Crocheted dress for a 6 yo

Remember the yellow dress I crocheted for my niece for her birthday late last year?

I am pleased to report that she has worn it a couple of times since.

In fact, as you can see from this photo, the dress has been crocheted extra long to take into consideration her growing height.

However, since the last time she wore it in her kindergarten (K2) Christmas celebrations, she has gone home to her grandma and declared that the dress was a no-go.

The reason?

The other kids at school made comments about her modesty, or rather the lack thereof -- apparently, they teased her about the see-through columns.

So I really need to get a little slip dress for her to encourage her to keep on wearing it!

In case you are wondering -- my 6 yo niece Ms P, hasn't complained about being hot in this dress. She has not just worn it indoors but we did walk a bit out on the footpaths in Orchard Road in the late afternoon.

Interested in the details? I have blogged about my making of crochet dress pattern in an earlier post.


This personal knitting and crochet blog of mine has taken a back seat since last September as much of my time has been directed to the new customers who signed up for our knitting and crochet classes.

Blogging requires one to commit proper desk time with all that thinking, writing, photo uploading and editing activities -- I just haven't got around to allocating time blocks to these and you just simply do not get much traction doing them in random bits and bites, if you know what I mean.

But I am still knitting and crocheting actively on the go.

So if you are into a reading mode, do feel free to pop by my other knitting/crochet blog - The Handiworks.



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Here's wishing Great Health, Happiness, Prosperity and Speedy Crocheting and Knitting to all readers this Lunar New Year!

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Pink + yellow = a happy fellow!

During Ms P's birthday last December, that is. All wrapped up beautifully with ribbon.

Knowing that pink is her fave color (isn't it a default trend color for all little gals under the age of 5?!), the pink capelet I was working on was also added to her birthday present repertoire. I attached a cute pink button to match too!


What's a birthday without a birthday cake? Not only did she get a real mini cake, a miniature crocheted birthday cake was also plated for her candle blow out.

Squeals of delight could be heard. I was extremely delighted.

Keeping in mind that Ms P's little bro, M kid is around and too young to understand why everybody is fussing and giving so much attention to his older sister, I also handed him a mini crocheted ice-cream cone. He gave an incredibly wide grin.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to snap a photo of it. [During moments like this, I am really grateful for my crochet skills as mini amigurumi items can be whipped up quickly to appease my young audience.]

Given the heavy rain at evening, Ms P also very gamely wore the yellow crocheted frock for my obligatory photoshoot.

So in fact, when the capelet was unwrapped, M kid also insisted on donning it. At his age, he's pretty much mimicking what his older sister does and exercising his equality rights ~ Jiejie (chinese word for "elder sister") have, so should Didi ("little brother").

Being the big sister, she is quite obliging. You can see that she's very close to her little bro, M kid.

That was indeed a very happy night for all of us.

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Swirling around in a crochet dress

The silence is deafening. If you are still keeping up with my blog, thank you so much!

Blogger's been giving a little problem (or so I thought) but I am picking up from where I left from -- the project for my niece.

Purchase date unknown; this yarn lot may have been basking in the SABLE for at least 8 years or more -- I bought it from Spotlight then, not knowing that yarn quality plays a part in the finished garment's look as well as its longevity factor (for those who want to create keepsake heirlooms.)

It's an acrylic fingering weight blend which works well for the crochet project but in terms of quality, I won't hold it in the highest regard. But in a bid to reduce SABLE, this yarn meets my needs.

Since my mom (my niece's grandma) would most likely hand wash this hand crocheted summer tunic dress, I think it might last reasonably well . [I just tend to drop all my hand knits and crochet projects in the washing machine - I am lazy when it comes to laundry, I'll admit.]

On the other hand, I know my mom appreciates and understands all the time and effort I devote to my knitting and crochet so she really does take good care. [But Mom, please wear the ones I knit for you more often! I am more than happy to knit you more!]

 A WIP photo -- I love working with thin yarns but they do kill me at times with all that slow growth!

To counter any possible itch factor, I decided that a lining may soon be in order but that'll have to hold until after the dress is presented to Ms P.


I decided to switch to this fan and feather panel as I think the whole dress would look very heavy with the same body stitching. The lower panel also adds some lightness to the overall look.

Here's a photo taken during daytime. I know the sunlight does show off the stitches more clearly when I snap pictures but then my knitting and crochet habits tend to be nocturnal.

The dress does look awfully long and skinny huh? 

Another, in the night.

To get her comfortably dressed, I have also put in button closures on the back.

And then it was all ready to go!

I swear it fits my niece well.

Until my next blog post...

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Everything about the Lily Chin crochet lace dress

Edited to add:
Several people have wrote to me asking where this pattern is available. I tried locating it myself and found that it's somehow not showing up. But there's the direct link to the Interweave Store Lily Chin crochet dress pattern page for the e-purchase download. 

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Well, this is it!

This entry got delayed as I was trying to take reasonable photos of the dress. I am happy to report that the pre- / post- washing doesn't have much changes to the length, width etc.

The modelled, chest out, look far far away style.

No head shot coz that would probably spoil the photo.

So just use your imagination to envision the whole look ok?

Many have asked me for more details about this dress. Here are the notes:

Pattern: Lily Chin designed lace crochet dress found in the first issue of Interweave Crochet.
Size made: the smallest and teeniest (coz I modified the skirt from bodice down to have it body snug.)
Yarn used: 9 balls of Schachenmayr Nomotta Catania
Needles used: size 3mm and 4mm crochet hooks

Time taken: 2.5 weeks from start to finish -- that's a personal record for something this size (my crochet flowers motif top took the same amount of time too!)

Pattern construction

This pattern is worked in 2 directions:
- From below the bust/bodice up to the neck.
- Then pick and crochet downwards from the lower edge of the bust for the skirt.


Pattern modifications:

The dress draws in nicely and shortens automatically due to the smaller hook I used. I also added 2 more shell rows below the bust (by picking up from under the bust) when I realized that due to my hook change, the bodice ended up too short. [For those of you whose bust may be low set, you may need to add 2 rows or so of plain shells before you go into the shaping.]

I lowered the neckline as I found it too high for my liking. This is with much trial and error.

Other than that, I also found that there's a slight gap where the sleeve meets the bust so I added a small shell dart (as an afterthought), making it less obvious.I started out using the measurements for the smallest sizing but from the skirt portion, I went down 3 repeats from the start so it has a slimmer silhouette.

So as you can see, sometimes, I just like to fiddle with a pattern too much! LOL!

I have managed to find a black slip from my wardrobe which works fairly well. Except that the slip neckline threatens to do peek-a-boos at all times. So my students suggested a snap fastener to be sewn on the inside to make it stay in place.

Here's another with me sitting down.

Nothing too indecent...though I have to remember to do the obligatory dress sweep

before I sit to ensure it doesn't ride up too much!

So this is concludes my adventure with this lace crochet dress! I really love the way the dress fits and the minimal swing that makes this dress feminine yet chic due to the lower neckline. 

You can bet that this will be my favorite dress in my wardrobe from now on! [Until I knit or crochet another one, that is! (grin)] 

PS. Thanks to Jeanie for putting this up on her CrochetCast (aka podcast) -- do go check her out!

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