The absolute bees knees for twirling, the cat’s pyjamas for dancing about.This twenties-inspired little dress has great movement and life due to the full, double-ruffled skirt and a relaxed gauge in an aran yarn. It features the classic dropped waist of the flapper dress and ties at the neck which can be left untied or made into a bow for the vintage 20’s look.

Construction
This is knit in the round from the bottom up and is seamless.

Sizes
The sizes given are actual body sizes of the intended recipient. As modelled the garment has about 15% negative ease for a really slim fit, and is graded for a skirt that will range from just below to just above the knee. (depending on the exact height of the wearer). If you want more room for growth simply choose a size with up to 2 inches of postive ease on the chest (i.e. two inches bigger than actual chest measurements). Basic instructions for a for a slightly more generous sleeve are also included in the pattern.

Age 2-3 to fit chest up to 55.5cm/22 ¾ in and height of 98cm/38 ½ in

Age 4-5 to fit chest up to 61cm/24in chest and height of 113cm/44 ½ in

Age 6-7 to fit chest up to 63.5cm/25in and height of 126cm/49 ½ in

Age 8-9 to fit chest up to 69cm/27 in and height of 137cm/54 in

Yarn choices
My sample uses New Lanark Donegal Tweed silk aran (90% wool, 10% silk) as the main yarn. The silk content provides extra drape and weight that makes the skirt swing. However this is fine knit with most wool or acrylic yarns; you’ll just get a lighter garment with even more flight and bounce (the russet sample is in a pure wool). You will also need a small amount of contrasting aran for the cuffs,neck and waist details (I used New Lanark pure wool aran). For the underskirt you will need a contrasting fingering weight yarn. For the fingering weight choose a yarn with some natural stiffness - I used a shetland wool (Jamieson’s spindrift) but a sock yarn with some nylon may be a good substitute if you prefer machine washability.

Skills
This is a very easy knit. The detailing is deceptively simple, with most of the shaping done in one-off rounds. Would make a good first garment. The pattern assumes knowledge of knitting in the round.

Notions
Circular needles the correct size to achive gauge for the main yarn (at 15sts to 10cm/4in) and the underskirt at 20sts to 10cm/4in in the fingering weight yarn.
Stitch markers.
Two buttons for the cuffs