Pattern description from Lace Style: “In this elegant dress and stole ensemble, Shirley Paden proves that sometimes you can’t have too much of a good thing. She chose a relatively large lace pattern as the allover design for a body-hugging and curve-revealing dress and repeated it on the accompanying stole. To simplify the knitting and to avoid introducing an element that might interfere with the lace pattern in the body of the dress, Shirley used different needle sizes (and therefore different gauges) to shape the hips, waist and bust. The dress closes at the back with ten tiny buttons; a slit at the back hem facilitates walking while maintaining the slim fit.”

Finished Size:

• Small (Medium, Large, Extra Large)
• 37½ (41, 42, 47)“ (95 (104, 106.5, 119.5) cm) bust and hip circumference
• 29½ (30½, 37, 38½)“ (75 (77.5, 94, 98) cm) waist circumference
• 48¼ (48½, 46¾, 48¼)“ (122.5 (123, 118.5, 122.5) cm) from lower edge to shoulders with dress measured flat
• dress will hang about 3.5” (9cm) longer when worn.

Yarn: DK weight (CYCA #3 Light).
Blu Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk (50% alpaca, 59% silk; 146 yd (133 m)/50 g): #137 sapphire (aqua); 13 (14, 15 16) skeins for dress.

Needles: You will need 4 or 5 pairs of straight needles (depending on your size as follows:

• Small: Sizes 9 (5.5mm), 8 (5 mm), 7 (4.5 mm), 6 (4 mm), and 4 (3.5 mm).
• Medium: Sizes 9 (5.5mm), 8 (5 mm), 7 (4.5 mm), and 5 (3.75 mm).
• Large: Sizes 8 (5 mm), 7 (4.5 mm), 6 (4 mm), 5 (3.75 mm) and 4 (3.5 mm).
• Extra Large: Sizes 8 (5 mm), 7 (4.5 mm), 6 (4 mm), and 5 (3.75 mm)

Notions: A few yards (meters) of smooth contrasting waste yarn for measuring gauge and for holding stole sts; markers (m); tapestry needle; stitch holders; size D/3 (3.25 mm) crochet hook; thirteen ½“ (1.3 cm) buttons (10 for back opening, 3 for lower back slit).

Gauge: See Notes for instructions on how to work the gauge swatch. In Closed Bud pattern from chart, after blocking:

• 45 sts = 10.5” (26.5 cm) & 52 rows = 7” (18 cm) on size 9 (5.5 mm) needles.
• 45 sts = 9.5” (24 cm) & 52 rows = 7” (18 cm) on size 8 (5 mm) needles.
• 45 sts = 8.5” (21.5 cm) & 52 rows = 6.75” (17 cm) on size 7 (4.5 mm) needles
• 45 sts = 8” (20.5 cm) & 52 rows = 6.75” (17 cm) on size 6 (45 mm) needles
• 45 sts = 7.75” (19.5 cm) & 52 rows = 6.5” (16.5 cm) on size 5 (3.75 mm) needles
• 45 sts = 7.5” (19 cm) & 52 rows = 6.5” (16.5 cm) on size 4 (3.5 mm) needles

Notes from Lace Style:

• Beginning with the largest needles for your size, work a gauge swatch on 47 stitches as follows: 1 selvedge stitch (knit every row), work 45 stitches in pattern from Closed Bud chart, 1 selvedge stitch (knit every row). Work two complete pattern repeats (52 rows), then use a smooth, contrasting wast yarn to baste across the last row. Change to the next size smaller needles, work another two complete pattern repeats, then baste across the last row again. Continue in this manner, changing to the next smaller needles after every two pattern repeats, until you have used all the needles for your size. Bind off all stitches. Block the finished swatch strip, then measure the gauge for each needle size for the marked sections of the blocked swatch, measuring inside the selvedge stitches; do not include the selvedge stitches in determining the gauge.

• The waist, hip, and bust shaping are achieved by change needle sizes. Pay close attention to where the needle sizes change, and make sure to change both needles.

• Measure the length of the work in progress with the knitting lying flat. When worn, the dress will hang to about 3.5” (9 cm) longer than the flat length.

• The instructions for the dress body contain an exat number of rows for a total planned length of 48.25 (48.5, 46.75, 48.25)“ (122.5 123, 118.5, 122.5 cm) from cast on to shoulder, measured with the knitting lying flat. To lengthen or shorten the dress, add or remove complete 26-row pattern repeats just below the hit-to-waist shaping, and above where the two halves of the lower back join for the back slit in order to maintain the full length of the slit. Every 26 rows added or removed will lengthen or shorten the dress by about 3.5 (3.5, 3 3/8, 3.5)” (9 9, 8.5, 9 cm).

• Knit the first and last stitch of every row for selvedge stitches; these selvedge stitches are not shown on the chart and are not included in calculating the measurements shown on the schematic.

• When shaping, maintain the established pattern as much as possible. If there are not enough stitches available as a result of shaping to work every yarnover with its companion decrease(s), work the stitches in stockinette instead until the stitch count can accommodate working in pattern again.