Three-Tier Skirt Doll Dress for 18-inch Doll

Free Doll Dress Knitting Pattern

The dress for 18-inch dolls is worked seamlessly from the top down, making it a smooth and enjoyable project. The bodice features stockinette stitch with button bands in garter stitch along the back, while raglan increases shape the yoke. Sleeves are knit in the round on double-pointed needles. The skirt alternates between black garter stitch tiers and contrast color stockinette tiers, with simple increases for shaping. The pattern includes two vibrant color options: orange and fuchsia.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
-Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
-Increasing: make 1 (m1),
-Working in the round on circular and 1 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, color Black – 1 ball (MC)
Knit Picks (affiliate link) Palette fingering weight 100% wool yarn 231 yds (210 m)/ 50 g, color Lady Slipper or Golden Heather – 0.2 ball (CC1)
Knit Picks (affiliate link) Palette fingering weight 100% wool yarn 231 yds (210 m)/ 50 g, color Fuchsia or Orange – 0.2 ball (CC2)
Knit Picks (affiliate link) Palette fingering weight 100% wool yarn 231 yds (210 m)/ 50 g, color Fairy Tale or Masala – 0.2 ball (CC3)

Needles: circular and double pointed needles (dpn) US #2 (2.75mm) OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE

Gauge: 24 sts x 32 rows = 4" x 4" (10 x 10 cm) in stockinette st.

Notions:
yarn needle, 4 stitch markers, sew-on snaps, sewing needle and thread of matching color.

Abbreviations:
k - knit
p - purl
pu&k- pick up and knit
yo - yarn over
m1 - make 1 increase - make a backward loop over the right-hand needle and in the next row/round purl/knit as a regular stitch.
RS - right side
WS - wrong side
sm - slip marker
pm - place marker
rm - remove marker
MC – main color
CC – contrast color


Pattern Notes:

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

Stockinette in rounds:
All rounds knit

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

Raglan increases: in every right side (RS) row, work till 1 st remains before the marker, m1, k1, slip marker (sm), k1, m1. 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: slip 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. The bodice is worked back and forth in stockinette with button bands on the back in garter stitch and raglan increases in every RS row on the yoke. The sleeves are worked in rounds on dpn. The skirt is worked in-the-round, with black tiers in garter st and contrast color tiers in stockinette st. The skirt is shaped with increases in the 1st row of the 1st garter st tier and two upper contrast color tiers.


DRESS

On circular needles, with the MC yarn, cast on 43 sts: 1 edge -3 right bb - 3 right back - 2 raglan (place the first marker between these 2 sts) - 6 right sleeve - 2 raglan (place the second marker between these 2 sts) - 9 front - 2 raglan (place the third marker between these 2 sts) - 6 left sleeve - 2 raglan (place the forth marker between these 2 sts) - 3 left back - 3 left bb - 1 edge.

Knit one foundation row.

Row 1 (RS): sl1, *knit till 1 stitch remains before marker, m1, k1, sm, k1, m1 - repeat from * 3 times, knit till last st, p1. + 8 sts

Row 2 (WS): sl1, k3, purl till last 4 sts, k3, p1.

Repeat rows 1-2 nine (9) more times.

The number of sts after
row 1 = 51
row 3 = 59
row 5 = 67
row 7 = 75
row 9 = 83
row 11 = 91
row 13 = 99
row 15 = 107
row 17 = 115
row 19 = 123

Divide for sleeves and bodice:

Row 21 (RS): sl1, k17, rm, transfer the next 28 sts on a piece of waste yarn, rm, cast on 3, k31, rm, transfer the next 28 sts on a piece of waste yarn, rm, cast on 3, k17, p1. = 73 sts

Row 22: sl1, k3, p65, k3, p1.

Repeat rows 21-22 eight (8) more times.

Skirt

Row 39/Round 1: k4, (k2, m1) repeat to the last 4 sts, fold the working piece to make the beginning and the end of the rows meet, right side facing, from the right needle transfer the last 4 sts of the row (left bb) on a spare needle, overlap with the first 4 sts (right bb) on the left needle, hold the left and spare needles in left hand. Insert the working, right, needle in the first st on the spare needle, then in the first st on the left needle, yo, pull yarn through both sts. Repeat with the remaining 3 sts. Thus you close the work into round. Knit to the 2nd st of the right underarm. Place a marker to mark the beginning of the round. (107 sts)

Round 2: purl

Round 3: knit

Round 4: purl.

Repeat rounds 3-4 two more times.

Round 9: with CC1 yarn, (k3, m1) repeat to the end of the round. (142 sts).

Round 10: to avoid visible step, when changing the color knit the 1st st one round below (last black round), knit to the end of the round.

Round 11-16: knit.

Round 17: with MC yarn, knit.

Round 18: to avoid visible step, when changing the color knit the 1st st one round below (last CC1 round), purl to the end of the round.

Round 19: knit.

Round 20: purl.

Rounds 21-24: repeat rounds 19-20.

Round 25: with CC2 yarn, (k4, m1) repeat to the end of the round. (177 sts).

Round 26: to avoid visible step, when changing the color knit the 1st st one round below (last black round), knit to the end of the round.

Rounds 27-32: knit.

Round 33: with MC yarn, knit.

Round 34: to avoid visible step, when changing the color knit the 1st st one round below (last CC2 round), purl to the end of the round.

Round 35: knit.

Round 36: purl.

Rounds 37-40: repeat rounds 35-36.

Round 41: with CC3 yarn, knit.

Round 42: to avoid visible step, when changing the color knit the 1st st one round below (last black round), knit to the end of the round.

Rounds 43-48: knit.

Round 49: with MC yarn, knit.

Round 50: to avoid visible step, when changing the color knit the 1st st one round below (last CC3 round), purl to the end of the round.

Round 51: knit.

Round 52: purl.

Rounds 53-56: repeat rounds 51-52.

Bind off.


Sleeves

Work one sleeve at a time. With MC yarn.

Transfer 28 sts from waste yarn on 3 dpn, pu&k 3 underarm sts = 31 sts. Place a marker before the second underarm st to mark the beg of the round.

Rounds 1-10: knit around.

Bind off, cut yarn.


Finishing:

Weave in all yarn ends. Block. Sew snaps on the button bands.
Have fun!