Sweet Nothings Crochet: EXQUISITE CHEVRON GIRL’S DRESS

Sweet Nothings Crochet free crochet pattern blog, free crochet pattern for a beautiful child's dress, photo of the skirt of the Exquisite chevron girls dress

EXQUISITE CHEVRON GIRL’S DRESS

Ooh how beautiful is this for a cute for a little lady ??

Now come on..admit it, you couldn’t resist this either, now could you?

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Thanks for joining me once again as we work on and discover this new pattern together.

Materials used : Today I’ve used ~ about 90 gms of our lovely Indian Oswal 3-ply acrylic yarn with a 3 mm crochet hook ; embroidery needle ; sewing needle ; fabric glue to seal ends ; crochet stitch markers ; buttons; press buttons ; satin ribbon ; headband ; tic-tac clips ; rubber band ; hair comb or barrette ; beads n more

For Indians : You could use Anchor , Red rose , 4-ply knitting cotton , or unbranded knitting cotton or White Rose or bamboo knitting cotton , Milk cotton ; Silk yarns as well as Vardhaman acrylic yarns ; Baby soft acrylic yarn , Ganga Spectrum as well

General yarn info : The yarn used today is not specific to this pattern.

You can use any yarn with a suitable hook to make this project to any size.

International yarns : Among the international yarns I have used in this thickness, I’d suggest Aunt Lydia Cotton 10, Aunt Lydia Bamboo-Viscose 10, DMC Petra, Sullivans knitting cotton (Australia), Milford Soft, Hilaza Rustica Eclat , Alize cotton yarn and Alize bamboo yarn , Lily Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn, Caron Simply Soft , Bernat Softee chunky.

Difficulty level : Intermediate to advanced crochet skills

Size made : 9 - 12 months

You can make this to any size. Size only given for yarn estimation.

Abbreviations used :

dc : Double crochet

ch : chain ch-sp : chain space

sp : space rep : Repeat
fsc : Foundation single crochet

dc 3-tog : Double crochet 3-together

Stitches used :

How to hold your yarn in crochet : https://youtu.be/FwOlCbGdbqY

Starting slip knot : https://youtu.be/lJcqsVcs8cw

Starting slip knot 1 or the Sloppy Slip knot : https://youtu.be/YfC7KmGpifs

What is a chain stitch ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXx5ukBjKkY

How to work a picot stitch : Traditionally for a ch-3 picot, you work (ch 3, sl-st in 3^rd ch from hook). For a ch-5 picot, you will do (ch 5, sl-st in 5^th ch from hook).

Here’s a great video https://youtu.be/8s3zVaBcn4s

Instructions (Using U.S terminology)

Please note that I start all my rows with a ch 1, turning chain for ease.

Please check the top of this blog for easy video tutorials on all stitches used in today's pattern. For your convenience, I have also added tutorials for stitches just before we are using them, through the blog.

Please read through all my notes before you pick up your hook, so you know just where we're heading in our pattern.

I work my patterns using stitch count and working it to the body measurement of the person you are making this for. This allows you to use any yarn / hook and make it to any size.
Just ensure that you get the stitch count right and work it for the size (length and width) that you need.

Quick analysis of what we’re going to do here today.

We start this lovely dress from the chest for the yoke, going past the armhole and then upwards to the neckline.

We will make two halves and then join the shoulders, and sides of the yoke

We will then come back to this start fsc row, and then work our skirt off this round. I’d suggest that you work the skirt portion depending on the length you wish and the gauge of the yarn – and not necessarily on the number of repeats shown in the picture or this write up.

With my patterns, I work with a stitch count that you need to calculate for the round chest of the child you are making this for.

Our stitch count is in multiples of three

So you will start with the as many stitches in multiples of 3, that you need stitches you need for the round chest of person intended.

Right.. so let’s get started.

