Details at - http://crochetology.net/trippletimer-take-2/

Note: If you’ve never tried Irish crochet before, because you are daunted by fine thread and hook, you can start with yarn and hook you are comfortable with. Don’t be discouraged!

I used 4-ply cotton yarn and 3mm crochet hook, this is a shorter, tighter version of “Trippletimer“, decorated with Irish crochet motifs. I started with a foundation chain (in multiples of 5 chs) that is about the length of half my underbust (you need to make the foundation chain longer if you wish to make a bolero that closes at the front). Adding 15 chains to this foundation chain, I followed the pattern instructions. The bolero is worked from the back-bottom, moving upwards, making the increase towards the front. When I have reached the desired length (from the bottom of the bolero to just below my armpits), I began to divide for the armholes.

I did not leave any loops open for the armholes and I decreased the two front sections near the neck so there is a slight curve at the neckline.

Having divided and worked upwards, the front left and right sides are joined to the back, leaving in the middle several loops as space at the back of the neck. Then the sleeves are crocheted in the round.

Before working the sleeves, you must count the number of loops on each armhole to make sure you have the same number of loops. Then you work in those loops the same trellis-picot pattern. However, you must devise a decrease in the round as you work the length of the sleeves. When you work the decrease for one sleeve, you must take note of the pattern so you can repeat exactly for the other sleeve.

For my bolero sleeve, I worked 3 rounds of 6-ch loops, then 3 rounds of 5-ch loops, then 8 rounds of decreasing 5-ch loops. Now the decrease of these loops in the round is a tricky one but I managed to find a way. What I do is simply, at the end of each alternating round, instead of a ch-5-sc in the last loop, I make a ch 2, dc in last loop, ch 2, and join to the first stitch. This results in a decrease of one loop at the last round. The next round, I work a ch 5, sc in dc, picot, ch 5, sl st in first st to join.

Another way to make the sleeve decrease is perhaps to crochet the sleeve in rows, decreasing at both sides then finish off and sew the seams together.

The Irish crochet motifs are all made using the same 4-ply cotton yarn with four strands of yarn as padding cord. The photographs below show how the leaf is made in Irish crochet. The leaf pattern (in symbol chart) may be found in Zhurnal MOD No. 533.