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

[Dag]

how adorable --- again gorgeous colorchoices!!

[alison]

Color popping off of cloudy neutrals... am going to remember that when looking for yarn. Thanks for this hint about color. Love your new little dress.

[ingrid]

Oh My! This is just totally adorable. I am swooning over the colours. It is perfect!

[Mary Ann]

Thought I recognized those adorable boots, now I need to learn how to crochet! Dress is beyond sweet.

[Sarah]

Glad your colleagues are keeping you on the straight and narrow - these are beautiful wee dresses

[Anne Marie]

It is gorgeous!

[Margot K of VA]

Yes!! I like this remebrance of a day in the tulip fields best. Can't wait to see the third idea worked out.

[Zita-Mlle Magpie]

Oh, my, Alicia, that crocheted dress and the flowery gumboots are just too adorable! You will be all set for outfits for your little one, so that when she arrives, you'll have one less thing to worry about :)

[amber]

oh! I LOVE this!! And those BOOTS! it's truly picture perfect, she's going to look so cute in this!!

[AmyKortuem]

I can see her splashing in puddles already. Did they sell a matching, tiny umbrella with the boots?

[Amy]

I am in love with your crocheting! So inspiring!

[Katelyn Likes This]

Awe, this dress is so sweet. I hope to be able to improve my skills to make something like this one day.

[Tanya]

I love these! keep em coming

[Jenn~]

I just have to say that I loving coming to visit (and I do often), this is the only blog that makes me smile ten miles wide. I love all of your projects, even though most are beyond me. But you put so much of "you" in them that it makes me feel like I am right there with you...I can not wait to see what you come up with next (and LOVE the boots, do they come in real peoples sz'z??)

[Shelley (Pink House)]

LOVE it with the flowered boots! I'm imagining this worn with some pink tights as well.

I love how you're buying/making all this girly stuff in anticipation. How wonderful to do!

[Lena]

This is so beautiful. I love the color of the natural yarn too. As a beginner crocheter, it looks like an ambitious project for now, but yet, it also looks simple enough that it isn't indimidating.

It's a charming photo too!

[Suzanne B.]

So sweet! :) I love seeing all these beautiful dresses.

My daughter is at school right this minute wearing those galoshes and some stripey leggings. They're so sweet. When we were in London last week, the big red London double-decker buses had ads on them for Liberty of London for Target.

Alicia, I just saw that Elliott Brood will be at Pickathon this August! I love them, and they look so fun in concert. Are you going this year?

[Kristen]

Oh my goodness, that it SO pretty! The colors are amazing...and with the boots~ too cute!! Your little girl is going to be the best dressed girl in town!

[Gloria]

Your dress is so very sweet, I love it!!! Paired with that little bunny and rainboots it has triple the sweetness!! I have the Liberty of London canister, and scarf with turquoise fringe in the same pattern!! :)

[Marabeth]

I love it! I couldn't resist and I got myself a pair of those boots the other day!! Though we hardly ever get any rain in Wyoming...

[Sharon]

Your stuff is just gorgeous! Love that sweet dress!

[Lucy@Attic24]

What an amazingly simple design, but oh soooo beautiful, I think the simplicity of it is just beautiful. oooo you are a clever old stick!!!!

As for the wellieboots, well, they are adorable too. Something oh so appealing about little peoples boots, even the boy ones are cute (my little man had froggy ones when he was weeny and oh I did love them so!)

Lots of love to you and your team Alicia, I think of you often....ooo I think I've got to go attend to my baby, i van hear Little B laid on his mat making the most terrible "bottom noises" lol, you got all this to come my friend!!!! :o) ♥
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[valeria]

LOVE THIS ONE! I wish I new how to crochet...XXX

[andrea]

Love it-it's really cute!
I've also been eyeing the rainboots at Target for awhile now (in my size ;))

[Sally]

That dress is to die for. It is so sweet and precious. It makes me want to figure out this whole knitting thing.