Variegated yarn – crochet dress

This project was started in December as a Variegated top, then I came across another 3 balls of Ella yarn and made this longer version. Surely 6 balls of Ella yarn (954 m or 1043 yards) would not be enough for this dress, so many different grey yarns were mixed together:

I have undone all rows of my top up to armholes and crocheted this dress with fewer increases towards the bottom. I haven’t described the process from the armholes to bottom here (was busy mixing light and dark grey colours :)), so there will be no row-by-row dress pattern. I could write some suggestions for turning the Pliability – variegated top into such a dress, but it will be more like a recipe from armholes to bottom.

Knit summer DRESS with free chart

This dress is one of my longest projects – I’ve started it somewhere in September 2013 because I wanted to make a knit dress with geometric lace pattern.

All photos are clickable:

Well, somehow the process was moving not very fast. Maybe because of winter, maybe because I lost interest.

I knit this dress in rounds. The part that is now between bust and waist (approx. 27 rows) was completed in 3-4 month : )). Too slow… In the meantime I crocheted lots of different garments and actually was thinking to undo all 27 rows.

My friend said – oh, it was so beautiful, leave it, maybe someday you’ll return to this knit project. After some thinking I took another chart, started knitting upwards over completed part (now it is part over bust). Since I had more yarn that the lace dress was consuming I’ve changed the original chart, added more solid-looking rows and started knitting downwards under cast chains (now it’s skirt). Great thing that I used scrap yarn for casting!

I decided to knit dress downwards until my yarn ends : )) – I had 1600 meters (1750 yards) of mixed yarn of bamboo/rayon/linen and did not want to have any left overs. Not because I didn’t love the yarn – it was fine, soft, with nice shine. I just think that the best project is the one I can use the amount of yarn I have for it : )). Without purchasing more or having lots of leftovers.

Finally I have finished knitting in January 2015! : )) Maybe it’s kind of projects “for keeping it in wardrobe far away from my eyes” because the only place I could wear it is beach resort in the evening. Or perhaps during some beach wedding : ))). It weights 350 gr (12.3 oz) so it takes almost no place in a holiday luggage (I would not be weighed down by huge bags :));

The dark slip dresses are not meant for this dress – I wore them just to show the knit pattern.

Below is the diagram I drew for the skirt (it’s clickable):

HQ chart in PDF format can be sent to your email upon request – this chart in JPG format is a low-resolution version so I still have some upload space remaining in my blog. I kindly ask you not to copy this diagram into your blog or sell it – just give the following link for the diagram  https://conceptcreativeblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/knit-summer-dress-with-free-chart/

As for the rest of the charts – I made so many remarks  in them that they look rather terrible : )). Top is just more “lighter version” of the skirt pattern.

Abbreviations:

All other stitches (squares) you work in garter stitch. This way you will have reversible, ridged fabric.

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