I read something recently that said that knit and crochet dresses are on trend this year, as well they should be. A little knit dress doesn’t have to be hot or heavy, and they’re pretty fun to knit. I’ve got my eye on one to knit for myself, and while I’ve never knit a dress for my daughter (she’s 14 and fits adult sized patterns now), I definitely think it’s a great idea if you’ve got a little one who likes dresses.
My tendency is to knit really simple things for little kids because they grow fast, but if you want to add a little something extra to a knit dress, check out Anya from Suzie Sparkles Designs on Etsy. It’s still mostly stockinette but with some lace to make it fun for you and whoever you’re knitting it for. It uses DK weight yarn and comes in seven sizes ranging from newborn to age 6.
Or try Bilberry, a free pattern from Berroco that uses a bit of leaf lace at the top yoke but is otherwise a simple A line, stockinette dress. This one comes in four sizes (2, 4, 6 and 8) and uses a worsted weight cotton yarn.
The Flouncy Dress from The Yarn Girls (Ravelry) is a worsted weight tank dress with picot edging at the top and a ruffle at the bottom to make it twirly. It’s offered in five sizes ranging from 1 to 5 years.
Knitalily’s French Holiday Girls Dress (free on Ravelry) reminds me a bit of the dress I want to knit for myself. It has a V-neck at the front and back and is straight through the body with a sweet picot edging. It has three sizes (1-2, 3-4 and 5-6).
If you have a budding designer in your house, or you just want a pattern with a lot of options for customization, check out the Rainbow dress from Georgie Nicolson. It’s worked seamlessly from the top down in DK weight yarn and has sizes from newborn up to 10 years. It has an empire waist and A-line shaping in the skirt, and there are options to do a picot cast off on the straps, add an eyelet round at the end of the bodice (for threading a ribbon through), a garter stitch hem to match the bodice as well as three different options for ruffled hems, three lace hems and two picot hems. You can find this one on Ravelry.
Bust your stash of sock yarn with the Elyssa Dress from Taiga Hallard (Ravelry), which was originally made using mini skeins. This super simple dress is worked from the top down and has sizing from newborn to age 3. It includes a button band at the neckline for ease in putting on baby.
If you want something a little more subtle, try the Talea Tunic from Etsy seller Vi Talina Craft. This dress is like an extra long T-shirt with a bit of textured stitching to keep it fun to knit but also super cozy to wear. It’s sized from 9-12 months up to 13-14 years, and uses DK weight yarn.
The colorful yarn really makes this one, but of course you can stitch up the Ribbed Dress for Little Miss with any sock yarn you like. The design from Loose Loop Patterns has a round neck and a full skirt worked partly in ribbing to add structure and interest. It comes in one size to fit a 5-7 year old, but the bodice is a bit stretchy so it may fit a wider range of kiddos.
