Free pattern courtesy of Lia Govers
I hope you will enjoy this pattern! I would be glad to see your work posted here too - on Ravelry - with a photo or, at least, that you will mention me as the designer of this dress. Remember that all the upper hdc-rows always start with a 2-chain (= 1" hdc), while the dcrows below always start with a 3-chain (= first dc). MATERIALS: 95-100 gr. of 100 % Egyptian cotton (I used a very common and economic white Oasi 5-thread and a really inconsistent amount of a second thread colour (= DMC Babylo 10) for the borders, hook n° 3 , 5 buttons and a needle. Naturally also other yarns and thicker ones can be used, but the sizes- I suppose- will change (and increase) a little. In order to obtain a similar delicate effect, I suppose it will be better to use a 3-ply wool or acrylic yarn. This dress of mine measures, at the end: -from the top of the shoulders to the bottom: 43 cm; -under the armholes, from one side to the other side and folded: 23 cm (23+23 cm= 46 cm); - from bottomside to bottomside and folded: 30 cm. The dress is first worked sideways, at the top, continuing afterwards with the 8 + 5-dcpattern, from the top-down. If wanted one can make it shorter or longer of course. It's easy to crochet, but I would define it maybe better for an intermediate easy level. es used: chain, sc, hdc, dc, 5 dc-group, reverse slip stitch for the edgin Reverse slip stitch (at the edging/finishing of the dress)= can, eventually, be omitted too : At the end of the single crochet edging row, chain one. Don't turn. Keep your yarn behind the work, insert the hook from front to back under both loops of the last sc-stitch, yarn over and pull through. Now go to the right side-or backwards- insert your hook through the following sc-stitch, yarn over and pull through. Go ahead in this way until you will reach the first scstitch of your sc-edging. Fasten off. Maybe for someone it will be better to see this reverse slip stitch in a visual way on Internet. GAUGE: - sideway-pattern in hdc: 22 hdc in width = 10 cm.; 14 rows in hdc in height = 10 cm. - dc-pattern below : 10 cm = 8 dc + 5 dc-group + 8 dc in width; in height 10 cm = 12 dc-rows.
Upper part of the dress:
[Attention: TAKE CARE and controll, any time you will expand the dress-part with chains for shoulderparts or other parts, that you will add the indicated number of hdc-stitches! As a matter of fact there will be a kind of little “hole' in the first row exactly there where you yoin the new, added hdc to the previous hdc-part, like a skipped stitch, but this will disappear in the next row, when you will crochet on the opposite side!] Chain 30; 1° row: hdc in 2° chain from the hook and hdc across. 2° - 7° row: 2 chain (= 1" hdc), hdc all across. 9° row: 2 chain, hdc across and end with 12 chain (= first shoulderpart). 10° row: turn, hdc in 2° chain from the hook. Hdc across: Take care now to crochet only 10 hdc extra, totally, only for the shoulderpart! Continue with hdc across. 11° - 15° row: follow the pattern. 16° row: Follow the pattern, but leave the final 22 hdc unworked. (= here starts the first armhole) 17° row: turn, 2 chain (=1" hdc), hdc across. 18° - 22° row: Follow the pattern. 23° row: Follow the pattern, but add, at the end of the row 24 chains (in order to obtain again 22 hdc for the shoulderpart of the frontside, because 2 chains are there for the 1" hdc). 24° row: Turn, hdc in 2° chain from the hook. hdc across. Count exactly only 22 hdc extra for the shoulderpart. Hdc all across. 24° - 28° row: Follow the pattern. 29° row: Follow the pattern, but leave the final 16 hdc unworked (here starts the upper frontpart.) 30°- 44° row: Follow the pattern. 45° row: Follow the pattern and add, at the end of the row 18 chains. (here starts the second schoulderpart of the front) 46° row: Turn, hdc in 2"d chain from the hook, hdc across (you will add exactly 16 hdc for the schoulder). Hdc until the end. 47° - 49° row: Follow the pattern. 50° row: Follow the pattern, but leave the final 22 hdc unworked. (= here starts the second armhole) 51° - 55° row: Follow the pattern. 56° row: Follow the pattern, but add 24 chains at the end (here starts the final schoulderpart of theback). 57° row: Turn, hdc in 2° chain from the hook. Follow the pattern (You will add exactly 22 new hdc over here). Hdc all across. 58° - 61° row: Follow the pattern. 62° row: working upwards: Follow the pattern, but leave 10 hdc unworked. (here starts the final backpart of the dress) 63°- 70° row: Follow the pattern. Fasten off at the end. Lower part of the dress: Now turn this upper part upside down and attack your yarn at the right (bottom) corner and crochet 134 sc all across this border (it's almost like 2 sc in each previous hdc-part + 2 sc extra, like a kind of sc-increasing), equally distrubed. You will notice the bottom will enlarge a little. 2° row: Turn, 3 chain (= 1" hdc), 5 dc, \* skip 2 sc, 5 dc inside the next sc, skip 2 sc, 8 dc\* . Repeat from \* to \* all across and end with 5 dc. 3° row: Turn, 3 chain (= 1" dc), follow exactly the previous pattern, i.e. = dc upon the normal dc's and a 5-dc-group inside the 3° dc of the 5-dc-group below. 4° - 31° row: Follow the pattern, like in the 3° row. (Here we reach the border of this dress, but naturally one can make it longer or shorter too. ) Do not fasten off.
Borders:
Now chain 1 and turn and crochet sc all along the lower border of the dress. Start with 1 sc in the 1" corner and go ahead, with 1 sc inside each-dc. At the end of this border-row crochet 3 sc in the opposite bottom corner and crochet sc upwards until the top of one side of the dress, i.e = 2 sc inside each dc. If possible crochet your sc here inside the loop of the dc in order not create “holes'. 1 sc in each loop of the hdczone. This is your first row of the buttonholepart. At the top of the dress chain 1 and turn. Here you will crochet the BUTTONHOLES (2? row) : Sc inside the corner, sc, sc \*3 chain, skip 3 sc, 16 sc \*. Repeat from \* to \* for 4 times (= 5 buttonholes) and end with your resting SC. FINISHING: Now sew together the shoulderparts (the only sewed parts of this dress), taking care to sew them in the way your right side is in the good and wanted position. Sew away the threads left. Now attack your yarn at the top of the 1" row of your (sideway)work (top of the dress at the beginning). Chain 1, sc all across down to the bottom. Then crochet other 3 sc-rows and fasten off. This will be the part to attack your buttons on. Edging of the armholes and neck: Armholes: attack your yarn at the center of the lower part of the armhole (on the RS), chain 1 and start to crochet an sc-edging all around. Slip stitch to the 1" chain, chain 1 and startcrocheting backwards- your reverse slip stitch (see above). Bring your hook with the 1-chainloop in front af the first sc you made before, (your thread will be at the other part of the work), enter your hook through the whole sc, yarn over, and pull through. Go ahead backwards (or to the right) in this way and you will see a nice, outer sc-edging lying above the sc-edge. At the end fasten off. Neck: Attack your yarn at the top of the left part of the dress (part with buttonholes), chain 1, sc all around and at the end chain 1 and crochet a reverse-slip stitch-row backwards also here. Fasten off. Sew away all the threads left. Attack your buttons at the right positions and your work is done.