Part 1 : YOKE : (Make two)
The stitch count for the yoke is in multiples of three

Foundation Single Crochet : fsc : https://youtu.be/mcT85fwh4mA

Start with fsc in multiples of three and with the number of stitches you need for the round chest of person intended (for this creation)

This is a sleeveless creation, so I’d suggest you measure about 1" to 2.5" below the armhole for this measure (depending on how young your little girl is. For younger girls, the measure about 1" under armhole) and for an older child, say about 2.5 - 3" under armhole to get the right round chest measure)

Note : I’ve decided to play with colours, so the first row is in a contrast colour (CC) and then the next two are in the main colour (MC).

If you too decide to use two colours, remember that in the last join up stitch, you bring up both the colours to the top line (working row), so that there is the least amount of trailing thread at the back of your work at all times.

Double Crochet : dc : yo, insert hk into st ; yo (3 lps on hk);

[yo, draw through 2 lps] twice. One dc made.

Check out the video at https://youtu.be/xdnjB27zpYo

Chainless start for Double Crochet : I dislike the ch-2 / ch – 3 start, and this is what I do to start my row of dc.

Check out the video at https://youtu.be/wskv3iTjRx0

“V” - stitch : V-st : (dc ; ch 1, dc) all in the same st or ch-sp.

Row 1 : dc in the 1^st dc ;

V-st in the 2^nd fsc ;

*sk 2 fsc, V-st in next fsc* ;

rep *to* till 2^nd last fsc ;

dc in the last fsc. Turn.

Row 2 : dc in the 1^st dc ;

V-st in the next V-st and in each V-st till end ;

dc in the last dc. Turn.

Rep Row 2 till you reach the armhole level, (measuring from chest upwards)

Armhole decrease :

This pattern has a really easy armhole decrease.

We will decrease for the first 2 (or 3, depending on which size you are making) rows after armhole.

What is a slip stitch : Here is a neat video tutorial at https://youtu.be/weB3QNbA8Iw

Decrease Row : sl-st in the 1^st dc and into the ch-1 sp of the 1^st V-st ;

dc in the same V-st ;

V-st in each V-st till the last V-st ;

dc in last V-st. Turn.

Rep Decrease Row once (or twice) till you have a neat armhole shape, and then continue without shaping, till you reach the height needed for your neckline.

Without shaping means that in that 1^st st you will do your dc, and then V-sts in all the V-sts till end, ending again with the last dc.

Neckline decrease :

Again, the neckline decrease for this pattern is really easy.
As you can see in the chart below, the designer has divided the yoke portion into a neat half – so when you reach half the length needed for the armhole (which is half the round armhole measure), you start the neckline decrease. You could decide to keep the front lower than the back, of course… but that’s an easy calculation always.

So for the front neckline decrease, count the V-sts you have for front, and find the centre.
Its just the centre three V-sts that make that first row of decrease.
So starting from the armhole edge, you will work all the way till one V-st before that centre marked st , work a dc in that st before centre st, and turn.

The decrease is exactly the same as armhole but you will only decrease along the centre neckline and not armhole edge.

Decrease one st along the neckline edge for the next few rows (depending on which size you’re making), till you have sufficient V-sts along the shoulder (The designer has ensured there are four V-sts for each shoulder).
Once you have the st count, continue working without increase till you reach the total length needed for the yoke till shoulder.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Re-attach your yarn at the armhole edge for the back, and work the similar decrease (depending on whether you want the same neckline shape or a higher neckline for back) till shoulder.
When fastening off, leave a tail so that you can sew in your two shoulder bits.

Great.. yoke complete.

So attach the shoulders and sides to finish off the top of your dress.

For yoke finishing, you can do a round of sc followed by a round of picot all around - and of course all around the armhole too.

Check the top of this blog for a video tutorial on how to work a picot stitch.

So this is around the front..

and then the back

Now for the skirt portion, we will turn our work so that the neckline is now facing us, and will work on the lower part of that first fsc cast on row we’ve made.

SKIRT :

The stitch count for the skirt portion is in multiples of 10.

We turn our work upside down, so that we're back at the fsc start row.

We will join the two halves at the end of the first row, so that we can work in rounds for the skirt portion of our dress.

