Crop Top Knitting Patterns to Knit This Summer

I love to knit all year round, but when the weather turns warm, I tend to reach for crop top knitting patterns instead of my usual wooly sweater projects. I usually knit at least a couple summer tops every year.

I’m very into crop tops for summer lately. Here, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite crop top knitting patterns that I think are perfect for summer. I’ve knit most of these and the rest are in my queue to knit sometime soon!

All these patterns are knit in the round, but check out my post on how to knit a crop top with straight needles if you’re looking to knit flat. 🙂

All of the patterns listed here are designed to fit at least a bust size range of 30 to 60 inches / 76 to 152.5 cm. I recommend checking out the Ravelry pages for each pattern and looking at the projects to see how well these crop top knitting patterns work on all sizes and body types!

Knit Tank Top Pattern: My Little Secret Crop

I probably wore My Little Secret Crop (click to view the pattern on Ravelry) more than any other top last summer, knitted or otherwise. It even made it into my list of my five favorite knits in 2020.

My Little Secret Crop, by Jessie Mae, is a fitted cropped tank top knit from the bottom up using mostly a 3×3 rib stitch. The instructions are detailed and approachable, making this a great beginner-friendly knit top pattern.

It includes options for crossed back and straight straps, or you could even turn this into a halter top if you didn’t attach the straps to the back and tied them instead! I knit my version of this cropped tank top with straight straps. I love how the ribbed fabric pulls gently into my body, making it fitted, but so comfy.

This crop top knitting pattern calls for two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to achieve a DK weight gauge. However, I actually knit my version with a worsted weight yarn and it turned out well!

Here I am in my beloved My Little Secret Crop, having just completed a yoga session in it. I love to wear it out and about in the summer, or just to lounge around the house. I also actually wear this for pole dance sessions on occasion. (Click here to check out my project page for this knit top on Ravelry.)

You can get this crop top knitting pattern for free for a limited time. Details about this promotion are available on the Ravelry page for My Little Secret Crop.

Knit Crop Top Pattern: Ripple Crop Top

One of my favorite crop top knitting patterns is Ripple Crop Top (click to view the pattern on Ravelry), also by Jessie Mae.

Ripple Crop Top is a fingering weight rib knit crop top with a relaxed fit, short sleeves, a sexy v-neck, and an optional hi-lo hem.

I knit one of these summer tops back in March of 2019 using a handspun BFL/silk yarn in shades of teal. I love it so much that I’m planning to knit another one this year, in 2021. I rarely knit the same thing twice (unless it’s vanilla socks!), but this one is a definite repeat-knit for me.

For my next version, I will skip the hi-lo hem since my boobs bring the front hem up high enough as it is!

It’s one of the most versatile crop top knitting patterns out there, in my opinion. I think Ripple Crop Top looks so cute with casual outfits, as well as slightly dressed up. Try it with high waisted jeans, linen pants, over a dress, paired with a skirt, under a jacket… you name it!

Here’s one of the work-appropriate outfits I put together with my Ripple Crop Top, as shown in a lovely mirror selfie in the bathroom at my old job. 😂 I layered it over a camisole and paired it with a Pirate Pencil skirt and Morris Blazer, both of which I sewed myself.

You can view my project on Ravelry here, or purchase the pattern from Jessie Mae’s Ravelry store here.

Knit Tank Top Pattern: Lydia

If you want to knit a top that is a bit feminine, lacy, and delicate, Lydia might be the pattern for you.

Lydia, by Courtney Little, is a bottom-up tank top knitting pattern with a stunning lace hem designed to fit with negative or no ease, meaning it should fit very close to the body.

Lydia is the first pattern on this list that I have not yet knit myself, but it is a strong contender to be one of the summer tops I will knit in 2021. That means I can’t speak personally to the quality of the pattern, but I feel confident recommending it since over 400 people have successfully knit beautiful Lydia tops, according to Ravelry.

Knit Tank Top Pattern: Summer Secret Crop

My last recommendation is another top that I haven’t knit yet, but that I am extremely excited to cast on ASAP. Summer Secret Crop is yet another Jessie Mae design–she really has a fantastic selection of summer tops in her Ravelry design portfolio. This crop top knitting pattern is free with a suggested donation.

Summer Secret Crop is knit mostly in the round in stockinette stitch from the bottom up. As with My Little Secret Crop, there are several options for the straps.

This knit summer top pattern calls for fingering weight yarn, but it is knit at a very relaxed gauge (just 17 stitches in 4 inches/10 cm!) so it will fly off your needles.

I haven’t knit one of these tank tops yet, but it looks stunning on all 900+ people who have already knit it. I’m actually planning to knit a Summer Secret Crop out of handspun this year. I have a skein of marled wool and silk handspun that I think would be just perfect for this top. Surprisingly, the pattern only calls for 500 yards of yarn at most, for even the largest size, so this single skein should be plenty for me.

I can’t wait to cast this one on! I’ll make sure to update this post with my finished Summer Secret Crop as soon as I finish knitting it. 😊

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Do you knit all year round? What are you planning to knit this summer? Will you knit any of these tops this year? Let me know in the comments below, or on Instagram at @arbortwist!

Header photo by Les Triconautes on Unsplash.