Two Color Dress for 18-inch Doll

Free Doll Dress Knitting Pattern

This doll dress features an empire waist, raglan shoulders and two-color pattern on the skirt.

You can find similar crochet dress here.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
--Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
-Increasing: yarn over (YO), make 1 (m1)
-Working in the round on double pointed needles
-Picking up stitches

Size: fits 18-inch dolls like American Girl, Our Generation and other dolls with similar body.

Materials: Knit Picks (affiliate link) Palette fingering weight 100% wool yarn 231 yds (210 m)/ 50 g, main color (MC): 1 ball, contrast color (CC) - about 1/3 ball.

Needles: circular US 1 (2.25mm) and double pointed of the same size for the sleeves OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE

Gauge: 28 st x 44 rows = 4" x 4" (10 x 10 cm) in stockinette stitch.


Notions:
- 4 stitch markers
- Stitch holders or 2 pieces 10” long of contrasting color waste yarn to hold stitches
- Yarn needle
- 4-5 sew-on snaps size 2/0 or 3/0
- Sewing needle and thread of color matching the yarn for attaching the snaps

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,
co – cast on
RS – right side
WS – wrong side
sl2wyinb - slip 2 sts with yarn in back
sl2wyinfr - slip 2 sts with yarn in front
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
pm - place marker
sm - slip marker


Pattern Notes

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

Garter stitch in rounds: knit the first round, purl the next round. Repeat 2 rounds.

2-color Pattern in rows, starts with multiple of 6
Row 1 (RS, MC): knit
Row 2 (WS, MC): *k4, p2, - repeat from *
Row 3 (RS, CC): *k4, sl2wyinb, - repeat from *
Row 4 (WS, CC): *k4, sl2wyinfr - repeat from *

2-color Pattern in rounds
Round 1 (MC) - knit around
Round 2 (MC): *p4, k2, - repeat from *
Round 3 (CC): * k4, sl2wyinb, - repeat from *
Round 4(CC):* p4, sl2wyinb, - repeat from *

Raglan increases: in every right side (RS) row, work till 1 st remains before the marker, yo, k1, slip marker (sm), k1, yo. There are 4 raglan lines, repeat on each raglan line, thus the number of sts in each RS row will increase by 8.

The selvedge/edge stitches are worked as follows: knit the first stitch and purl the last one.

Button Bands (bb) are worked in garter stitch on 3 stitches in the beginning and in the end of each row.


Short Overview of the Pattern:

The dress is worked top-down, seamlessly, with raglan sleeves. First the dress is worked back-and-forth with the opening on the back to the hip line, then in rounds. The dress has an empire waist, the yoke and sleeves are worked in MC, the skirt is worked in a 2-color pattern. The sleeves are worked in the round on dpn. Button bands (bb) are worked together with the body of the dress, in garter stitch - all rows knit.

With CC yarn cast on 60 sts and work 2 rows in garter st: both rows knit.

Change to MC yarn, check the stitches and place the markers:

1 edge st - 3 right bb sts - 6 right back sts - 2 raglan sts (place the first marker between these 2 sts) - 10 right sleeve sts - 2 raglan sts (place the second marker between these 2 sts) - 12 front sts - 2 raglan sts (place the third marker between these 2 sts)- 10 left sleeve sts - 2 raglan sts (place the forth marker between these 2 sts)- 6 left back sts - - 3 left bb sts - 1 edge st.

Row 3 (RS and all RS, increase, rows): *knit till one st remains before the marker, yo, k1, sm, k1, yo - repeat 4 times, knit till the last st, p1. (+ 8 sts)

Row 4 (WS and all WS rows): k4, purl till last 4 sts, k3, p1.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 nine more times.

After row 3 the number of sts = 68

After row 5 = 76

After row 7 = 84

After row 9 = 92

After row 11 = 100

After row 13 = 108

After row 15 = 116

After row 17 = 124

After row 19 = 132

After row 21 = 140


Divide for sleeves and bodice:

Row 23 (RS): k4, m1, k17, transfer 32 sts to a piece of waste yarn, co 5 , k34, transfer 32 sts to another piece of waste yarn, co 5, k17,m1, k3, p1. = 88 sts

Row 24 (WS): k4, p80, k3, p1.

With row 25 start the 2-color pattern:

Row 25 (RS, MC): k87, p1.

Row 26 (WS, MC): *k4, p2 - repeat from * to last 4 sts, k3, p1

Row 27 (RS, CC): *k4, sl2wyib - repeat to last 4 sts, k3, p1

Row 28 (WS, CC): *k4, sl2wyifr - repeat to last 4 sts, k3, p1

Repeat rows 25-28 two more times.

Row 37 (RS, MC): k87, p1

Row 38 (WS, MC):k4, m1, *p2, m1, k4 - repeat from * to last 6 sts, p2, m1, k3, p1. = 103 sts

Row 39 (RS, CC):*k5, sl2wyib - repeat to last 5 sts, k4, p1.

Row 40 (WS, CC): :*k5, sl2wyifr - repeat to last 5 sts, k4, p1.

Row 41 (RS, MC) k102, p1

Row 42 (WS, MC) : *k5, p2 - repeat from * to last 5 sts, k4, p1.

Repeat rows 39-42 one more time. Repeat rows 39-40 one more time.

Row 49 (RS, MC): k102, p1

Row 50 (WS, MC): k5, m1, *p2, k5, m1 - repeat from * till last 7 sts, p2, m1, k4, p1 = 118 sts

Row 51 (RS, CC): ):*k6, sl2wyib - repeat to last 6 sts, k5, p1.

Row 52 (WS, CC): :*k6, sl2wyifr - repeat to last 6 sts, k5, p1.

Row 53 (RS, MC): k117, p1

Row 54 (WS, MC): k6, p2, - repeat from * till last 6 sts, k5, p1

Repeat rows 51-54 one more time, repeat rows 53-54 one more time.


Closing the work into round:

Row 61 (RS, MC)/round1: K112 (till the last 6 sts) transfer the last 6 sts to a spare needle, overlap with the 6 sts of the right BB, the spare needle over the left needle. Insert the right needle in the first st on the spare needle, then in the fist st on the left needle, yarn over, pull the yarn through both sts, cast both of them off. Repeat with the remaining 5 sts of the button band. Place a marker after these 6 sts of the former bb to mark the beginning of the round. = 112 sts

Round 2 MC: *k2, m1, p6 - repeat from * to the end of the round. = 126 sts

Round 3 CC: *sl2wyib, k7 - repeat from * to the end of the round.

Round 4 CC: *sl2wyib, p7 - repeat from * to the end of the round.

Round 5 MC: knit around

Round 6 MC: * k2, p7 - repeat from * to the end of the round.

Repeat rounds 3-6 three more times, repeat rounds 5-6 one more time.

Cut CC yarn, continue with MC only.

Round 21 MC: knit around

Round 22 MC: k2, p7.

Repeat rounds 21-22 six more times, or to desired length. Repeat round 21 one more time. Bind of. Cut yarn.


Sleeves

Transfer 32 sts from waste yarn to dpn, distribute evenly.

Round 1: starting with the middle (it's 3rd) underarm st, pu&k 3 sts, k32, pu&k 2 sts. (= 37 sts)
The beginning of the round start with the middle underarm st.

Round 2: p3, *k2, p4 - repeat from * 5 times, k2, p2

Round 3: knit around.

Repeat rounds 2-3 sixteen more times or to desired length.

Bind off.


Finishing

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

Have fun!