“Kiss Me” refers to the X’s that the crossed double crochet stitches produce in this pattern.
Materials: About 150 yards of Knit Picks Bare, Merino Laceweight Wool and Silk, yarn needle, two 1/2″ buttons
Crochet Hook: Size F
Gauge: 22 sts in crossed double crochet = 4″
8 row “pairs” = 4″
Collar Section:
Chain 2 at the end of the row is the 1st stitch of the next row.
Ch 31, sc in 2nd ch from hook and ea ch to end. Mark this side as right side. Ch2, turn.
Row 1: Sk first sc, dc in next sc, dc in skipped sc. *Sk next sc, dc in next sc, dc in skipped sc* Repeat from * to * to last sc. Dc in last sc. ch 1, turn.
Row 2: Sc into top of ea dc to end. Ch 2, turn.
These two rows are called a “pair”.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 until you have 35 pairs. Repeat row 1. Ch 1, turn corner to begin working along long bottom edge.
Bottom Edge:
Sc into end of row just finished. Continue along bottom edge, placing 1 sc into the end of ea sc row and 2 sc into the end of ea dc row. (108 sc) Ch 2, turn.
Row 1: Dc into ea of 1st 2 sts, 2 dc into next st. *Dc into ea of next 3 sts. 2 dc into next st*. Work from * to * to last 4 sts. Dc into ea of last 4 sts. Ch 2, turn. (134 dc)
Row 2: Dc into ea of 1st 3 sts. 2 dc into next st. *Dc into ea of next 4 sts, 2 dc into next st*. Repeat from * to * to last 5 sts. Work 1 dc into ea of the last 5 sts. Ch 2, turn. (160 dc)
Row 3: Dc into ea of 1st 4 sts. 2 dc into next st. * Dc into ea of next 5 sts, 2 dc into next st*. Repeat from * to * to last 6 sts. Dc into ea of last 6 sts. Ch 1 turn. (186 dc)
Row 4: Sc into ea st to end of row. Turn the work sideways.
Front and top edging:
Working across ends of rows just finished, work 6 sc. Continue to work in sc to corner, placing 3 sc into corner. Work 1 sc into end of ea sc row and 1 sc into end of ea dc row across top of collar. At corner, work 3 sc into corner. Continue to work in sc along the left front to the ends of the dc rows of the bottom edging. Work 6 sc across the ends of these rows to corner. Ch 1, turn. Work one more row of sc along left front edge. Fasten off. Weave in ends. You may like to do some very light blocking. Sew buttons into place and use spaces in fabric as buttonholes.
You can also add additional buttons to have the neck button all the way to the top. This will give you more of a turtleneck effect and then you can leave some buttons undone as an alternative look.
Copyright Carol Wolf, December 2010
