This is a really fun dress for a little one to wear, its fitted at the top and flows freely in the skirt portion making this an easy dress to play in and can be worn with a top under it or without depending on the weather. The dress is also quite forgiving in its sizing (the 6-12m size is shown on a baby that is 16 weeks old and there is plenty of room for it to grow with her). It can start out to be worn as a dress and later as the child grows it can still be worn as a tunic top with leggings underneath. A very versatile pattern that will be wearable over a range of time giving it longevity and allowing it to last longer, which is handy with children who grow like weeds!

Yarn - 300-800m of Fingering weight yarn (100-250g)

-Yarns used in the sample are as follows:
oFor the 0-3 month size – Shirsty Cat Designs in the 100% Merino base, in the Nightwood colourway
oFor the 6-12 month size - The Cozy Knitter Sock Set in the Bliss base (80% Superwash Merino / 20% Nylon) in the Antique Roses Colourway
oFor the 12M – 2T size - Once Upon A Corgi in the Ginger base (75% Superwash Merino / 20% Nylon / 5% Gold Stelina) in the Lily Potter Colourway and Plymouth Yarn Co Happy Feet (90% Superwash Merino / 10% Nylon) in the Purple Iris Colourway

Needles – 3.5mm (US4) or size needed to get gauge 16 inch (40cm) circulars, for the larger sizes you could also use a 24 inch (60cm) length circular for the skirt portion.

Notions –

• Stitch markers, (4 plus 1 beginning of round marker)
• Tapestry Needle
• 3 Buttons for closure – approx. 1/2inch diameter
• Cable needle or DPN of a similar size to your main needles

Gauge – 23 sts and 38 rows in 4 inches / 10 cm, in stockinette after blocking.

Sizes – The pattern includes 7 child sizes ranging from Newborn up to 5Yr. (Please see the sizing chart in the last photo on the pattern page).This Dress/Tunic is quite stretchy in the top section so the outfit will be able to grow with your child. It starts out as a dress and as your little one grows it can be worn with leggings as a tunic making this a great pattern for those babies that just grow out of their clothes way too fast! The body length is easily adjusted to suit your requirements.

Please note the top is designed to have 2-3 inches of negative ease to ensure a snug fit at each end of the size range.

I suggest you go through the pattern and highlight the numbers relevant to the size you are choosing to knit to avoid confusion when working through the pattern.

Yarn requirements:
0-3 months - 350m
3-6 months - 400m
6-12 months - 450m
12 mon - 2yr - 500m
2-3yr - 650m
3-4yr - 750m
4-5yr - 850m

(Please note final yardage requirements will depend on how long you knit the skirt - the length of which is adjustable to suit your needs)

Pattern Notes:
• You can choose to do this pattern all in one yarn or you can mix things up and use a solid tonal for the top portion and then a speckled/variegated yarn for the skirt portion.

• This would be a good place to use up those half skeins you have left over from other projects!

• You could also use a lovely self striping skein for the skirt portion (as shown in some of the sample photos) as the self striping aspect would not be lost in this design especially for the first 3 sizes depending on the stripe thicknesses.

• You could even incorporate a lace pattern into bottom of skirt section or stripe a variety of colours in the skirt to create something even more unique.

• Also please note the pattern is knit flat for the first 27 rows before being joined in the round.