like the yarn you can use whatever size hook you want to the general rule is you need a bigger or smaller hook depending on how thick or thin the yarn is so if you want to use chunky yarn you're going to need a bigger hook if you want to use really thin yarn then you're going to need a smaller hook but for me my size 5 hook with my size 4 yarn works perfectly well so as long as it fits then you should be fine so let's get into the halter top so the first thing that we're going to do is make our slip knots and then we're going to chain a chain that is long enough to cover from one side of our rib cage to the other now when i crochet my projects i usually use my body as a reference as opposed to using a certain number of chains or rows i just go by my body and i think that's what makes my tutorials universal because it doesn't matter what size you are as long as you use your body you could definitely follow these instructions and make the perfect top fit for you i went ahead and finished up my chain and if you're curious i am a size extra small to small depending on what kind of top but i ended up chaining 72 chains not 70 not 75 72 chains because when i put it against my body that is the perfect number that i need in order for it to cover from that one side of my rib to the other so once you do the same thing and you have completed your chain that fits you the exact same way we're going to go back on that chain now of course this is your halter top you can use whatever stitch that you like but i do want to show you why i choose to use the half double crochet for highlighter tops so this is what a half double crochet is it's yarn over then through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through the last three loops left on the hook so again yarn over through the stitch yarn over back over the stitch yarn over through the last three loops yarn over through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through the last three loops one more time yarn over through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through the last three loops so this is what a half double crochet looks like and again i'm going to show you why i choose to use that stitch so my very first uh crochet halter top tutorial i actually used a single crochet and this is what a single crochet is it is through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through the last two loops so through the stitch yarn over back to a stitch then yarn over through last two loops and this stitch is great for those of you who want a top that is very tight and not very see-through at all the only problem with this is that if you use a single crochet for a halter top or any sort of top it is going to be pretty stiff and for my regular crochet tops i do like this because again it doesn't really show you don't have to wear anything under but for halter top specifically i just don't like the way it looks so i don't really use it but again totally up to you now another option the last halter top tutorial that i made i actually ended up using a double crochet which is yarn over through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through two loops then yarn over through the last two loops again a double crochet is yarn over through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through two loops yarn over through the last two loops so it's an extra step than what we're doing this is a full double crochet and we're doing a half double crochet so again yarn over through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch and instead of going through all three loops like we are doing for a half double crochet we're first going through two loops and then two loops again and again that is a double crochet that's a regular double crochet and i used it for again my previous halter top tutorial but thing is it's very um open and i did not like that about the last halter top tutorial that i made because i had to wear something under otherwise you know it would show so if you want to use a double crochet just because it's like softer and more flexible and it'd be really comfortable it was a very comfortable halter top just know that you know it's very open and you will need to either sew a piece of fabric underneath in order for it not to show or you'll have to wear something underneath um on the other hand if you want to use a single crochet which is not you know very open at all you could barely see any openings just when you stretch it but if you don't stretch it you can't see anything so you don't necessarily have to wear anything under but it will be very stiff now if you want to do what i'm doing and using the combination of these two i'm using a half double crochet which you can see is way tighter than you know the regular double crochet not as many uh big openings here um but also not as tight as a single crochet you know kind of a combination of both of them so totally up to you what you would like to use again i'm opting for the half double crochet because i think it's a wonderful hybrid of these two stitches but again totally up to you but okay back to the normal tutorial i just wanted to give you the option here to choose the stitch you want to use but yeah okay so from here on we're going to go all along the chain to the very end and make a row of half double crochet making sure that we go into every single chain to make a stitch in every single one so just going to continue making our half double crochets and i know maybe i confused some people by showing the other stitches so let me go ahead and go over what a half double crochet is so yarn over through the stitch yarn over back through the stitch yarn over through the last three loops so we're doing a half double crochet here and this is what the stitch looks like okay so we're gonna go ahead and do that all along the chain and then once we reach the end so i've now reached the end of the row this is what the project looks like so far this is what one row of half double crochet looks like and again i'm going to go ahead and make sure that i go into the very last stitch of the row after i do that i'm going to chain one flip the project over and then i'm going to make sure that i go into the very first stitch of the new row then make my half double crochet and then continue on to make my second row of half double crochet on top of the first row of half double crochet that i've made and what's really important is that you always make sure that your edges are straight by making sure that you go into the very last stitch of the row then chaining one flipping the project over and going into the very first stitch of the new row a lot of people skip either of those steps and their edges end up curving inward which is what we do not want right now now later on is a different story but for right now we want our edges to be straight so make sure that you go into the very last stitch then chain one flip the project over then go into the very first stitch of the new row and then go into every single stitch after that until you reach the end of the row and then you do the exact same thing and i'm going to