Seaside Dress - Knitting Pattern

This beginner-friendly, bottom-up dress pattern includes a fitted look and simple ribbing details throughout. The classic fit of this dress and the ease of the make will have you making a full collection, perfect for a variety of settings – date night, pool side, or a summer work look. This pattern is perfect for any body, any yarn, and any skill. level.

Sizes
This pattern is written to meet the finished measurements in the chart provided below, with finished bust sizes: 32, 36, 40 (44, 48, 52)56, 60, 64“/81.5, 91.5, 102 (112, 122, 132)142.5, 152.5, 162.5cm, waist sizes: 26, 30, 34 (38, 42, 46)50, 54, 56”/66, 76.5, 86.5 (97, 107, 117)127, 137.5, 147.5cm and hip sizes: 34, 38, 42 (46, 50, 54)58, 62, 66“/86.5, 96.5, 107 (117, 127, 137.5)147.5, 157.5, 168 cm.

The sample was knit to about 2”/5cm of negative ease (smaller than my body measurements) throughout, with slightly more negative ease at my fullest hip. With previous garments, I have found through testers and my own samples, that these patterns can easily accommodate up to 6”/15.5cm of negative ease.

Materials
You will need at least four stitch markers and one BOR marker, waste yarn or extra needles to hold live stitches, darning needle, scissors, measuring tape, and your super amazing body.

Techniques
You will need to know how to cast on with an i-cord cast on, pick up stitches, knit in the round, purl, increase, decrease, hold stitches, 3-needle bind-off, sewn bind-off, block, weave in ends, and have fun.

Suggested Yarn
Sunfish from thelittlewolfknits: 75/25 superwash merino/nylon, fingering weight 4-ply, 463yd/424m per 100g.

The sample used three skeins of “Starfish,” “Peach Fuzz,” and “Coral.”

Any light fingering should work – just make sure to adjust to get gauge.
-Alternatives include:
o Knit Picks Stroll
o Cascade Yarns Heritage

Suggested Needles
Main Needle: US 5 (3.75mm) circular needle
Ribbing Needle: US 3 (3.25mm) circular needle
But use whatever needle you need to achieve gauge!
(Or just do the math and do your own thing)

Gauge
24 sts x 32 rows = 4”/10cm stockinette knit in the round and blocked with your main needle. When swatching, remember to cast on more stitches than you’re intending to measure so that you can get an accurate measurement (the end and beginning stitches tend to be looser). I recommend using this tutorial to start and finish the swatch for the most accurate measurements.

Color Suggestions
Like I said, this pattern is perfect for any yarn, and can be made with a three color colorblock gradient, or one color throughout. AND it would make amazing scrappy project. Have random odds and ends lying around? Use them for a fun stripey version!

Yardage:
The yardage is based off a dress that measures 47”/119.5cm from top to bottom. In order to calculate yardage for the full length of your dress, each additional 1”/2.5cm of length will require approximately an additional 29, 31, 32 (34, 38, 41, 43, 46)49, 52yd/27, 29, 30 (31, 35, 38, 40, 42)45, 48m to the yardage listed below.

1387, 1566, 1747 (1929, 2113, 2298)2484, 2673, 2856yd/1268, 1432, 1597(1764, 1932, 2101)2272, 2444, 2612m. If using the suggested yarn, this would be 4, 4, 4 (5, 5, 5)6, 6, 7 skeins of Sunfish yarn from thelittlewolfknits. Note that I used 3 skeins of yarn (each skein from my shop typically weighs about 103-105g, and this was enough to complete the sample in the first size as written), however, to be safe, it is recommended to get an extra skein of yarn (unless you want to live on the edge). If you get an extra skein, my recommendation would be to get two skeins of the first (bottom) color or your colorblock, as this is the widest the skirt/dress will be and thus it eats up a bit more yarn than the other sections.

Kits are available under the "Yarn Kits" section.