Crochet Summer Dress
I’m so excited to be sharing this crochet summer dress with you all. I must say it was a bit of a challenge but once I got all the maths to different sizes mastered it was a breeze.
Materials Needed
Weight 3 yarn. I used an acrylic yarn because it has far more stretch than cotton. For a size small I used 200g.
4mm crochet hook
Measuring tape
Yarn needle.
Gauge: 5 hdc for 1″
For sizes S(M,L,Xl)
Begin by making 11 chains
Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc to end. Ch 1, turn.
Sc in BLO in each st across. Ch 1, turn. Repeat this row until you have completed 112(117,137,157) rows.
Ch 1, slip st both your foundation row to your last row. You now have a circular ribbed band. Turn inside out so the seam is in the inside.
Ch 2 (not counted as a stitch), place 112(117,137,157) hdc along the top edge of the waistband. Slip st into 1st hdc to close the round. You will now be working in continuous rounds so do not chain up at the beginning of each round.
Next round (increase round): hdc into same st that you are currently in now. Place marker in that st. Make another hdc into that same st. (Increase made). Now lay the piece on a flat surface so the stitch marker is to the side of the skirt and eyeball on the opposite side of the skirt where to put a 2nd stitch marker. Check out photo below as to what I mean.
Now continuing on from where you are now with your hook and yarn, place a hdc into each st until you reach the 2nd stitch marker. Place 2 hdc into this stitch. Continue with hdc into each stitch to the end of the round.
Next round (regular round): hdc into every st all the way around.
Next round (increase round): 2hdc into the next st (st with the stitch marker), hdc into every st until you reach 2nd stitch marker, 2hdc into stitch with stitch marker, hdc into each stitch to end of round.
Next round (regular round): hdc into every st all the way around.
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round.
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round
Next round: increase round
Next round: regular round.
Every round from now on: hdc into every stitch around. Continue until the skirt measures 15-16″ from the waistband. If you want it shorter/longer do less/more rounds here.
Next round: slip st into next st (the st with the stitch marker). You can now remove the marker as there is no need for it anymore.
From here, ch 7. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc back down the chain. You now have 6 sc. Slip st into the next 2 sts of the skirt. **Ch 1, turn, sc in BLO into the 6 sc. Ch 1, turn, sc in BLO into the 6 sc, slip st into the next two sts of the skirt. Repeat from ** all the way along the entire bottom edge of the skirt. Slip stitch the two edge to close.You have now created the bottom ribbed edge of your skirt. Cut yarn and fasten off.
Attach yarn to the top edge of the waistband. Ch 2, and make 112(117,137,157) hdc along the top edge. It is best to place a stitch marker into the first hdc of the round so you know where the round begins.
At the end of the round slip stitch into the 1st hdc. You will now be working in continuous rounds.
Continue making regular rounds of hdc until the top part of the dress is long enough to run from your waist and up over your chest.
At the end of your last round, slip st into the hdc with the stitch marker. Ch 7, sc in 2nd ch from hook and sc to end. You know have 6 sc. Slip st into the next 2 sts on the skirt and continue in the same manner as before when you were creating the bottom ribbed edge of the dress. Then slip st closed. Fasten off and weave in all ends.
For the shoulder straps make a chain that’s about 11 inches long. You may need to adjust this accordingly. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc to end. Cut yarn leaving a long tail. Using your yarn needle stitch the strap about 5-6 cm in from the edge, sewing into the insides of the dress. Make a 2nd strap in the same way and attach to the other side.
Side notes:
Gauge is very important when making this dress so please try and stick to it.
If you find the top part of the dress is too small I recommend you either add an extra 5 sts. Keep adding an extra 5 sts until it does fit. It may take a lot of trial and error to make a body fitting dress like this. If you feel that increasing stitches is too complicated for you, you could try changing to a bigger hook for the top part.
When the dress is finished you might look at it and think it’s far too small, but remember it will stretch a lot over the body so please keep that in mind.
If you find any of this pattern hard to understand I do have a YouTube tutorial if you want to check it out.