From a vest idea to a corset belt. I’m not even mad.
Inspiration & Design
Ever since crocheting the Yavanna Vest, I wanted to try my hand at everyday hobbit fashion. Living in the shire may not be possible but by my hook am I going to add whimsy to my everyday wear. I like to think that we’ve done that a bit on this blog/channel, especially with the crochet botanical sleeves. Boy did I enjoy making those.
Back to the topic at hand. Hobbits and their clothes. I found it particularly difficult to find good screenshots of hobbit fashion on Pinterest. Which in hindsight makes sense as this movie came out in , which yikes. As I needed better source material, we of course had to watch the Fellowship of the Ring, the most shire-centric of the films. Anyone out there need a movie where the hobbits just go about their life in the shire? In re-watching this film I can tell you that female hobbits are cottage core. Their outfits consist of petticoats, skirts, peasant style tops, stomachers or corsets. Also, their outerwear always sported some type of flowery embroidery. So, why not crochet a corset vest using cables?
Which down the line became, why not crochet a corset belt?
The Yarn
For this Tookish undertaking I worked with Wecrochet’s Yakish yarn. Yakish is a sport weight yarn with 123yds in 50g. This Alpaca, wool, yak blend couldn’t have been more perfect for a corset belt. Not only is the yarn scrumptiously soft and warm, but together the Alpaca and Yak give it excellent drape. You might ask, do you need drape for a belt? While the answer to that may vary depending on the belt, you do need a yarn that can stand up to stretching quite a bit.
Not only is the fiber blend a dream to work with, the twist really accentuates the crochet stitches. If you don’t favor Gilded, the bronzy color I worked with, this range comes in other jewel toned colors and 4 neutrals.
To crochet this belt I used 3.5 balls of this yarn.
Crochet Corset Belt
As previously mentioned, I wanted to add a touch of hobbit magic to the corset belt by using cables. While there are a variety of beautiful crochet cables, I found the perfect cable pattern in my Applemints – Japanese stitch dictionary.
The cable detail really reminds me of berries growing on a vine. Using a 3.5mm crochet hook the Cable panel measures 11” wide and 7.5” tall. After the cable panel was complete, I attached yarn to the raw edge and completed 48 sc (one sc per row in the panel).
After completing short rows in what would later be the lower waist of the belt, I switched to hdc sts. I completed 17 hdc rows.
Before fastening off I added a sc row to make stitching the garment neater. Once this raw edge was complete, I repeated the steps on the remaining raw edge.
Closing the corset belt
Because I wanted to finish the garment with materials I had on hand, I stitched a regular zipper at the mid back. While I can still get the corset belt over my head, it would definitely make wearing the piece easier if I were to switch to a jacket style zipper instead.
Final Thoughts
While I originally embarked on this adventure hoping for a corset style vest, I’m not in any way disappointed with the belt. It goes with at least 2 dresses and shirts. It’s a great way to add a crochet statement piece to my wardrobe. And above all, I got to work with a yarn that has truly become a loved fiber blend.
What would you add to this crochet piece?
