I
I am happy to share with you my newest pattern.
Very Cherry
(What is it with me and fruit-themed children's knits?)
While I was knitting this one up I was so worried that it wouldn't turn out right. But now that its finished, I love it! It is exactly what I was envisioning...
...A perfect, practical summer dress with just enough details added to make it acceptable for a dressier occasion.
Also I love this bright cherry red color!
It's so sweet and cheery, not the typical pastel you would normally find for a child's summer dress.
As you know, I'm also obsessed with this lace edging.
The picot edge plays up this lace pattern so beautifully. They just go together.
The picot cast on and bind off are quite time consuming, but so worth it!
You can find an instructional video for the picot cast on
here and a video for the bind off
here.
I love how the picot bind off around the neckline kind of sticks out and looks like little red cherries framing the face.
I also think that this dress is quite versatile and could still be worn even in the cooler months. Well... in California anyways :)
The color would definitely lend itself to a fall/winter wardrobe and the dress could be worn over a long sleeved top and tights for added warmth.
Here is some pattern information for those of you who are interested in knitting it:
SIZE
3 months [6mos, 9mos, 12mos, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] (shown in size 2)
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 17 [18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25] inches (0 inches of positive ease)
Length: approx 14 [16.5, 18, 21.5, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27] inches after blocking
GAUGE
24 sts/30 rows = 4" in Stockinette stitch on size 6 needle
MATERIALS
Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Organic Cotton [100% Organically Grown Cotton; 150 yd/137m per 65g skein; color: #309 Cherry; 3 [ 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5] skeins or approx 440 [470, 500, 520, 540, 570, 600, 620, 650] yds of dk weight cotton or cotton blend yarn.
(Separate one skein of yarn into 2 balls)
1# 16” US #6/4mm circular needle for smaller sizes
1# 24” US #6/4mm circular needle
1# 32” US #6/4mm circular needle for larger sizes
1# spare set of US #6/4mm straight needles for 3 needle bind off
1# 16” US #5/3.75mm circular needle for neck edging
(You may need to use US #5/3.75mm double pointed needles for smaller sizes).
Stitch holders
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers
The yarn that I chose for this design was Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton. I fell in love with the worsted weight version when I knit up my
Something Red Sweater so I was so excited to try the skinnier DK version. Unfortunately I found that the DK weight isn't like the worsted
at all.
This yarn is constructed with several tiny plies spun together. And with any cotton yarn that is constructed in this manner, splitting is inevitable. So I found it a bit finicky to knit with, especially the detailed picot edging. Several times I had to correct split stitches. (That's why I enjoyed working with the worsted weight so much! It was just a lofty soft 2 ply. So easy to work with!) Yarn constructed this way though does have its advantages, the stitch definition is better and crisper, showing off the lace pattern beautifully!
Also... I fell in love with how this rich saturated red color barely bled in the washing process! And once knitted, the fabric draped so beautifully and it softened up so nicely once washed and blocked. And its organic cotton! Which is always nice to have against a little ones skin.
Like all of the NeverNotKnitting patterns, the construction is simple. This dress is worked from the bottom up in one piece. The finishing work is very minimal.
I hope that you enjoy knitting it and that your little one enjoys wearing it as much as mine does.
If you own a yarn shop and are interested in carrying this or any other of my designs in your store, please contact me for wholesale pricing information:
nevernotknitting@gmail.com.
