Newborn Sunny Day Dress
With the arrival of Adeline Jane, of course I had to try my hand at a newborn pattern! When Edith was born, I mainly stuck to hats and blankets (and many failed attempts at booties.) I also didn't believe crocheted garments were for summer - but with our upcoming move to Georgia I realized I'm going to have to come up with designs that are good for hot weather!
I first used this yarn when completing an order for a customer. I immediately fell in love with it and decided I needed to make something for my girls! (I am planning on making something for Edith next) Oh, aren't matching outfits so much fun?
After finishing the dress, I couldn't stop dreaming of a light weight jacket to put over top of it. Working with thread takes ALL my patience and I wonder about a dozen times in the midst of it why I decided to start the project, but I just love the elegant whimsical look so much that I can't resist! I have a pattern for the jacket that I will be sharing shortly, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this summer dress for the sweet babies in your life.
This pattern is worked starting with the collar and continuing down to the bottom hem, then finished with two rows of an accent color around the collar. The first two rows are worked in rows to leave a space to be closed by a button in the back. The rest is worked in the round joining at the end of each row.
The pattern is written for newborn size, but includes instructions for 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 months. To make the dress in 3-6, follow the pattern as written but use an H hook instead of G. To make the dress in 6-9 or 9-12 months, follow the notes in bold and use a G hook or H hook respectively. For these instructions, the correct stitch count is noted in bold directly following the numbers for the original pattern, however for rows 7 and 8 you should ignore the original notes, and follow only the row instructions written in bold.
The stitch used for the majority of the dress is a Double V-stitch cluster [2DC, ch 1, 2DC] worked into the chain space of the previous row’s clusters.
Stitches noted in parentheses are to be worked into the same space (for example (2DC) is two double crochet into the same stitch).
When you get to the collar, make sure to maintain a loose tension. I used an E hook for the thread, but you may want to stick with the G hook if it helps you maintain the right tension.
Unfortunately I got this particular yarn during Hobby Lobby’s huge sale (getting rid of discontinued colors) so these exact colors are no longer available. However, the brands of yarn I used still have lots of great colors to choose from, and you can complete the pattern using another yarn of similar weight.