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For Kaito’s first birthday, I decided to knit her a dress! I had knit the Ice Cream Sundae bolero for another niece, and loved knitting little girly things. The A-Line Dress by Sandi Prosser is from an issue of Knit Simple Magazine. Unfortunately, Knit Simple Magazine ceased publication in 2020. Knitting magazines have been folding at an alarming rate, either closing completely or moving to digital format. Thankfully I have a collection of Knit Simple issues, purchased from my local library.
Anyway, the A-Line Dress is an adorable dress with a striped bodice, a-line skirt, and seed stitch neckline and armholes. I used yarn from my stash, Classic Elite Yarns Song in the Snow colourway, and Schulana Merino Cotton 135 in the Pink colourway. The pattern sample is black and white, but I had a magenta yarn that I wanted to use up. Thankfully both yarns are a merino-cotton blend in a DK weight, so they work together beautifully. The resulting fabric is warm enough to wear in cooler weather, but also cool enough to wear in the summer.
The pattern includes four sizes, from 0-3 months up to 18 months. It calls for 249 to 373 m of DK weight yarn. This is a great pattern for stash-busting, as it uses such small amounts of yarn. You could also just knit the whole skirt in stripes! I found the instructions to shape the neckline and shoulder straps rather tricky, since you’re wrangling two strands of yarn. I think I was able to figure it out, but a beginner might struggle with it.
Since this was meant as a gift for a 1-year-old, I wanted to make sure the a-line dress was large enough that Kaito could get as much wear out of it as possible. I chose to knit the 18-month size, and I knit it long enough to act as a dress or possibly as a tunic as she gets taller. A seed stitch band edges the neckline, armholes, and hem. I used 3.0 mm needles due to my loose gauge, and 376 metres of yarn.
Tomiko and I have some interest in personal colour analysis. She is clearly a Winter, and I think I am an Autumn. Kaito is a mini-me of Tomiko, and she looks fantastic in this rich jewel-tone magenta. She wore this dress to Tomiko’s birthday lunch, and unfortunately threw up all over it! Thankfully the yarn is machine washable. She had started school by the time we got around to photograph it, so Sayuri is modelling this dress in these photos.
Although Knit Simple Magazine is now closed, you can still buy back issues from the Vogue Knitting website. I’d recommend purchasing from the archive soon, because Vogue Knitting has also ceased publication. You can also check if your library has the back issues on Libby.
Get Knit Simple Magazine Winter 2018 here.
