Provence Top in Berroco Corsica - Downloadable PDF

Provence Top in Berroco Corsica – Crochet Pattern Summary

The Provence Top is an elegant, intermediate-level crochet garment designed by Alison Green and published by Berroco as part of Booklet #370. Available as a downloadable PDF, this pattern produces a beautifully structured women's top that combines decorative crochet motifs with solid fabric panels for a sophisticated, artisan finish. The design is shown in size 33" and is offered across a wide range of sizes to suit many body types.

What Is Being Made

The pattern creates a women's pullover top worked in DK weight yarn. The finished garment features the following size options:

• Bust: 31, 33, 36½, 40, 42½, 46, 48½, and 52 inches
• Length: 27½, 27½, 28, 28½, 29½, 30, 30½, and 31 inches

The design is intended to be worn with approximately 0–2 inches of ease, making it a close-fitting to lightly relaxed silhouette. Crocheters are encouraged to take ease into careful consideration when selecting their size.

Construction and Structure

The Provence Top has a distinctive and thoughtfully engineered construction. Rather than being worked entirely in the round or as simple flat panels, the garment is assembled from four distinct sections:

• Two motif panels that run vertically down the center of both the back and the front
• Two side panels that are joined to the tops of the motif panels to form the upper section of the back and front
• A lower edging that is worked at the very end, just before finishing

This construction method gives the top its signature look, with decorative square motifs forming a central focal point on both the front and back of the garment. The interplay between the lacy motif panels and the more solid side panels creates visual interest and elegant structure.

Techniques Used

As an intermediate-level crochet pattern, the Provence Top calls upon a range of techniques that go beyond basic crochet. Crocheters working this pattern should be comfortable with:

• Motif construction – working individual square motifs (each measuring 4 inches) in the round and joining them together to form panels
• Joining motifs – assembling multiple motifs seamlessly into cohesive panels
• Flat panel crochet – working the side panels in rows of double crochet
• Seaming and assembly – joining the motif panels and side panels together to complete the garment structure
• Edging – adding a lower edging as a finishing step
• Cluster shell construction – working decorative cluster shells within the motifs, requiring careful stitch placement and yarn-over management

Stitches Used

The pattern introduces several specific stitches and stitch combinations, detailed in a dedicated Stitch Glossary within the PDF. Key stitches include:

• Double crochet (dc) – the primary stitch used in the side panels and as the basis for gauge
• 2-dc cluster – worked by inserting the hook into the indicated stitch, drawing up loops, and pulling through all loops on the hook to create a gathered, textured stitch
• 3-dc cluster – a variation of the cluster stitch using three loops drawn together for a more pronounced gathered effect
• Cluster Shell – a combination stitch worked as (2-dc cluster, ch 3, 2-dc cluster) into a chain-3 space, creating the decorative shell motifs that define the lacy panels
• Chain stitches (ch) – used extensively within the motifs to create open, lacy spaces between cluster stitches
• Slip stitch (sl st) – used to join rounds within the motifs

The gauge for the side panels is 19