The Linen and Mint Leaf tops take their inspiration from the Wave top, which construction is very simple and absolutely joyful to make!

The Wave top consists of two square motifs: one full square for the back, and one with a section skipped for the front with the neckline opening.

Both motifs are joined together once the neckline shaping is complete, and after that you continue working around the piece (both back and front), growing it in width and length as desired.

The Linen and Mint Leaf tops feature one major difference.

As you can see from the photo, the left motif has a different neckline shaping, while the right motif remains a square with one section skipped.

I found the new neckline shape much more comfortable to wear and visually pleasing, so for the new tops I decided to use it.

When we already see the solution, everything looks simple and clear :) But at the time I had no examples in front of me and had to scratch my head quite a while, because how on earth should I connect this rectangular front with that square back?!

At first, I considered adding more rows to one side of the back (but this would have destroyed the rhythm of the stitch pattern), or even working the back as a rectangle.

The final solution, however, turned out to be both simple and beautiful. It only required me to step away from the Wave top way of thinking.

I continued working the front motif without increases at the neckline, and row by row converted it into a proper square until it matched the size of the back!

The remaining process is easy: it requires you to work in the round around this rectangular piece (both back and front) until it reaches the desired size.

I also plan to make another adjustment to my tops by **adding sleeves**.
No extra pattern is needed; I'll simply continue working in the round around arm openings to the desired sleeve length, with probably a few decreases at the cuff.
Once they are ready, I'll share with you my Linen and Mint Leaf **sweaters**!

I hope this was interesting and inspiring, because in the same way you can easily turn any of your beloved crochet square motifs into tops :)

~ Lena

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