I had some polo shirts that I loved wearing. Polo shirts are knit shirts like a tennis or golf shirt with vents on the side seams and a knit collar. Almost as comfortable as t-shirts they are a summer wardrobe staple for me.  I wore them every week but then they shrank in the length. They became uncomfortably short. They were too short to tuck in and too short to wear outside my jeans. While I was out on a date with hubs last night, I had a brilliant idea. What about adding crochet edging to the the bottom of the shirts. If it is crocheted in place and not sewn on then it would look as though it was always there. The shirts were headed to Goodwill since they were too short, what would it cost me to try?
Instructions:
So I whipped out my ruler and made 1/4 inch dots with a pencil along the hem on the wrong side of the shirt.
I then tried several different methods of putting a blanket stitch along the bottom of the shirt.
1st row
The preferred method (for me) was to use the smallest double pointed steel knitting needle to poke a hole from the wrong side to the right side. You could also use a dull needle point needle. Then I crocheted along the bottom edge of the shirt. I ended up only chaining twice between each stitch because three chains made it scalloped, like this.
2nd row
When I reached the end of the shirt at the side seam. I chained twice and turned. This row was simply two single crochets in each blanket stitch.
3rd Row
The third row was double crochet in the top of each single crochet. Chain four and turn.
In the photo above you can see the starting row of blanket stitch, the row of single crochet and then the third row of double crochet.
4th row
Double crochet in the third double crochet from the edge. (You are skipping one double crochet across). Then chain 1, double crochet in the second double crochet across. It creates a grid across the bottom of the shirt. You will repeat this row 2 more times. On the last row chain four and turn.
So you will have three rows of the grid and then the edging. I really didn’t want a frilly edging so I opted for a light scalloped picot border.
The fifth row sets the foundation for the scallops and picots.
5th row
skip one double crochet and single crochet to the next double all the way across.
6th row
6th row single crochet 2 times into the first scallop foundation. Singel crochet again and chain three, single crochet to the same place and then sc 1 more time. There should be six single crochets. The two stitches in the middle will have the picot added to the top. It should look like this.
Weave in all of your ends and you should have successfully added about two inches to the bottom of your polo top. Then repeat this to the front hem of your shirt. Wash the whole thing and hang it to dry. You can shape the crochet lace while it dries and it should reduce ironing. I wouldn’t put it in the dryer as the lace might shrink. Here is mine drying. It will still need a light ironing.
Yay, I am so  happy. I can’t wait to wear it. I have two more polo shirts to fix.I’m off to watch some more netflix and off to fix my knit shirts.
talk to you later,
Karen