So before we start on our first round, let’s do the following :

1) Count the fsc you have started with and see if they fit the needed repeat count

2) Figure how many chevron “pleats” you want in your dress – each repeat will give you one chevron pleat

3) Work one round of sc into the fsc round, increasing as many sts as needed to get the repeat count as well as the pleats desire

4) We will work our skirt in rounds, so at the end of every round, please join with a sl-st.

As we’re working in a chevron pattern and in rounds, there is a small possibility that we’re going to be starting at different points – so please try and follow with the chart as well as the written instructions.

Round 1 : dc in the 1^st 2 fsc ;

*ch 3, sk next 3 fsc ; V-st in the next 2 fsc ;

ch 3, sk next 3 fsc, dc in the next 2 fsc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

(In the last rep, you will join to the 1^st 2 fsc, which will be the last 2 dc on your last rep)

We will use our small shell st in all the V-sts here.

Small Shell stitch : (dc ; ch 3, dc) all in the same st or ch-sp.

Round 2 : sc in the 1^stdc , sk next dc ;

*ch 3, Small Shell st in the next 2 ch-1 sps (of V-sts) ;

ch 3, sc in the next 2 dc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

(In the last rep, you will join to the 1^st 2 sc, which will be the last 2 dc on your last rep)

Shell stitch : (2 dc ; ch 1, 2 dc) all in the same st or ch-sp.

Round 3 : sc in the 1^stdc ;

*ch 3, sk next sc , Shell st in the next ch-1 sp ;

ch 5, Shell st in the next ch-1 sp ;

ch 3, sc in the next sc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 4 : sl-st till the 1^stch-sp (of the shell st) ;

Shell st in the same ch-1 sp ;

*ch 3, dc in the ch-5 sp ;

ch 3, Shell st in the next ch-1 sp ;

sk the ch-sps and sc, Shell st in the next ch-1 sp* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

In this round, we’ll use the Small Shell stitch : (dc ; ch 3, dc) all in the same st or ch-sp.

Round 5 : sl-st till the 1^stch-sp (of the shell st) ;
V-st in the same ch-1 sp ;

*ch 3, Small Shell st in the next dc ;

ch 3, V-sts in the next 2 ch-1 sps* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

In the following round we’ll do a dc 2-tog, but instead of doing it over 2 dc’s as we usually do, we’ll do it over 2 V-sts.

So for this, we’ll do one part of the dc 2-tog in the ch-sp of the 1^st V-st and the second part of the dc 2-tog in the ch-sp of the next V-st.

Double crochet 2-tog : dc 2-tog : [yo, insert hk in st or ch-sp, yo and pull up a lp ; yo and draw through 2 lps] 2 times (3 lps on hk) ;

{yo, draw through 2 lps on hk} 2 times. One dc 2-tog made.

This video tutorial at https://youtu.be/1_oPlUfN5eg shows you how to use the dc 2-tog to decrease.

Sometimes we work the dc 2-tog in the same stitch, to use as a decorative stitch.

Visit this video tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQOBc83Vxo

Round 6 : sl-st till the 1^stch-sp (of the shell st) ;

dc 2-tog over the next 2 V-sts ;

*ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc ;

ch 5, 2 dc in the next dc ;

ch 3, dc 2-tog over the next 2 V-sts* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 7 : sl-st till the 1^st2 dc’s ;

2 dc in the 1^st dc , dc in the next dc ;

*ch 3, dc in the next ch-5 sp ;

ch 3, dc in the next dc ; 2 dc in the next dc ;

ch 3, sc in the next dc 2-tog ; ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc ; dc in the next dc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 8 : dc in the 1^st 3 dc ;

*sk next 2 ch-sps, dc in the next 3 dc ;

ch 3, V-st in the next dc ; ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 9 : sl-st into the 1^st dc, dc in the next 2 dc ;

*ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc ;

ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc ; ch 3, dc in the next 2 dc ;

V-st over the next 2 dc ; dc in the next 2 dc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Double crochet 3-tog : dc 3-tog : https://youtu.be/qlnqXDB3OUM

Round 10 : sl-st into the 1^st dc, dc in the next dc ;