make a total of five rows of half double crochet and then i'm going to switch things up a bit i'll go ahead and show you what i do at the end of the row so i have nearly completed my second row of half double crochet i just need to go into the very last stitch here make the last half double crochet of the row chain one put the project over then create another half double crochet in the very first stitch of the new row and then go ahead and continue on with my third row of half double crochet so again make sure that you do that at the end of every row it is very important but yeah i'm just going to do that two more times to complete a total of five rows of half double crochet and once i do that we're going to be switching up the um pattern a little bit so yeah i'm going to go ahead and finish up my five rows of half double crochet and then get back to you okay so i just about finished my five rows of half double crochet and this is what the project looks like now i say that i've just about finished it because i'm at the end of the row right here and normally i would of course do what i mentioned before to make the edges straight but i'm actually going to change it up a bit so after you've created however many rows of half double crochet that you want again mine was five rows and i'm about to end the fifth one right now but instead of ending it with um going into the last row and then chaining one flipping the project over and then going into the very first stitch of the new row and then every stitch after that this is what we're going to start doing from now on so from here we're still going to make sure that we go into the very last stitch of every single row then we're still going to chain one we're going to flip the project over we are still going to go into the very first stitch of the new row but this is this is the little difference that makes a big deal we're actually going to skip over the next stitch so we're going to skip over that second stitch and we're going to go right into the next stitch which is the third stitch of the new row we're just going to make our half double crochet and then just continue on the rest of the row like nothing happened and what that's going to start doing is that's going to start decreasing the total number of stitches per row and it's also going to start pulling the project this way remember earlier i said do not skip any stitches because and then it's going to curve this way you don't want that well now we want that so we're actually going to be skipping that second stitch of every single row and you know for the first couple rows you may not be able to tell that much you could barely tell just a little bit but not too much but as we continue doing it and it keeps decreasing more and more each row then we'll definitely be able to see that halter shape so again we were keeping those edges straight for a while because that's what you normally do for any rectangular project but because this is a halter top we want it to be more of a triangular project so we want those edges to actually come inward and we're going to do that by decreasing aka skipping that second stitch at the beginning of every single new row and yeah everything else after that is exactly the same you're going to make sure you go into every single stitch and even the very last stitch of the row so again i'm just going to continue along with this row and then get back to you once i reach the end to show you again what to do at the end of every row from now on okay so now that i've reached the end of the row again i'll show you what you need to do so i'm going to make sure that i go into the very last stitch of the row then i'm going to chain one flip the project over then go into the very first stitch of the new row but now i'm actually going to skip over that second stitch right here go into the third one with a half double crochet and then just continue on with the rest of the row like normal making sure they go into every single stitch including the very very last stitch of the row and little by little you'll see that the project will start curving inward more and more you can see a little bit better on this side but yeah every time you reach the end of the road you're going to make sure that you take those steps and as you continue on making more and more rows and doing that to every end of the row then you will eventually get to this point where you can actually start to see the project going inward like this so again the first couple rows you may not be able to see it right away but if you continue going on with the same pattern then you'll be able to see that the project is turning into more of a triangular shape as opposed to a rectangular shape which is exactly what you want for a halter top so yeah just continue making more and more rows of half double crochet making sure that you decrease at every row and little by little it'll start to look more and more like a triangle so i'm just going to continue making more rows here and then check in with you periodically just so i could show you what the project should be looking like a few rows into it this is what the project looks like so far you can definitely now see the edges going inward a little bit more than we used to especially on this side for this side it's kind of curving a little bit for some reason but anywho um but now you can see it's becoming more of a triangular shape and you can now see the halter forming right so we're just going to continue decreasing it at the end of every row and making more and more rows of half double crochet until the halter top gets smaller and smaller to the point where you're happy with the size of the neckline so the neckline is probably going to be like about this wide and everything else it's going to be like this so yeah just continue with that pattern and i will meet you once we are getting close to the end so i went ahead and continued with that pattern all the way up until i got these points so now whenever i put the project against my body i am happy with the fit i like the size of the neckline right here and that's how i knew that it was time for me to stop so you go ahead and do the same but put the project against yourself as if you're going to wear it and then figure out if you like the length of it if you like the fit of it the neckline length and once you do then you are done with the majority of the project so now the very last thing we need to work on are the straps which are super easy to make so we're going to make a design for this halter top that has a crisscross kind of corset style strap in the back so it's going to fold over like this and we're going to make very very long straps so we could weave it through the back right here so from here we're actually going to make our first strap by chaining 150 chains plus so for me i chain 150 chains but since we're probably at different heights and sizes you may need to crochet more or less chains than me but i just want to let you know that i am crocheting 150 but i figured out that i needed to crochet 150 through trial and error so you may need to also figure out