Summer in the Hamptons Dress for 18-inch Dolls

Free Doll Dress Knitting Pattern

This fashionable summer dress for your 18-inch doll features a pleated dress and sporty raglan style sleeves. Perfect for playing a game of tennis, or wearing to the beaches

Skills Required/Techniques Used:
-Knit & purl, cast on & bind off
-Increasing:yarn over (YO), make 1 (m1)
-Decreasing: knit 2 together (k2tog), slip-slip-knit (ssk)
-Working in the round on double pointed needles
-Working lace patterns
-Picking up stitches

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

Materials: Paton (affiliate link)s Grace sport weight yarn (100% cotton), 136 yards(124 meters) /50g – 1 ball of main color, small amounts of contrasting colors.

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

Gauge: 24 st x 36 rows = 4" x 4" (10cm x 10cm) in stockinette st

Notions:
yarn needle, 4 stitch markers, sew-on snaps, sewing needle and thread of matching color, small embellishments of your choice (optional).

Abbreviations:
k - knit
p - purl
k2tog - knit 2 together
kfr&b - knit into front and back
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

Pattern Notes:

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

1x2 rib:
Row 1 (RS): *k1, p2 - repeat from * around
Row 2 (WS): *k2, p1 - repeat from around
Repeat 2 rows

Garter stitch in rows: all rows 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 marker, yo, 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, The yoke is worked in stockinette with button bands in garter stitch and raglan increases. The sleeves are worked in rounds on dpn. The skirt is worked in 1X 2 rib. A-shape of the skirt is achieved by increasing the number of purl stitches between the knit stitches in rib pattern. Feel free to work the colored stripes in any order you like.


Dress

Cast on 60: 1 edge -right 3 bb - 5 right back - 1 raglan (place the first marker before this sr) - 12 right sleeve - 1 raglan (place the second marker before this st) - 14 front – 1 raglan (place the third marker before this st) -12 left sleeve - 1 raglan (place the forth marker before this st) - 5 left back - 3 left bb - 1 edge. Slip markers while working.

Work 2 foundation rows in garter stitch: both rows knit.

Row 1 (RS): *knit till marker, yo, sm, k1, yo - repeat from * 4 times, knit till last st, p1. + 8 sts

Row 2 (WS): k4, purl till last 4 sts, k3, p1.

Repeat rows 1-2 seven more times.

The number of sts after
row 1 = 68
row 3 = 76
row 5 = 84
row 7 = 92
row 9 = 98
row 11 = 106
row 13 = 114
row 15 = 122


Divide for sleeves and bodice:

Row 17 (RS, remove markers while working): k18, transfer the next 28 sts on a piece of waste yarn, cast on 3, k32, transfer the next 28 sts on a piece of waste yarn, cast on 3, k17, p1. = 74 sts

Row 18: k73, p1

Work rows 19 - 24 in stockinette except for the button bands: RS rows knit, WS rows purl, button bands always knit .

Row 25 (RS, eyelet row): k4, * yo, k2tog - repeat from * to last 4 sts, yo, k3, p1 = 75 sts

Row 26: k4, purl to last 4, k3, p1.

Row 27 (RS, increase row): k4, *kfr&b, k1 - repeat from * to last 5 sts, kfr&b, k3, p1 = 109 sts

Row 28 (WS): k4, *k2, p1 - repeat from * to last 6 sts, k5, p1

Row 29 (RS) : k4, p2, k1 - repeat from * to last 6 sts, p2, k3, p1

Repeat rows 28- 29 two more times, repeat row 28 one more time.

Row 35 (RS, increase row): k4, * p1, m1, p1, k1, p2, k1 - repeat from * to last 9 sts, p1, m1, p1, k1, p2, k3, p1 = 126 sts

Row 36: k4, *k2, p1, k3, p1 -repeat from * till last 10 sts, k2, p1, k6, p1.

Row 37 (RS): k4, *p3, k1, p2, k1 - repeat from * to last 9 sts, p3, k1, p2, k3, p1.

Row 38 like row 36. Repeat rows 37-38 one more time.

Row 41 (RS): K4, *p3, k1, m1, p1, k1 - repeat from * till last 10, p1, m1, p1, k3, p1 = 143 sts

Row 42: K4, * k3, p1 - repeat from * till last 7 sts, k6, p1.

Row 43: K4, *p1, k1 - repeat from * till last 7 sts, p3, k3, p1

Row 44: like row 42

Repeat rows 43-44 nine more times.

Work 6 more times in garter stitch: all rows knit. Bind off.


Sleeves

Work one sleeve at a time.

Transfer 28 sts from waste yarn on 3 dpn, 10 sts - 8 sts - 10 sts per needle, pu&k 3 underarm sts on the forth dpn = 31 sts.

Work 4 rounds in garter stitch, knit the first and third rounds, purl the second and the forth rounds. Bind off, cut yarn.


Finishing:

Weave in all yarn ends. Sew invisible plastic snaps on the button bands. Decorate to your taste.

Have fun!