Tulipfield Dresses: Mina

PATTERN: Mine (a prototype I am working on)
SIZE: 12 months
YARN: Various DK- and sport-weight yarn in cashmere-wool blend and alpaca

Meet Mina! She turned out just as I was hoping. If you could feel that soft nutmeg-brown alpaca you would know that this dress is just bunny soft. It's amazing how many skeins of this yarn I have crocheted up this year. Definitely in the double digits. I haven't met a yarn I loved this much in ages and ages. I love that it is natural and undyed, as well. I used the camel-colored version in the Saskia dress, and the third tulipy dress in progress uses the gray (and it is the same yarn from the Sunshine Day Afghan, as well as my mom's scarf). I love the way it works so beautifully with color. I love bits of color popping off of cloudy neutrals. That says Oregon April to me (as do the weensie Target Liberty rain boots I couldn't resist).

My supervisor helped quite a bit with this one. Half-double crochet is a nice stitch. It goes fast, feels good to work, makes a nice, drapey fabric, and looks sort of the same on both sides. To make this dress, I worked up a square yoke that grew from the neck out, pretty much like a granny square. Then I worked a row of hdcs around the bottom edges of the yoke (leaving the arm edges open), connecting the back to the front. Then I worked the whole skirt in "rounds" that are really rows — at the end of each you join it with a slip stitch to the beginning chain, and turn. So you are working back and forth, but there are no seams to stitch up at the end. The arms are worked like little tubes in the same way.

Back view

You get a bit of a visible seam at the join, which for some weird reason I kind of like. I may move the neck opening to the front of the dress, and maybe move the seam to one of the sides. I don't know, I haven't decided yet. But either would be very easy to do. Oh, and I was going to tell you something about working in row/rounds, too. So, if you've done it before, you may notice that the seam can sometimes appear to start twisting to one side as you go round and round. To avoid that, and get it going nice and straight instead, this is what I do: I don't count my turning chain as the first stitch, I skip the stitch immediately below the turning chain, I begin working in the next stitch, and I work the last stitch of the row/round into the stitch out of which the turning chain originates. Then I join the row end to end with a slip stitch into the top of the turning chain. I don't know if that's the official way of doing this, but that's the easiest way I've found to do it (and explain it). And I'll do almost anything to avoid having to sew up a seam. I work over the tail ends of all of my color changes, too, and snip them off (you can use a needle to run the tail back onto itself, too; I don't usally bother with that, as this gauge is fairly tight and seems to hold things together pretty well, but technically you should be running it back for a few stitches again), so there are almost no ends left to weave in at the end of the day, either. That makes me happy.

Comments

[Ginger & Pickle]

oh my word! this is superbly precious!

[Wendy]

Warm & cozy looking--colors and otherwise--definitely for Oregon. Thanks for all the info on how you crocheted the dress. And, hoping I'm not ruining a surprise here, but I just pre-ordered your next book on Amazon--CAN'T WAIT for August!!! Congrats!

[emily ruth]

so super sweet...the color combo is really wonderful!...i have the wallet in the same pattern as those boots...little bright spot in my purse :)

[pam]

This is too cute!

[Jane]

This is darling!
Love it!
Do you sell your patterns for these dresses?
New to you site so I don't know. :)
Jane

[ashley akers]

Oh My Gosh, I want that in my size! With the rain boots it is just killer. I love it.

[Kika]

That dress is absolutely darling! Love the color combo.

[The Hungarican Chick]

OMG, the little rubber boots.. I can totally picture her toddling around in that little getup. OFF THE SCALE CUTE.

[Hannahlemasters@gmail.com]

What a beautiful little dress. I just happen to have the perfect little model for it scooting around my living room floor...

[Karen B]

This is so precious! And I don't blame you for getting those boots. I would've too and I don't have a little one. ;-)

[Nic Wood]

What a divine little dress, and you made it sound so simple to create. Shame I cant even get a crochet dishcloth square yet LOL
The colours as just gorgeous, I wish I couold reach out and feel it, I bet it drapes beautifully when it is being worn.

Nic xxx

[annri]

absolutely adorable! the colors and your banner are great together! again, what a lucky little girl...

best.

[Tracey]

this one is so darn adorable especially with those boots..makes me want to crochet one myself, and then have my 14 year old say "Mom, you are so WIERD>

[Debby]

Oh! Oh! This is too cute! Is there by any chance a pattern in the works?? Your supervisor is so attentive and aDORable, btw...=-)

[Belinda]

Of my gosh Alicia, when can we get the pattern?
This is so beautiful, love it, love it, love it!!!

[pam]

I love this little dress - the colors are so soft and love the pink edges on the sleeves.

[Sara]

Thanks for explaining about how to crochet without creating that wonky seam. I have found that sometimes I do what you said, sometimes not. I've never figured out what I've done right or wrong. Now I know! Yes!
Darling, darling dress!

[danielle]

The dress is really lovely ! and the boots too, of course, being Liberty!

[chantele cross]

Love the wellies!!
http://daisymay-dayz.blogspot.com/

[GerryART]

This one is just Yummy.♥♥♥
I would love to crochet this one and I don't have anyone to plan this one for.
Love the too yummy colors.
MMMMMMmmmmmmmmm
Hugs,
Gerry

[Jil]

Oh Alicia, this one is soooo cute... it would be adorable in a cotton with cute little keds sneakers. Too bad my kiddo is 18 now. :( Your supervisor did some very strong work. Lol...

[Laura @ PARING DOWN]

This is going to be one of the cutest patooties ever!!! So sweet!

[elizabeth ~ so wabi sabi]

I'm swooning over this one and sitting here contemplating having another child in hopes that it would be a girl;)

[Bonnie Anderson]

It's so dear. Charming!

[puglette]

so sweet! i love the seam holes too. they look planned and will look so cute over a littlet-shirt. and i love those boots! i really like the pattern.
hugs,
puglette
:o)