if 150 is good for you or if you may need to again chain more or less but yeah i'm going to go ahead and chain 150 here this is my 150 chain strap so once i finish with my chains i like to go back on it with a slip stitch not only it to make the strap a little bit thicker and more comfortable but also so that i don't have to detach the yarn from the yarn ball and then reattach it to the other side to make my second strap but if you want to do that totally up to you again i am going to go back on this chain with a slip stitch and a slip stitch is really easy all you need to do is go into the chain yarn over go through the chain again and then through that last loop that's left on your hook very very simple so again it's just going through the stitch and then yarning over going back through the stitch and also through the loop that's left on your hook and i'm just going to do that all the way down the chain until i reach the bottom and then once i reach the bottom i'm going to actually crochet across the top to the other side so i can make the second strap but again if you don't want to do that and you'd rather just detach the yarn from the yarn ball and then reattach it to the other side to make the second strap then you can do that as well then i'm just going to go ahead and slip stitch my way all the way down and this is what the strap looks like again it's a lot more comfortable with this extra layer of slip stitch as opposed to just the chain itself i found that when it's just the chain itself one it's a lot less sturdy and two it digs into your skin somehow i don't really know why maybe because it's really thin so it like digs into your skin but at least with this extra layer you don't really feel that so that's why i like to do it but again i'm just going to go ahead and do that all the way down the strap until i get to this point then i'm going to make one last row of half double crochet over to the other point and then from here i'm going to chain 150 again and then go back down with a slip stitch and then i will be completely done crocheting the halter top so now that i have a single crocheted all the way down the strap i am back at the actual top so from here i'm going to slip stitch into the nearest stitch to secure the strap and then from here i'm going to half double crochet my way to the other side and once i reach the other side i'm going to go ahead and chain another set of 150 chains to match the other side and then i'm going to go back on it with a slip stitch and be completely done with the top and once you're done crocheting the second strap the project should look something like this so it's the body of the halter top along with two very very long straps at the top and yeah after that you're completely done crocheting so you can go ahead and cut the yarn from the yarn ball and then seal the project as you normally would me i am actually going to be unraveling this top and repurposing the yarn for a future tutorial so i'm not going to be cutting the yarn from the yarn ball um so just ignore this um but yeah other than that i assume that you are going to be keeping your halter top that you just worked so hard for so go ahead and cut the yarn from the yarn ball and then finish the project for me i'm just going to pretend that this part isn't here and show you how to lace up your straps so you're going to go ahead and grab one strap bring it on over to the opposite side and then figure out where you would like the strap to go and once i decide where i want it to be attached to i kind of pinpoint where i'm going to space things out so this is going to be one point this is going to be the middle point and then this is going to be the bottom so three points right here that's where i'm going to be attaching these straps to so i'm going to go ahead and attach it first to the top portion of the bottom portion of the top and then i'm going to bring it over to the opposite side where i kind of pinpoint again where the top middle and bottom is going to be and i'm going to attach it to the middle portion right here the exact same way i attached the first one and once i've attached it to the middle portion of this side i'm going to bring it on over to the opposite side one last time and attach it to the bottom portion of the opposite side and once i've attached it there then i am done attaching this side of the strap i'm going to go ahead and do the exact same thing for the other strap so i'm going to grab the strap bring it on over to the opposite side align it to where the other one is and attach it to the top portion of the bottom portion of the top that i want my straps to be attached to and then once i attach it to the top portion of that i'm going to bring on over to the opposite side and attach it to this middle portion right here so i'm just going to bring it on through with my hook because i find that's easiest and once i've attached it to the middle of this side i'm going to bring it on over to the opposite side one last time to attach it to the bottom portion of the bottom portion of the top and just bring it on through with my hook and once i've attached that then i am completely done with the top decorating it and all with this lacy crisscross back as well so then you can just adjust it right here at the bottom and voila you are completely done with your halter top congratulations i hope you had so much fun crocheting it and you have even more fun rocking it and styling it and making it your own taking really cute photos in it showing up to get togethers and parties looking fabulous with your new halter top so on and so forth and i did forget to mention this in the beginning of the video which i should have mentioned it in the beginning but i also have a written pattern on my blog also if you think that the half double crochet is still too revealing then i would definitely recommend that you sew a layer of fabric underneath the top and then you won't have to worry about wearing anything under or of course you could wear something under if you feel more comfortable that way lastly i have two older versions of how to crochet a halter top for beginners that i will also link in the description box below just in case this one just like wasn't working for you i have those two other ones that that maybe will resonate with you and they'll be perfect for you to follow so you can go ahead and try those as well so just overall check out the description box below it has the crochet for beginners video the two other beginner friendly halter top tutorials that i posted on my channel previously and the blog post on how to crochet halter top and lastly if you want to buy the same yarn that i use i will also include my amazon affiliate links so you can go ahead and shop the yarn and hook that i use thank you so so much for watching this video i hope you found this either interesting entertaining or helpful and if you did please give it a big thumbs up before you go and also don't forget to click that red subscribe button if you have not already so i can see you next time bye and have a magical day i think i saw your face in the moon