The Fernweh Top by Sandra Gutiérrez is the perfect project to welcome sunny days — a light, airy tank top featuring the beautiful standard mosaic technique. Worked flat and seamed, it combines timeless design with modern texture.
In this post, I’ll show you how stunning this top looks when made with Scheepjes Catona, a smooth mercerized cotton yarn that brings out every stitch and color contrast beautifully.
The Design
For this project I am using the Fernweh pattern from Sandra Gutiérrez’s Book, Colorful Crochet Knitwear (available in English and German).
This is a beginner-friendly pattern that is an excellent choice for trying out the standard mosaic technique for the first time. The stitch pattern is straightforward and easy to follow and it allows for various color combinations. When worked, it provides a striking visual result.
The top is worked flat in two pieces from the bottom up. This construction method allows for splitting the work and also making adjustments to the size if necessary. The back and front pieces are identical.
Instructions are provided in written abbreviated format and charts. The book contains photo tutorials that explain particular stitches and every technique necessary to make the projects in the book.
The Project
For making this top, I used Scheepjes Catona in both 50gr and 25gr skeins.
It is the perfect yarn for this project, as the many available colors make it possible to put together various fun color combinations. I had lots of fun swatching and trying to figure out which colors I wanted to use for my top. I decided on a high-contrast combination with 244 Spruce as the dark green, 414 Vintage Peach as the peach color and 388 Rust as the contrast color of the edges.
Following the instructions was pretty straightforward. I made some minor mistakes (by skipping stitches) a couple of times, but those were easy to fix.
I had a bit of trouble matching the gauge of the pattern exactly, so I opted to create a tension that I liked with this yarn: not too tight or too loose. When I finished both front and back pieces I noticed that this decision resulted in the top being slightly too small.
But fear not: there was a super easy fix. I added a solid single crochet section on both sides under the arm and widened the top as much as I needed it to be comfortable to wear. You can see this adjustment in the pictures above.
This quick fix is an example of the advantages of working flat, in pieces. You have the option to make adjustments without reworking the entire piece (of course the extent in which you can make adjustments depends on the project and the change needed).
This was my very first standard mosaic project and I am totally hooked! It is a simple technique, easy to work, that gives a striking colorwork result. It also provides an interesting fabric – not transparent and not thick. I am able to wear this top without any bra and it is not visible that I am doing so. So comfortable!
To make choosing colors easy, the Fernweh Top is available as a yarn kit — featuring 7 beautifully curated color combinations.
Each kit includes the exact yardage needed for your chosen size, so you can start crocheting right away without worrying about calculations or color matching. Perfect for anyone who loves coordinated shades!
Used in this project
- the Fernweh pattern from the book Colorful Crochet Knitwear by Sandra Gutiérrez (available in English and German)
- 6 skeins of Catona 50gr (3 of each color for size 3)
- 1 skein of Catona 25gr (contrast color for size 3)
- a 3.50 mm crochet hook
- a couple of stitch markers to mark pattern repeats
- a yarn needle to weave in the yarn ends
- mini scissors
