Blue Porcelain Lace Dress for 18-inch Dolls

Free Doll Dress Knitting Pattern

This dress matches the Blue Porcelain Girl’s Lace Dress.

The dress is seamless, and features raglan-style shoulders.

I offer the dress in 2 sizes for American Girl Doll and Journey Girl Doll (this doll has a more slender body). The pattern is basically the same, but the gauge is slightly different, because for the slender doll I recommend using smaller needles.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
-Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
-Increasing: yarn over (YO), knit front and back (kfr&b)
-Decreasing: knit 2 together (k2tog), slip-slip-knit (ssk)
-Working in the round on double pointed needles
-Working lace patterns
-Picking up stitches
-Basic crocheting

Materials: Lion Brand (affiliate link) LB 1878 100 % wool fingering weight yarn 2045 yards (1870 meters) / 500 gr, color 108 Dusty Blue - 1/5 cone (A)
Lion Brand (affiliate link) LB 1878 100 % wool fingering weight yarn 2045 yards (1870 meters) / 500 gr, color 099 Fisherman – small amount (B)

Notions:
- Stitch markers
- 2 pieces 10” long of contrasting color waste yarn to hold stitches
- Yarn needle
- 5 sew-on snaps size 2/0 or 3/0
- Sewing needle and thread of color matching the yarn for attaching the snaps

Needles: US#1.5 (2.5 mm) circular and dpn or SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE for American Girl dress
US#1 (2.25 mm) circular and dpn or SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE for Journey Girl dress

Gauge for stockinette for JG dress: 28 sts x 40 rows = 4" x 4" (10cm x 10cm)
Gauge for stockinette for AG dress: 26 sts x 40 rows = 4" x 4" (10cm x 10cm)

Abbreviations:
dpn – double pointed needles
K – knit
P – purl
St, sts – stitch, stitches
pu&k - pick up and knit
as est. - as established, work as the pattern demands, here knit the RS rows and purl the WS rows.
co – cast on
RS – right side
WS – wrong side
kfr&b - knit front and back
psso - pass slipped st over just knitted st
m 1 - make 1 increase - I used the increase described by Elizabeth Zimmerman: make a backward loop over the right-hand needle and in the next row/round purl/knit it as a regular stitch.
bb – button band
sm - slip marker

Pattern Notes:

Stockinette in rows
Row 1 (RS): knit
Row 2 (WS): purl
Repeat 2 rows.

Stockinette in rounds: All rounds knit

Garter stitch in rows: All rows knit

Garter stitch in rounds:
Round 1; knit
Round 2: purl
Repeat 2 rounds

Lace pattern in Rows: multiple of 6 plus 2
Rows 1 and 3 (WS) - purl
Row 2 (RS): k1, * k3, yo, sl1 - k2tog-psso, yo - repeat from*, end k1.
Row 4 (RS): k1, * yo, sl1 - k2tog-psso, yo, k3 - repeat from *, end k1.
Repeat rows 1-4

Lace pattern in rounds: multiple of 6
Round 1 and all odd rounds: knit
Round 2: * k3, yo, sl 1-k2tog-psso, yo - repeat from * around.
Round 4: * yo, sl 1-k2tog-psso, yo, k3 - rep from * around.
Repeat 4 rounds

Raglan increases: Increase for raglan by making 1 st (m1) on each side of indicated, marked, stitch in every right side (RS) row: m1, sm (slip marker), k1 (raglan st), m1.

Button bands (bb) are formed with 4 stitches in the beginning and 4 sts in the end of the row, thease sts are worked in garter stitch - knit in all rows.

Selvedge stitches: slip the first st in the row, purl the last one.


Dress

The dress is worked top-down, first in rows back and forth, with the opening and button bands on the back, then, from the hip line, in rounds. For less experienced knitters, you can go on to work in rows with the button bands on the back. The sleeves are worked in rounds on dpn.

Yoke

With yarn B, cast on 52 sts.

