The Sunny Meadow Daisy Crop Top is a light, lacy summer top made entirely of small daisy motifs. Each flower has 8 open white petals around a golden-yellow center with a tiny dark-brown eye, so the whole top looks like a field of daisies.
The palette is three colors: crisp white, warm golden yellow, and a small amount of dark brown. The style is airy and romantic. It looks great over a bralette or a tank, with high-waisted jeans.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished top measures 33 in (83.8 cm) around and 12 in (30.5 cm) tall, including the borders. It fits a bust of about 31–34 in (78.7–86.4 cm).
Construction is modular. You make 48 body motifs and join them as you go into a tube 12 motifs around and 4 motifs tall. Then you fill the small gaps between motifs, add two straps of 4 motifs each, and work a short border along the top and bottom edges.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 33 in (83.8 cm) around × 12 in (30.5 cm) tall
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: #3 light / DK cotton
- Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6)
- Number of pieces: 56 motifs (48 body + 8 strap)
- Layout: body is 12 motifs around × 4 rows in a tube; each strap is a line of 4 motifs
- Piece size: 2.75 in (7.0 cm) tip to tip
- Size before border: 33 in (83.8 cm) around × 11 in (27.9 cm) tall
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) at the top edge and 0.5 in (1.3 cm) at the bottom edge
Materials
Choose a smooth mercerized cotton or a cotton blend in DK weight. Cotton shows off the petal loops clearly and keeps the lace crisp after blocking. Avoid fuzzy yarns, because they blur the open petals.
- White: 150 g / 345 m (petals, gap joins, borders)
- Golden yellow: 50 g / 115 m (centers)
- Dark brown: 20 g / 46 m (center dots)
These quantities include a margin of about 20% for gauge differences, tails, and a test motif.
Tools:
– 4.0 mm (G-6) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– Locking stitch markers
– Rust-proof pins and a blocking mat
– Measuring tape
– Scissors
– Spray bottle
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- sp – space
- rep – repeat
- RS – right side
Special technique – Joining tip: Work this in place of a petal’s ch-2 tip. Ch 1, remove the hook, insert it from the RS into the ch-2 tip of the neighboring motif’s petal, pick up the dropped loop and pull it through, then ch 1. The joining tip still counts as one petal tip.
Petal numbering: Lay a finished motif RS up. Petal 1 (P1) points straight up. Count clockwise: P2 upper right, P3 right, P4 lower right, P5 down, P6 lower left, P7 left, P8 upper left.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Make one complete test motif before anything else, then block it lightly. Gauge decides the size of the whole top.
- After Round 1: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) across
- After Round 2: 1 in (2.5 cm) across
- After Round 3: 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across (finished yellow center)
- After Round 5: 2.75 in (7.0 cm) from petal tip to opposite petal tip
- Petal length: about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) from the center edge to the tip
If your motif is too big (over 3 in / 7.6 cm), use a 3.75 mm hook. If it is too small (under 2.5 in / 6.4 cm), use a 4.5 mm hook. A difference of only 0.25 in (0.6 cm) per motif adds up to 3 in (7.6 cm) around the body, so correct your gauge before you make the rest of the motifs.
Daisy Motif (Make 56)
Each motif is worked in the round with the RS facing. Do not turn.
Round 1 (Brown): Make a magic ring. Ch 1 (does not count as a st), work 8 sc in the ring. Pull the ring tight. Join with a sl st to the first sc, using Yellow to finish the sl st. Fasten off Brown. (8 sc)
Round 2 (Yellow): Ch 2 (does not count as a st), work 2 hdc in each st around. Join with a sl st to the first hdc. (16 hdc)
Round 3 (Yellow): Ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st; rep from * 7 more times. Join with a sl st to the first sc. Fasten off Yellow. (24 sc)*
Checkpoint: the center is flat and 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across. If it ruffles, your hdc are too loose. If it cups, check that you have 24 sts.
Round 4 (White, petal loops): Join White with a sl st in any sc. Ch 8, sl st in the same sc (1 petal loop made), sl st in each of the next 3 sc; rep from * 6 more times. Ch 8, sl st in the same sc, sl st in each of the next 2 sc, then sl st into the first sl st. (8 ch-8 loops, spaced 3 sts apart around the 24 sts)*
Round 5 (White, covering the petals): Work (6 sc, ch 2, 6 sc) into the next ch-8 loop. Skip the sl st at the base of the loop and sl st in each of the next 2 sl sts. Rep from * 7 more times. Join with a sl st at the base of the first petal. (96 sc, 8 ch-2 tips, 16 sl sts)*
Every petal now has 12 sc around an open center, which makes the hollow loop shape seen in the photo. On the first motif only, fasten off and leave a 4 in (10.2 cm) tail. On every later motif, use joining tips as described in the Joining section below.
Make All Pieces
- Body motifs: 48 (Brown, Yellow, and White in every motif)
- Strap motifs: 8 (4 per strap, same colors)
- Per motif: about 0.6 m Brown, 1.7 m Yellow, and 4 m White
You can make all the centers (Rounds 1–3) in one batch, then add the petals as you join. Weave in the Brown and Yellow tails before you start Round 4.
Layout grid, as if the tube were cut open at the left side seam (* = strap attaches at P1):
ROW 1 (top): M1 M2* M3 M4 M5* M6 | M7 M8* M9 M10 M11* M12
ROW 2: M13 M14 M15 M16 M17 M18 | M19 M20 M21 M22 M23 M24
ROW 3: M25 M26 M27 M28 M29 M30 | M31 M32 M33 M34 M35 M36
ROW 4 (bottom):M37 M38 M39 M40 M41 M42 | M43 M44 M45 M46 M47 M48
---------- FRONT ---------- | ----------- BACK -----------
M12 joins back to M1, and each row’s last motif joins back to its first, so the body closes into a tube.
