Amanda Knits

I decided to design and knit a summer-weight dress out of cotton/linen blend yarn from Elann.com (Camila).

All Wrapped Up

I knit the dress in pieces (front and back) from the skirt down with a provisional cast on. Then I removed the cast on and knit the top. I ended up knitting three pieces but didn't seam anything because I picked up two sets of stitches to make the two front pieces.

Back View

Side View

It's a mock wrap dress. I decided that making an actual wrap dress would make the dress too heavy and hot for the summertime.

I made the belt using the six-peg Clover Wonder Knitter. I can tie this belt in multiple ways, swap it out with another style, or leave it off entirely.

Belted

As something fun for myself, I made the skirt hem and sleeve hems with a contrasting color. You can't see it from the outside, but I suppose it can be seen when I'm sitting if you're at the right angle.

Contrasting

The trim around the neckline was done with applied I-cord.

Total time from start to finish was about five weeks, but if you exclude the ten days my husband and I were on vacation, actual knitting time was under one month.

I used US size 3 needles for the body and trim and size 1 1/2s for the inside of the hem.

It's a very comfortable dress! I think it's going to become a wardrobe staple!

Why do I like plain, boring objects so much? I love the look of stocking stitch. I hate doing it.

What do you get when you combine:
16 balls of sock yarn,
two months of time,
a dozen pairs of circular needles,
278,318 sts,
vintage knitting magazines,
the desire to knit something for your honeymoon,
and an encouraging friend?

The Stockholm Dress

Front View

Three-Quarters View

Side View

Back View

After knitting my purple skirt, I got some wild idea that I should knit a dress. This idea was encouraged by my knitting mentor (who makes me think I can do anything), Ida Riley Duncan's Knit to Fit book, vintage Vogue Knitting and McCall's magazines, and a husband who thinks like my mentor does. "Well, it is just math, and you are good knitter, so do it." (My husband does not knit.)

With help from Knitting Mentor, I chose to use Elann's Sock-It-To-Me in grey heather. I wanted to knit at a fine gauge because fine-gauge dresses and skirts look good, the nylon would prevent sagging, and the stable gauge would prevent seating out and bagging. I also bought Addi Turbos in sizes 0 and 1 in lengths ranging from 12" to 60". I ended up working up a gauge of 35 sts and 48 rows over 4" using the size 1 needles.

I case on provisionally for the waist and knit downward in the round on US size 1 needles, increasing at eight points around for the skirt. When it was about the right length I removed the provisional cast-on and knit the bodice in the round. I split the work and worked back and forth for the armholes and the v-necks (the front is a deeper v-neck whereas the back is a shallow v-neck). When the body was finished, I used three-needle bind-off for the shoulder seams. The sleeves and I had a battle. No matter which sort of sleeve shaping I used (and I used multiple resources to do the math!), I could not get a good looking cap. So instead I worked a set-in, top-down sleeve using short row shaping. I tried on the dress, which was now mostly complete, to determine the final length of the dress.

I finished the dress using hems. For the v-neck I picked up stitches using the size 1 needles, knit several rows, and switched to the size 0s. I worked a turning row and the inside rows on the smaller needle. I then tacked each stitch down by hand sewing it into place. I also worked hems on the sleeves and lower edge of the skirt, except I went into them straight from the body with no need to pick anything up.

As a final touch, I created an alphabet chart and duplicate stitched my name and 2009 into the inside hem of the skirt.

I started the dress on July 24th and finished the entire thing by September 24th. Perfect timing for an October honeymoon in Sweden!

Shoulder, Three-Needle Bind Off, Wrong Side

Sleeve, Picked Up Stitches, Wrong Side

V-Neck, Right Side

Sleeve Hem, Wrong Side

V-Neck, Wrong Side

Increases, Right Side

Increases, Wrong Side

Lower Hem, Right Side

Lower Hem Detailing, Wrong Side

Hiding From Rain

Hanging Out With Some Sheep in Visby, Gotland, Sweden

Awesome Husband
(Who Took All Of These Photos and Measured Me... Multiple Times)

My mother-in-law is Catholic, and in Korea Catholic women cover their heads. I made this for her. I'm going to give it to her next week when she arrives in America for the first time!

Here's my husband pretending to be his mother.