Work 2 rows in garter stitch: both rows knit, don't forget about edge sts. Cut white yarn, tie blue yarn. Continue with blue yarn.
Check your sts, they include:
1 edge - 3 right bb - 5 right back - 1 raglan (place a marker before this st) - 10 right sleeve - 1 raglan (place the second marker before this st) - 10 front - 1 raglan (place the third marker before this st) - 10 left sleeve - 1 raglan (place the forth marker before this st) - 5 left back - 3 left bb - 1 edge.

Row 3 (RS and all RS rows): sk1, *k till marker, yo, sm, k1, yo - repeat from * 4 times, k the remaining sts to last one, p1. (+ 8sts)

Row 4 (WS and all WS rows): sl1, k3, purl to last 4 sts, k3, p1.

Repeat rows 3-4 nine more times, in every RS row the number of sts increases by 8.

After row 3 the number of sts is 60.

After row 5 = 68 sts

After row 7 = 76 sts

After row 9 = 84 sts

After row 11 = 92 sts

After row 13 = 100 sts

After row 15 = 108 sts

After row 17 = 116 sts

After row 19 = 124 sts

After row 21 = 132 sts


Divide for sleeves and bodice:

Work the next 4 rows with white yarn.

Row 23 (RS): sl1, k 19, transfer the next 30 sts on a piece of waste yarn, co 3, k 32, transfer the next 30 sts on a piece of waste yarn, co 3, k 19, p 1. (=78 sts)

Row 24 (WS): sl 1, k 76, p 1.

Row 25 (RS increase row): sl 1, k 6, (m 1, k 4) sixteen times to last 7 sts, k 6, p 1. ( = 94 sts)

Row 26 (WS): sl1, k92, p1.

Cut white yarn, continue with blue one.

Row 27 (RS): sl 1, k 92, p1;

Row 28 (WS and all WS rows): sl 1, k 3, p 86, k3, p 1.

Row 28 establishes the first row of the lace pattern.

In Row 29 (RS) start working the second row of the lace pattern: sl 1, k 4, * k3, yo, sl1 - k2tog-psso, yo - repeat from* 14 times, k4, p1.

Row 30 like row 28.

Row 31 (RS): sl1, k4, * yo, sl1 - k2tog-psso, yo, k3 - repeat from * 14 times, k4, p1.

Repeat rows 28 - 31 five more times (rows 32-51). Repeat rows 28-30 one more time. (rows 51-54).

After you made row 54 (WS), join the work into the round. For this, holding the work with RS facing, transfer the last 4 sts of the row (left bb) on a spare needle, fold the working piece and place the spare needle with 4 sts under the 4 sts of the right bb. Insert the right needle in the first stitch on the left needle, then in the first stitch on the spare needle. Knit the stitches together. Repeat for the remaining stitches. = 90 sts

Alternatively you can continue in rows with 1 edge st and 3 bb sts on each side of the row.

Round 1: * yo, sl 1-k2tog-psso, yo, k3 - repeat from * 15 times.

Round 2: knit 90 sts

Work the next 4 rounds with white yarn:

Round 3: knit,

Round 4: purl,

Round 5, evenly add 18 sts: *k5, m 1 - repeat from * 18 times = 108 sts

Round 6: purl.

Cut white yarn continue with blue yarn and work the lace pattern in rounds, you'll have (108 : 6 = 18) eighteen lace repeats in a round.

Round 7: knit

Round 8: * k3, yo, sl 1-k2tog-psso, yo - repeat from * around.

Round 9: knit

Round 10: * yo, sl 1-k2tog-psso, yo, k3 - rep from * around.

Repeat rounds 7-10 six more times or to desired length. Cut blue yarn.

Work 5 more rounds with white yarn in garter st.:

Rounds 35, 37 and 39 knit.

Rounds 36 and 38 purl.


Sleeve

Transfer 30 sts from waste yarn to dpn, distributing them evenly, pu&k 3 sts over casr on 3 sts.( = 33 sts.)

Work with blue yarn in stockinette stitch for 32 rounds (all rounds knit), work 5 more rounds in garter st with white yarn.


Finishing

Weave in all yarn ends. Block the dress. Sew 5 sew-on snaps on the button bands.

Have fun!