Summer Lace Dress for 18-inch Doll

Free Doll Dress Knitting Pattern

This elegant sleeveless doll dress features lace elements on the bodice and in the skirt. Depending on the colors you pick and how you accessorize, it would be great as both casual and formal wear.

The dress is worked from the bottom up, back-and-forth with the opening on the back, up to the armholes. Then each part - right back, front and left back - are worked separately. There are seams on the shoulders and on the back of the skirt. The bottom of the skirt is worked in a lace pattern.

Skills Required/Techniques Used:

-Knit & purl, cast on & bind off.

-Increasing: yarn over (YO).

-Decreasing: knit 2 together (k2tog), slip-slip-knit (ssk), central double decrease (cdd).

-3-needle bind off method.

-Working lace patterns.

Materials: Knit Picks (affiliate link) Shine Sport Yarn (60% Pima Cotton, 40% Modal natural beech wood fiber, 50 g - 110 yards, color Sweet Potato - 1 ball.

Notions: yarn needle, sewing needle, 3-4 sew-on snaps, sewing thread of the matching color, 4 stitch holders or 4 pieces of waste yarn to hold stitches.

Needles: US# 3 (3.25mm) OR SIZE NEEDED TO OBTAIN GAUGE.

Gauge for stockinette stitch: 20 st x 36 rows = 4" x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm)

Abbreviations:

K – knit

P – purl

St, sts – stitch, stitches

k2tog - knit 2 sts together

ssk - slip the first st as if to knit, knit the second st, pass the first stitch over the second one

cdd - center double decrease: 1) slip 2 sts on the right needle knitwise, 2) knit the next st, 3) insert the left needle in the slipped 2 sts and pass them over the just knitted st. = 2 sts decrease

co – cast on

RS – right side

WS – wrong side

as est. - as established, work as the pattern demands, here knit the RS rows and purl the WS rows.

Pattern Notes:

Stockinette Stitch:

Row 1 (RS): knit

Row 2 (WS): purl

Repeat 2 rows.

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

Dress, short overview:

The dress is worked from bottom up, back-and-forth with the opening on the back, up to the armholes. Then each part - right back, front and left back - are worked separately. There are seams on shoulders and on the back of the skirt. The bottom of the skirt is worked in a lace pattern.

Skirt

Cast on 111 sts

Row 1 (RS): knit

Row 2 (WS and all WS rows): purl

Row 3 (RS): k2, *yo, k4, cdd, k4, yo, k1 - repeat from * 9 times, p1.

Row 5: k2, *k1, yo, k3, cdd, k3, yo, k2 - repeat from * 9 times, p1

Row 7: k2, *k2, yo, k2, cdd, k2, yo, k3 - repeat from * 9 times, p1

Row 9: k2, *k3, yo, k1, cdd, k1, yo, k4 - repeat from * 9 times, p1

Row 11: k2, *k4, yo, cdd, yo, k5 - repeat from * 9 times, p1

Row 13: k2, * k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k3 -rep from * 9 times, p1

In rows 15, and 17 we make decreases between the "diamonds":

Row 15: *K3, k2tog, yo, k1, cdd, k1, yo, ssk - repeat from * 9 times, k2, p1. (= 93 sts)

Row 17: K2, *k2tog, yo, k1, cdd, k1, yo, ssk, k1 repeat from * 9 times, p1. (=75 sts)

Row 19: K1, k2tog, *yo, k5, yo, cdd - repeat from * 8 times, yo, k5, yo, ssk, p1.

Row 21 (RS): K74, p1.

Row 22 (WS): k1, p74.

Repeat rows 21-22 seven more times (rows 23-36).

Row 37 (RS, eyelet/belt row): sl1, *k2tog, yo - repeat from * to last 2 sts, k1, p1.

Bodice:

Row 38 (WS): k1, p74

Row 39 (RS): k74, p1

Repeat rows 38-39 three more times (rows 40-45), repeat row 38 one more time (row 46).

Row 47: k18, bind off 6, k27, bind off 6, k17, p1.

Continue to work each part of the bodice separately, note that we start each part from the wrong side.

Right back (18 sts)

Row 48 (WS): k1, p14, k2, p1.

Row 49 (RS): k17, p1.

Repeat rows 48-49 six more times (rows 50-61)

Row 62 (WS): Bind off 9, p6, k2, p1.

Row 63 (RS): k8, p1.

Row 64: k1, p5, k2, p1.

Rows 65-66 as est. - row 65 like row 63m row 66 like row 64.

Transfer the sts on a piece of waste yarn or stitch holder, or bind off.

Front (27 sts)

Row 48 (WS): k3, p21, k2, p1.

Row 49 (RS): k13, yo, ssk, k11, p1.

Row 50 (WS and all WS rows): k3, p21, k2, p1.

Row 51: k11, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k10, p1.

Row 53: k10, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k9, p1.

Row 55: k9, k2tog, yo, k5, yo, ssk, k8, p1.

Row 57: k8, k2tog, yo, k7, yo, ssk, k7, p1.

Row 59: k7, k2tog, yo, k9, yo, ssk, k6, p1.

Row 61: k6, k2tog, yo, k11, yo, ssk, k5, p1.

Row 62 (WS): k3, p6, bind off 9, p6, k2, p1.

9 sts remain for each shoulder.

Work rows 63-68 from 2 balls of yarn.

Row 63 (RS): Left shoulder k8, p1. Right shoulder: k8, p1

Row 64 (WS): . Right shoulder: k3, p5, p1. Left shoulder: k1, p5, k2, p1

Repeat rows 63-64 two more times (rows 65-68).

Transfer the sts to a piece of waste yarn or stitch holder, or bind off.

Left back (18 sts)

Row 48 (WS) k3, p15.

Row 49 (RS): k17, p1.

Repeat rows 48-49 five more times (rows 50-59), repeat row 48 one more time (row 60).

Row 61 (RS): bind off 9 sts, k8, p1.

Row 62 (WS): k3, p6.

Row 63 (RS): k8, p1.

Repeat rows 62-63 one more time (rows 64-65) repeat row 62 one more time (row 66).

Transfer the sts to a piece of waste yarn or stitch holder, or bind off.

Finishing:

Block the working piece (see photo).

Using 3-needle bind off method, join the shoulder seams. Alternatively you can sew the shoulder seams if you had done a bind-off on the shoulder stitches.

Join back seam for approximately 4" (10 cm) from the hem up.

Weave in all yarn ends.

Sew 3-4 snaps on the back opening.

Thread ribbon in the eyelet row for a belt.

Enjoy!

Pattern was updated on 3/28/2019