*[ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc ; dc in the next dc ;

ch 3, dc in the next ch-3 sp ;

ch 3, dc in the next dc ; 2 dc in the next dc] ;

ch 3, dc in the next dc, dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc ;

dc in the next dc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 11 : sl-st into the next dc set, dc in the next 3 dc ;

*ch 3, small shell st in the next dc ;

ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc ;

ch 3, dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc ;

ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 12 : dc in the 1^st 3 dc ;

*(ch 3, 2 dc in next dc ; ch 3, 2 dc in next dc) ;

[ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc ;
ch 2, sk dc-tog , dc in the next 3 dc]* ;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 13 : dc 2-tog in the 1^st 2 dc ;
dc in the next dc ;

*ch 3, 2 dc in next dc ;

ch 3, dc in next ch-3 sp ;
ch 5, dc in the next dc, 2 dc in the next dc ;

[ch 3, dc in the next 2 dc ,
dc 2-tog over the next 3 dc,
dc in the next 2 dc]*;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 14 : dc in the 1^st dc ;

dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc ; dc in the next dc ;

*ch 3, dc in next 3 dc ;
ch 3, Small shell in next dc ;

ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc ;

[ch 3, dc in the next dc ;
dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc ;
dc in the next dc]*;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 15 : dc 3-tog over the 1^st 3 dc ;

*ch 3, dc in next 3 dc ;

(ch 3, 2 dc in next dc ;
ch 5, 2 dc in the next dc) ;

ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc ;
ch 3, dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc*;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 16 : dc in the 1^st dc ;

*ch 2, sk dc-3 tog , dc in next 3 dc ;

(ch 3, 2 dc in next dc ;
dc in the next dc ;

ch 3, dc in the ch-5 sp ;
ch 3, dc in the next dc ;
2 dc in the next dc) ;

ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc*;
rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 17 : dc 2-tog in the 1^st 2 dc ;
dc in the next 2 dc ;

*ch 3, dc in next 3 dc ;

ch 3, small shell in next dc ;
dc in the next 3 dc ;

[ch 3, dc in the next 2 dc ;
dc 2-tog over the next 2 dc ;
dc in the next 2 dc] *;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 18 : dc 2-tog over the 1^st 2 dc ;
dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc ;

*ch 3, dc in next 3 dc ;

(ch 3, 2 dc in the next dc ;
ch 5, 2 dc in the next dc) ;

[ch 3, dc in the next dc ;
dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc ; dc in the next dc]*;

rep *to* till end

and join to the 1^st st.

Round 19 : dc 3-tog over the 1^st 3 dc ;

*ch 3, dc in next 3 dc ;

(ch 3, 2 dc in next dc ;
ch 3, dc in the next ch-3 sp ;

ch 3, dc in the next dc ; 2 dc in the next dc) ;

ch 3, dc in the next 3 dc ;
ch 3, dc 3-tog over the next 3 dc*;

rep *to* till end

and a dc join to the 1^st st.

So we’ve come to the third chevron point and it’s a good time to look at what we’ve made thus far.

As you can see, our pattern has grown one round with each chevron.

So for our first, we used six rounds, then 7 and now 8 rounds to reach our chevron point.

In the following rounds, we will add one round each to reach our chevron point.

Round 19 is similar to (but not exactly like) Round 15.

Using the basic idea from Round 16 then, we’ll work our next round.

So before I let you go and work the rest of the chevrons for your lovely dress, let’s quickly analyze how the pattern works out.

The chevron has two parts – one is the pointed top edge, and the other is the two starting bits.

The starting bits start with a dc, and then the small shell ; and as you work your fresh new chevron, you’re basically finishing off the earlier one.

Each new chevron, as I’ve already mentioned grows every round – which is why it is difficult to write out the complete pattern... as all of us are making differently sized lengths.

Now armed with this information and the full chart.. enjoy completing your lovely dress too.

I’ve also attached the chart for the last finishing row.

Frankly with chevrons, you can just finish off with any round, and it’ll still look perfect – but as there is a chart for it.. here goes.

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