Joining
Method: Join as you go on Round 5. Use a joining tip only on the side petals P1, P3, P5, and P7. The diagonal petals P2, P4, P6, and P8 always keep a plain ch-2 tip.
Stitch-to-stitch logic:
– Joining to the motif on the left: your P7 joins that motif’s P3.
– Joining to the motif above: your P1 joins that motif’s P5.
– Closing the tube: the last motif in each row also joins its P3 to the P7 of the first motif in that row.
– Row 1: side joins only.
– Rows 2–4: each motif joins the motif above it, the motif to its left (except the first motif in the row), and, if it is the last in the row, the first motif.
Joins total 48 side joins (12 per row × 4 rows) plus 36 vertical joins (12 per row boundary × 3 boundaries).
Gap joins: Each spot where 4 motifs meet leaves an open diamond. The four diagonal tips around it are P4 of the upper-left motif, P6 of the upper-right motif, P8 of the lower-right motif, and P2 of the lower-left motif. To close it, join White with a sl st in one of those tips. Ch 3, sl st in the next diagonal tip around the gap; rep from * 2 more times. Ch 3, then sl st in the first tip. Fasten off. (4 ch-3 sps per gap)* Work 36 gaps in total (12 per row boundary × 3 boundaries).
Straps: Strap motif 1 joins its P5 to P1 of M2. Strap motifs 2–4 each join their P5 to the P1 of the strap motif before them. Strap motif 4 also joins its P1 to P1 of M11. Repeat for the second strap, from M5 to M8.
Tension: Pull each joining sl st snug but not tight. The joined tips should lie flat and stay in line with the petals, not puckered.
Size checkpoint: Two joined motifs measure 5.5 in (14.0 cm) center to far tip. Row 1, laid flat before you close the tube, measures 33 in (83.8 cm). The finished body is 11 in (27.9 cm) tall, and each strap is 11 in (27.9 cm) long.
Border
Border gauge: 14 sts per motif width, which is about 5 sts per 1 in (2.5 cm).
The border is worked separately along the top edge and the bottom edge. Each edge runs through 12 motifs, so it starts with 12 × 14 = 168 sts.
Top Edge, Round 1: Join White with a sl st in the P8 tip of M1. Sc in the P8 tip, ch 4, sc in the P1 tip, ch 4, sc in the P2 tip, ch 3; rep from * across all 12 Row 1 motifs. At M2, M5, M8, and M11, work the P1 sc into the strap join point. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (Per motif: 3 sc + 11 ch = 14 sts; total 168 sts: 84 front, 84 back)*
Top Edge, Round 2: Ch 1. Work 1 sc in each sc, 4 sc in each ch-4 sp, and 3 sc in each ch-3 sp. Join with a sl st. (36 sc worked in sc + 132 sc worked in ch sps = 168 sc; 84 front, 84 back) Fasten off.
Bottom Edge, Rounds 1–2: Work the same as the top edge on the Row 4 motifs, using P6, P5, and P4 in place of P8, P1, and P2. (168 sts, then 168 sc)
Why the math works: 33 in × 5.09 sts per inch ≈ 168. That equals 12 motifs × 14 sts, so the border lies flat without stretching or ruffling the edge. Round 2 keeps exactly 1 sc per existing st, so the count stays at 168. The ch-3 spans close the 0.8 in gap between neighboring motifs and smooth the edge into a gentle scallop. Each half of the top gets 84 sts (6 motifs × 14), which keeps the front and back symmetrical.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all remaining tails along the backs of the sc petals.
- Soak the top in cool water for 10 minutes, then gently press out the water. Do not wring it.
- Roll it in a towel to remove more water.
- Lay it flat as a folded tube, 16.5 in (41.9 cm) wide × 12 in (30.5 cm) tall.
- Pin the tip of every petal along the top and bottom edges. Open each petal loop with your fingertip.
- Pin the straps out straight to 11 in (27.9 cm).
- Let it dry completely, flip it, and mist the back lightly.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every motif has 8 petals, each with 12 sc and one tip
- Each center has 8 Brown sc, 16 hdc, and 24 sc
- All 48 side joins and 36 vertical joins are secure
- All 36 gaps are closed with 4 ch-3 sps
- Each border round has 168 sts per edge
- Straps are 4 motifs long and not twisted
- Body measures 33 in (83.8 cm) around × 12 in (30.5 cm) tall
- All tails are woven in and trimmed
Troubleshooting
- Petals curl or twist: You have more or fewer than 12 sc per loop. Recount, and keep the ch-8 loop relaxed.
- Center cups: Round 3 is missing increases. You need 24 sc.
- Center ruffles: Your hdc are too loose. Go down a hook size for Rounds 1–3 only.
- Body slants: You joined a P7 to the wrong petal. Check the petal numbering on every motif.
- Gaps sag: Use ch 2 instead of ch 3 for the gap joins.
- Edge ruffles: Work 3 sc in each ch-4 sp on Round 2 to tighten it.
- Straps too long: Take out one strap motif. That removes 2.75 in (7.0 cm).
- Top too small: Use 14 motifs around for 38.5 in (97.8 cm). Each edge border then has 14 × 14 = 196 sts.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap and dry flat, reshaping the petals. Do not tumble dry or hang it while wet.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is simple. The 1.25 in (3.2 cm) center plus 0.75 in (1.9 cm) petals on each side makes a 2.75 in (7.0 cm) motif. Twelve motifs around make 33 in (83.8 cm), four rows make 11 in (27.9 cm), and two 0.5 in (1.3 cm) borders bring the height to 12 in (30.5 cm). Every edge carries 12 × 14 = 168 sts. Check your gauge on one motif, and the rest follows.
Happy crocheting!