Crochet Stylish Late Winter Early Spring Dress – Stylish Chanel Inspired Dress

Hello darlings J

We think that by now you have guessed ( after 4 years of blogging) that we are not  fans of winter.

However  we stumbled upon a posh looking , warm and comfy but also elegant  late winter –early spring  dress.

 The original pictured here is Asian originated. We found it while browsing the web and because it inspired us , we’ve also looked for the related charts to associate with it in writing this blog.

Why we love this?

1.       The A-line shape is very figure complementing

2.       The elegant romantic spider stitch border adds the exact amount of lace effect.

3.       It is perfect for leggings and army boots but also for winter or early spring tights and high heel boots.

4.       It’s warm , versatile, chic and stylish and compact enough so you can wear it without a lining.

So , without further chatting here is how to make it:

Yarn: merino fine, acrylic cotton mix also fine, cotton viscose fine

For a more spring ready finish: use mercerized cotton (fine)

Hook: 2,5- 3 mm hook

Start:

1.       Measure  chest circumference , hip circumference and bottom circumference. Divide by 2.

2.       Measure shoulder width.

·         Tip for beginners: You can make a paper layout ( pattern) for these measurement to have an idea.

The dress is worked upwards in two identical halves.

Back :

1.Chain the bottom length (multiples of 4+ 1)

2.Ch 4 1dc next ch from the hook,sk3, *1dc ch2 1dc ( v stitch) sk 3* repeat ** till the end of the row…finish with V stitch

Main Pattern:

3. Ch3 , 2dc in the ch space of the Vstitch,* 4dc in the ch space(shell) of the next Vstitch* , repeat ** till the end of the row.

4. Ch4 1dc in the first stitch, *1dc ch2 1dc ( v stitch) in the middle of the shell below*…repeat ** till the end of the row…finish with V stitch with 1ch in the middle.

Work the 3+4 rows sequence (main pattern) until you reach the desired length for hip area.

Waistline decrease: (starts with the first row in sequence ).

Mark the decrease start with stitch markers . Leave the stitch markers in to know when to decrease for the font section.

5.       Ch3, sk 3, *1dc ch2 1dc ( v stitch) sk 3* repeat ** till the end of the row…finish with 1dc

6.       Ch 4 1dc in the same stitch, ,* 4dc in the ch space(shell) of the next Vstitch* , repeat ** till the end of the row…end with Vstich with 1ch in the middle.

Repeat decrease 1 time. ( or 2 times – depending on your particular figure  )

Work as many rows as necessary till arm opening.

Shape  the arm opening:

Slip stich  8 stiches one side, skip the last 8 on the other

Using the same decrease as above 1 time , continue working to finish the back.

Example of decrease diagram: ( random related pattern)

Front:

Work exactly as the back the except for the neck opening.

Shape the neck opening:

Work a regular round decrease.

Join the 2 halves and work the lacy section in round starting from one side :

From bottom down:

1.       1dc in each stitch

2.       Ch3, 4dc, ch 4 sk1, *1tr in the next ch from the hook, sk 1 1tr,sk1 1tr,sk1 1tr, ch4 sk1, 4dc *…repeat ** till the end of the row

3.       Ch3, 4dc,ch4, *1sc in top of each tr below ( 4 sc) , ch4  4dc*…repeat ** till the end of the row.

4.       Ch3, 4dc,ch4, *1sc in top of each tr below ( 4 sc) , ch4  4dc*…repeat ** till the end of the row.

5.       Ch3, 4dc,ch4, *1sc in top of each tr below ( 4 sc) , ch4  4dc*…repeat ** till the end of the row.

6.       Ch 3, 4dc,*ch1,1tr ch1, 1tr ch1,1tr ch1, 1tr ch1, 4dc*…repeat ** till the end of the row.

7.       1dc in each stitch

Repeat : 1 to 7

Lace section complete.

Work 4 or 5  rows of X stich for the bottom.

Finish with picot stitch for both the bottom and neck opening.

Sleeves: ( they are a lot less trickier than it seems).

Start working  with base chain( wrist circumference + 2 cm)

Work 4 rows of X stitch, followed by the  lace section.

Continue with the main pattern until arm opening. Increase as you go up so it will fit your arm size.

 How to create sleeve decrease:

The standard method is :

1.       Count the number of rows in the front and back and you’ll have the number of rows you have left to make.

2.       Start decreasing  as you did for the waist line ( 2  or 3 decreases)

3.       Work until you have 2 rows left.

4.       Using slip stich and skip stitch form a round sleeve top in the last 2 rows.

( see Youtube for instructions)

Repeat the method for the second sleeve.

Join the sleeves. Finish the sleeves with picot stich.

The really pretty collar is not crocheted .

It is a regular Peter Pan collar you can DIY or buy .

You can also crochet a lace collar if you want ( black or navy dress will look beautiful with white crochet  collar)

Well this is about it.

I hope you choose to try making this dress for the last month of winter and future chilly spring days.

Have fun darlings and make sure you follow  on Facebook, Pinterest and Google +, for mode interesting ideas .

Xoxo

Anca  & Eva