crochetguideKnow these stitches: half double crochet, single crochet, chain, slip stitch
Materials and yarn planning
Yarns we’ve reviewed that suit it: Bernat Softee Cotton yarn, Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton DK yarn. For the hook, choose by size and handle.
This pattern has about 18,722 stitches in the body, edges and straps. For a closer figure in your own yarn, weigh what you have made once a good part is done, divide by the stitches made so far, multiply by 18,722 and divide by the ball weight on the label. Taller stitches use more yarn than short ones, so allow a margin.
Finished size and gauge
Sized from the Craft Yarn Council’s women’s chest measurements plus about 10 cm of ease. The counts below are size Medium (91.5–96.5 cm chest): a top of about 104 cm around, which at 16 half double crochets and 12 rows per 10 cm is 166 stitches. Every third round adds 2 stitches, so the dress grows about 5 cm wider for every 10 cm of length: Round 90, about 75 cm below the underarm, has 226 stitches, about 141 cm around. Measure from your underarm down to the widest part of your hips: at that depth the dress should be at least as wide as your hips. On the Council’s chart the hips run from about 1 cm less to 11 cm more than the chest, so the ease at the top and the widening cover every size on it. For your size and swatch, read the starting stitches from the size table below; the length is yours to choose. These are calculations from the counts, not a measured sample.
Sizes from your swatch
Example: 16 half double crochets and 12 rows in 10 cm, the gauge the steps are written for. Type your own swatch over it to see your counts.
| Size | Around the top | Underarm to hem | Stitches | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Small (71–76 cm chest) | 83.5 cm (32.75 in) | Your choice | 134 | Your choice |
| Small (81–86 cm chest) | 93.5 cm (36.75 in) | Your choice | 150 | Your choice |
| Medium (91.5–96.5 cm chest) | 104 cm (41 in) | Your choice | 166 | Your choice |
| Large (101.5–106.5 cm chest) | 114 cm (45 in) | Your choice | 182 | Your choice |
| X-Large (111.5–117 cm chest) | 124.3 cm (49 in) | Your choice | 198 | Your choice |
| 2X (122–127 cm chest) | 134.5 cm (53 in) | Your choice | 216 | Your choice |
| 3X (132–137 cm chest) | 144.5 cm (57 in) | Your choice | 232 | Your choice |
| 4X (142–147 cm chest) | 154.5 cm (60.75 in) | Your choice | 248 | Your choice |
| 5X (152–158 cm chest) | 165 cm (65 in) | Your choice | 264 | Your choice |
Counts are rounded to whole stitches and rows and to the pattern’s repeat. Check the first rows against your swatch.
The gauge calculator compares your swatch with the pattern. A stitch name you do not know is in the abbreviation chart; a UK pattern’s names are in the US/UK term reference.
The pattern
Count rows for this patternBody: rounds from the underarm down
- Chain 166 and join with a slip stitch into the first chain, taking care not to twist the chain. Round 1: chain 2 (it does not count), half double crochet in each chain around, join with a slip stitch into the first half double crochet: 166 stitches. Try the ring around your chest under your arms before you go on: it should pass on easily.
- Place a marker in the first stitch and another in stitch 84: they mark the sides. Round 2: chain 2, half double crochet in each stitch around, join: 166 stitches.
- Round 3 (increase): chain 2, [2 half double crochets in the marked stitch, half double crochet in each stitch up to the next marker] twice, join: 168 stitches. Move each marker up into the first stitch of its pair.
- Rounds 4–90: work two plain rounds like Round 2, then an increase round like Round 3, so every third round adds 2 stitches: 196 stitches after Round 45 and 226 after Round 90. Try the dress on as you go and stop after any round once it reaches the length you want.
- Hem: chain 1, single crochet in each stitch around, join: 226 stitches. Fasten off.
Top edge and straps
- Top edge: turn the dress upside down and join the yarn at a side. Chain 1, single crochet in the other side of each foundation chain around, join: 166 stitches. Fasten off.
- Try the dress on and place 4 markers on the top edge: 2 on the front and 2 on the back, each over the middle of a shoulder.
- Straps: make 2. Join the yarn at a front marker. Row 1: chain 1, single crochet in the next 6 stitches: 6 stitches. Rows 2–60: chain 1 and turn, single crochet in each stitch across: 6 stitches, about 30 cm. Work more or fewer rows until the strap reaches over your shoulder to the back marker.
- Sew the end of each strap to the back top edge at its marker, across 6 stitches, and weave in the ends.
Check the work
Round 1 has 166 stitches and every third round adds 2, so any round’s count is 166 plus twice the number of increase rounds made so far.
- If the dress twists around your body, the first round was joined over a twisted chain; there is no fix but to start again, so check the chain lies flat before joining.
- If the side markers drift to the front, an increase went in the wrong place: count the stitches between the markers; the two halves stay equal.
- Half double crochet in light yarn shows small gaps: wear a slip under the dress, or work it on a hook 0.5 mm smaller with more stitches from the size table.
Updated . Stitch counts checked row by row; we haven’t crocheted a sample of this one yet. How the patterns are checked. Keep your yarn label, hook and swatch on the printable project worksheet.